Shifting
Julesmonster


Part One



Brian stepped out into the alley and smiled. It was a beautiful night and the world was his. He was young strong and beautiful and there was nothing that he could ask for that he didn’t already have. His career was on track and he had already opened his own agency before he turned thirty. He won awards and pulled in accounts and a salary that made men twice his age envious. He could afford to buy all the designer labels he wanted, had a nice home that was completely paid off now, and he could afford whatever car he liked. He walked over to the unpretentious car he chose, a jeep, where his best friend was waiting to drive him home.



“Took you long enough,” Mikey muttered. “Did you fuck him or just get your cock sucked?”



That was another thing Brian had going for him: he had all the sex any gay man could ever dream of wanting. And he had friends who watched out for him, even if they could be annoyingly puritanical and jealous at times.



“Both,” Brian said with a leer. “He was a hot fuck, too. You’d have creamed your jeans for a chance with him, Mikey.”



Mikey said something in return, but Brian’s attention had drifted and he didn’t hear a word of his rant. There was something… a presence, a scent… something unfamiliar and yet so tantalizing that Brian could almost feel his mouth watering in anticipation. This wasn’t the normal musky scent of sex and desire that seemed to permeate Liberty Avenue after dark. No this was more… it was anticipation and fear and lust and innocence. But it was also…



Brian found himself walking to the source of that enticing aroma and he found that the sight was almost better than the smell. A young man was standing under a streetlamp, his white-blond hair lit up like a halo around his face. He watched Brian’s approach from across the way and Brian knew even before he really thought about it that this kid was like him. This kid recognized Brian the same way Brian recognized him.



Brian didn’t hesitate; as soon as he reached the kid, he wrapped him up in his arms and pulled his body flush. He would establish his dominance and let the kid know who was in charge. The kid was young enough to relax into the embrace and not fight Brian’s claim. In a few years, however, this kid had the potential to be a strong Alpha in his own right, definitely a Beta at the very least.



There were no words exchanged between them. What they needed to say could not be said there, where anyone might overhear. The kid did not protest when Brian dragged him over to the jeep where Mikey was waiting, still complaining loudly.



“Mikey, give me the keys,” Brian demanded. He rarely used his full Alpha authority on his best friend, but this time he did. He needed to get this boy alone. Mikey may not be like them, but humans recognized and responded to that tone just the same as their kind, and it didn’t take more than a second for him to hand over the keys to Brian’s jeep. They climbed into the vehicle and sped away before Mikey could do more than give a token protest.



“Will he have a way home?” the kid asked as he looked back at the angry dark-haired man through the side mirror.



“Ted and Emmett will make sure he gets home,” Brian told him. “What’s your name?”



“Justin Taylor,” the kid said. “And you’re Brian Kinney.”



Brian snorted. “You’ve heard of me? I guess I really am a fucking legend.”



“I was looking for you,” Justin told him.



“I would think that the packs out in the suburbs would warn their young ones away from the likes of me,” Brian said with a wicked leer.



“They do,” Justin admitted.



“And yet you came looking for me,” Brian said. The tone was light but they both heard the more serious question underneath.



Justin shifted in his seat to look directing into Brian’s eyes as they sat at a red light. “I want to be in your pack.”



The light turned and Brian drove up the road, his face a stony mask. “I don’t have a fucking pack and I don’t want one.”



“Then a mate,” Justin said quietly, knowing he was pushing his luck and stepping all over traditional mating practices.



There was silence in the jeep until Brian parked it in the lot beside his building. “I don’t want a mate either. Mates are worse than pack. Is that why you came to me? Because your bigoted pack booted you for being gay?”



Justin shook his head and then shrugged. “They haven’t yet, but they will when they find out.”



“You don’t need a pack,” Brian told him. “And you don’t need a mate. They only turn on you and bring pain. You’re strong enough to find your own path, so don’t look to me to replace the blind fools you’re leaving behind.”



Justin was quiet for a moment staring at the unfamiliar building where Brian had brought him. “Then why am I here?”



Brian gave him a feral grin. “Because you want to get fucked.” He leaned close enough that his scent would have to be overwhelming for the younger man. “Don’t you?”



“Yes,” Justin said in a daze. As soon as the words left his mouth, Brian’s lips were there to replace them, never once giving Justin a moment to rethink his choice.  And then, when he was so lost in the desperate desire that Brian’ had expertly aroused in him, Brian pulled away. Before Justin knew what exactly was going on, they were on their way inside and up the elevator to Brian’s loft. Their lips met numerous times on that brief journey so that Justin was panting and achingly hard by the time they finally arrived in the loft and the door slammed closed loudly behind them.



Brian released Justin and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a long drink. “I’ll give you one last chance to back out and them I’m taking you to bed and fucking your ass until morning.”



Justin gave a slight shudder. Whether it was nerves or anticipation he couldn’t be sure. One thing he was sure of though… “I’m staying.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



The phone rang and interrupted them before they could get much beyond foreplay. “What?” Brian snapped.



Justin tried to concentrate on the conversation and ignore the fact that Brian continued to stroke his cock while he talked on the phone, but it was a lost cause. He came before Brian could hang up and there was annoyance on Brian’s face instead of arousal when his attention turned back to the young man in his bed.



“Fuck!” Brian swore. “I’ve got to go, this little shit just shot his load all over my new duvet…. Yes! I’ll be there!” Brian tossed aside the phone and glared at Justin. “Nice.”



“I’ll, um, wash it…” Justin offered. It didn’t seem to matter to Brian, though since he was climbing from the bed and pulling on his clothes.



“It’s dry clean only,” Brian told him. “Get your shit. I’ve got to go.”



Justin frowned as he searched for his discarded clothes. “But…”



“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home,” Brian huffed. “After we stop by the hospital to see my kid.”



“You have a kid?” Justin asked with wide eyes.



“I do now,” Brian told him with a grim smile. “So hurry the fuck up.”



Justin pulled his shirt over his head and grabbed his tennis shoes to put on. “I’m not going home,” he told Brian stubbornly. “If you don’t want me here, I’ll just… I’ll figure something else out.”



Brian stopped his rushing around and stared at the kid. “You don’t have anywhere to go?”



Justin shrugged as he stood up from the bed and pulled don his jacket. “It’s not your concern. You’ve made that clear. Besides, you said I’m strong enough to make it on my own.”



“Fucking twat,” Brian muttered. “You’re coming to the hospital with me and then I’ll make a decision about what the fuck to do with you.”



“It’s not your decision to make,” Justin said stubbornly. “You aren’t my Alpha.”



Brian reached out and grabbed Justin by the nape of his neck and glared at him, their faces only inches apart. “I may not be your Alpha, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let some upstart little shit talk to me like that.” Without any more warning than that, Brian leaned forward and bit the expanse of flesh between Justin’s shoulder and neck, making the young man whimper with a combination of pain, arousal and a need to submit to the stronger creature. Brian’s teeth drew blood and still he did not let go, rebuking Justin in the most primal way known to their kind.



“Sorry,” Justin mumbled when Brian finally released him and licked at the wound.



Brian looked deep into Justin’s blue eyes and then smiled. “Sorry’s bullshit. Now let’s go meet my son.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



“So this woman, Lindsay, just asked you for sperm?” Justin asked as they made their way to the hospital.



“She did,” Brian said. “Apparently I’m prime genetic material.”



“Does she know… what you are?” Justin asked. “I mean, your son will more than likely be like us, won’t he?”



“Possibly,” Brian said. “But, no, I haven’t told her. I’ll deal with it if he shows signs. And if he does, I’ll teach him what he needs to know.”



Justin shook his head in wonder. How could anyone take such a huge decision so lightly? Mating and passing on their heritage was a huge decision. They weren’t like most people and there were things to consider that Brian obviously had ignored. Being a part time father would never be enough, and two human women would never be strong enough to deal with one of their kind, even as a baby.



“I know what you’re thinking,” Brian said. “And I should punish you for thinking so little of me. I said I’ll deal with that if it happens. There are ways, you know.”



Justin did know, though not first hand. Those with mind control and the ability to plant suggestions were extremely rare, even among their kind where psychic abilities were more common. Most of their kind didn’t have psychic abilities but enough did that they were considered gifts to their packs. Justin had a talent for empathy. He could read people and their intentions, and he could soothe the emotional and psychic pain of others.



Justin could see that Brian was being honest when he said he could deal with the problem if it arose, which meant that he really could use suggestion to get his way. Justin wondered why he had not used that power against him. He would have known if he had simply because his own power would have revealed it to him. But Brian hadn’t done so.



“Do you ever use that power to get your way?” Justin finally asked.



Brian snorted. “I don’t have to use it to get my way. I succeed in business because I work my ass off and make a point of knowing what the client wants before he does. I succeed with men because… because I’m hot and a great fuck. I don’t need mind control to get what I want from life. And I would never use it that way. I only use it to protect myself and those I care about.”



Justin nodded. They had arrived at the hospital and Brian was parking the jeep. As they climbed from the vehicle, Justin said, “I can’t really use my powers to get ahead, but I can use them to protect myself, so I guess I see what you mean.”



Brian gave a considering glance at the blond. “Let me guess, you’re an empath?”



“I’m still learning how to use it, but yeah,” Justin said. “I never would have gone with you tonight if I didn’t have some idea of your intentions, even if I didn’t know the specifics.”



Brian snorted. “Good to know you have some instinct for self-preservation.”



They dropped the subject as they entered the hospital and made their way up to the maternity ward where a whole host of lesbians were crowded around Lindsay’s bed. Brian swooped in and took his son into his arms the minute they entered the room. Justin, already completely fascinated and half in love with the man, knew that his fate was sealed in that instant. Brian’s eyes as they looked into the eyes of his son were enough to show him that Brian was worth all the shit that he would have to face to be with this man. Brian was his mate, even if Brian didn’t see the need for mates or pack. Brian was his mate and Justin wasn’t some wimpy omega that would back off the first time an Alpha snapped at him.



Brian brought the baby over to Justin and Justin looked at the small version of Brian and fell in love for the second time in one evening. “He’s just like you,” Justin said. Brian looked at him questioningly and Justin knew that he was asking if Justin meant in more than just looks. Justin touched the baby’s hand and took a subtle but deep whiff of his scent and then he looked into his sleepy eyes. Then he looked back at Brian and nodded. “Just like you.”



Brian took a deep breath and nodded. It was earlier than he had planned—most of their kind didn’t show signs until they were a year or two old—but Justin’s gift gave him an advantage for finding out these sorts of things and if he said it was so then Brian believed him. He would have to act quickly before any of the others in the room thought to leave. Brian handed the baby to Justin as the talk turned to names and he participated only as much as he had to in order to keep from arousing suspicions. At the same time, Brian walked through the room and began changing each woman’s memories of this baby. He left Melanie and Lindsay for last. They would be the hardest and take the longest and they were the least likely to leave before he could work his subtle magic.



Melanie turned out to be the most difficult of the bunch to influence. Her dislike for him built up a natural barrier against his manipulations. Luckily, Justin continued to entertain the two women as Brian worked, never once letting them know that there was more going on besides a happy celebration. It took a while, but Brian was able to finally get through the barriers. He grimaced when he realized that the only way to get past her barriers was to make her like him, but he would do what he must for the sake of the child he had brought into this world.



Brian hadn’t said so when speaking to Justin, but he hadn’t really thought through any of this until after the deed was already done. Lindsay had a way of convincing Brian to do what she wanted that had him agreeing and jerking off into a cup before he could think twice. There was nothing supernatural about her manipulations. She simply played on their long friendship, the same way Mikey often did.



By the time he had really thought about what it would mean if this baby was one of them being raised by two human women, it was too late to do anything to stop it. Besides, when he really thought about it, he knew that he wasn’t as averse to being a father as he liked others to believe. He hadn’t changed his mind about mates or packs, but he knew that he had a lot to pass on to a child. He would certainly be a better parent than his ever were.



Brian left the two dazed women still chatting with Justin and went to deal with the hospital staff. There was a change in plans, but they would never know that.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian sighed as the two men climbed back into his jeep. “I guess I’m going to spend part of the day moving baby shit tomorrow.” He’d also need to fit in visits to his son.



“It was so unreal,” Justin said. “One minute they were talking about how they couldn’t wait to watch their son grow up and the next they were talking about how happy they were to be able to do this for you. Did the nurse tell you when you can bring him home?”



“Day after tomorrow,” Brian said. “What name did they finally decide on? Or did I fuck with their heads before they could come to a consensus?”



“Gus,” Justin said. “They were wavering between Abraham and Gus. I told them that Abraham would get him beat up in school so they went with Gus.”



Brian quirked his brow and gave Justin a sidelong glance. “My son’s name is Gus?”



Justin grinned unrepentantly. “It’s better than Abraham.” Then he got serious. “I’m sure you can still change it if you want. I mean, it’s not like they remember that conversation now.”



“No,” Brian sighed. “Lindsay deserves at least that much, even if she’ll never remember it. He’ll be Gus.”



They arrived back at the loft and they both looked around the wide open space for a moment before Brian swore. “Shit. I’m going to have to move. There’s no way I can raise a baby here.”



“For now you could put his crib back by the back windows and set up a privacy screen or something,” Justin suggested.



“We’ll see,” Brian said as he came up to Justin from behind and wrapped his arms around the shorter man. His cock was already hard and pressed against Justin’s ass. Justin felt a shiver of arousal race through him. “Now where were we?”

Part Two



Justin knew that he was fucked. As soon as Brian had dropped him off on his way back to the hospital and he saw Daphne’s face as she stood on the steps outside St. James Academy, he had known that the time for hiding was over. “They know.”



“I’m so sorry,” Daphne gushed as she handed him his school uniform and backpack. “They called my mom and she… I couldn’t lie to her. You know how she is!”



Daphne’s mom was the pack Beta, one of the strongest betas Justin had ever met. Poor Daphne had never been strong enough to openly defy her. She had, on occasion, bent the rules a bit to get around her mom, but she would never be able to stand up for herself. In fact, the only thing that kept her from being the pack Omega—the lowest man on the totem pole in any pack—was the fact that she had healing powers.



“What are they going to do?” Justin asked with resignation.



“They’ve called a meeting of the elders,” Daphne said. “The only reason I’m allowed to even speak with you right now is that they wanted me to make sure you show.”



“When?” Justin asked as he headed for the boys bathroom so he could change his clothes.



“Tonight,” Daphne said. She looked heartbroken. They both knew that the chances were good that this would be the last day they were allowed to even speak to each other. If the pack decided to uphold pack law, Justin would be shunned and no one would be allowed to speak to him after the meeting tonight or else face their own expulsion.



“We knew it was coming,” Justin told her but he accepted the hug she gave him anyway. They tried to comfort each other. This was Daphne, his best friend from birth and Justin needed to know that she loved and supported him even though he knew she would never defy the pack.



“I don’t want to lose you,” Daphne cried.



Justin kissed her temple. “I’ll always be there for you if you need me, but you and I both know that your place is with the pack. You have to do what’s right for you, just like I have to do what’s right for me.”



They hugged once more and then Daphne rushed off to her class while Justin went to the bathroom to change. Rather than rushing to his class, Justin sat in the bathroom and thought about the meeting to come. What did classes matter? He knew that he was not going to be allowed to continue to attend St. James after today. Once shunned by the pack, his family would be forced to remove all financial support, including his tuition. After tonight, Justin would be homeless and without any way to support himself.  The tears that had been threatening to fall ever since he had first caught a glimpse of Daphne’s face finally streamed down his cheeks.



It took a while but once Justin finally pulled himself together he grabbed his cell phone and made a call. There was no answer, but he left a voice message and he hoped that it would be received before the meeting tonight.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian growled as he hung up his phone. He’d spent all morning dealing with the movers he had hired to transfer the baby items from Lindsay and Mel’s house to his loft and then getting the room fixed up the way it had been before all of this baby nonsense had started. Then he had stopped by the hospital again to see Gus and Lindsay. He had just finished that and had been heading to the office when he noticed that he had missed a call from an unknown number. The voice mail had been short and sweet. Justin was being called before the pack elders tonight.



Brian had never been a part of the pack Justin was born into. In a city the size of Pittsburgh, there were several packs, and his pack had been made up of more blue-collar families. Justin’s pack, he was certain, was more the country club set. Hell, the kid went to a fucking private school. Just because they were better off financially, however, didn’t make them any less prone to bigotry. The pack mentality and laws stated that the pack was above all else. That included one’s sexuality. Homosexuality was considered one of the worst sins against the pack because same sex mates could not produce children and children were the key to a pack’s future.



Brian had never faced expulsion from his pack. He knew the rules and had chosen to reject them before they could reject him. Then again, he’d not had the type of home life he had wanted to cling to, either. He suspected that Justin’s family was a lot different than Brian’s.



No matter what he had said to the kid the night before, he knew that Justin wasn’t really the type who could ever be happy alone. He could survive, there was no doubt, but he would never thrive. He needed a pack, or at the very least a large group of human friends. It was a curse of the empath to need support and affection that was freely given. This shunning was going to hurt Justin more than the kid could ever realize.



There were several types of shifters and Brian knew that there were packs in the area that represented many of the different types. There were wolf shifters, feline shifters of three varieties—lion, leopard, and lynx—bear shifters, and coyote shifters. Brian had heard of other types of shifters in Australia, but those were rarely found outside of that continent. There were rumors of hyena shifters in Africa, but if they were there, they kept to themselves.



There was one other type of shifter, the type that Brian was, and the type that he instinctively recognized Justin as being, and that was the Omni-shifters. They were descended from what the Native American’s knew as spirit guides. Omnis could take on almost any animal form—in his old pack, there had been a bunny, a cockatiel, and poodle along with dozens of other animals. The most powerful Omnis could take multiple animal forms. Brian, for instance, had four forms. He wondered how many forms Justin could take. The kid was too powerful to have only one.



The question that played through Brian’s mind now, however, was should he involve himself in this mess or should he just walk away. He had told Justin that it was just for that night, and Brian’s personal rules dictated that one night was more than enough for any trick. But Justin wasn’t just any trick. He was an Omni, like him, who was about to be shunned for his sexuality. The kid had known it was coming, Brian realized. His comments the evening before made that clear and yet Justin had been happy to help him assure his son’s safety and then still come back and fuck until morning light streamed through the windows.



Brian sighed entered the offices of Kinnetik Advertising. He’d do what needed to be done this afternoon and then… he’d decide what to do about Justin later.



BJBJBJBJBJ

Justin was in his lynx form as he strode into the meeting hall. It was considered respectful to show your form when appearing before the elders. Their pack meetings all took place at the pack’s country club. It wasn’t unusual for packs to form small social clubs. Some were disguised as Elk lodges or other fraternal brotherhoods and had small meetings halls built for pack functions. His pack was made up of wealthier families and they had long ago built a small country club for their gatherings. The fact that it had a decent golf course, restaurant, pool and tennis facilities was merely a convenient guise to hide the true nature of the club.



There were pack members gathered around the grand ballroom, in attendance to observe the council, but the elders were all sitting along a table on the dais at the front of the room. Justin strode proudly to his place standing in front of the table and shifted into human form.



“Justin,” Garret said coolly. He was the pack’s Alpha and Craig Taylor’s best friend. Justin nodded at the greeting but refused to speak. Craig, Justin’s father, sat to Garret’s right as the man’s personal Beta. Daphne’s mom, Sherry, was seated to his left as the pack Beta. Justin still thought it was weird how they worked that out. Most packs only had one Beta, but the pack didn’t trust Craig the way they trusted Sherry, so they had split the duties between the two people. The rest of the dais was made up of the pack elders. There were fifteen of them and not one under the age of sixty.



“Do you know why you have been called before the Council of Elders?” Sherry asked.



“I only know that I was summoned,” Justin said. He knew why he was here, but he had not been told, so there was no reason to give anything away too soon.



“Charges have been brought against you for breaking pack law,” Sherry explained. Her voice was firm but more sympathetic than either Garret or Craig’s. “It has been brought to this council’s attention that you have been engaging in homosexual acts. In addition to those charges, you have kept company with one of the forbidden shifters.”



“Which shifter would that be?” Justin asked for clarification. Again, he knew the answer, but he was going to make them work for what they wanted.



“Brian Kinney,” Craig hissed. “You’ve been in contact with that disgraced faggot.”



Justin refused to flinch at the derogatory term. Instead he held his head high and formulated his response. “Disgraced in what way?” Justin asked. “Has he molested children? Has he absconded with money? What crimes did he commit against this pack? Or any pack for that matter?”



Craig had shifted and begun snarling at his son, but Garret restrained him from attacking as he obviously wished to do. Garret kept a soothing hand on his friend’s neck and answered. “He has disgraced his family and pack by his choice to live a perverted lifestyle.”



“And so what?” Justin asked. “You don’t even like his former pack. You all look down your noses at them because they are not feline shifters and because they aren’t as well off as you. So what is it to you if he has disgraced his family?”



“That sort of influence is what destroys packs,” Sherry said firmly. “We do not tolerate relations with his sort because they lead our young to dangerous thoughts. Your pack is your safety.”



“Yeah, well, I think he’s done pretty well without a pack,” Justin muttered.



“Do not be insolent!” Garret shouted. “You have yet to explain your actions.”



“And I have yet to hear actual actions to explain,” Justin said resolutely. “Rumors and innuendo is all I have heard so far. That and disparaging remarks about a man you have never even met.”



There were murmurs of discontent as the elders and pack all showed there displeasure towards Justin’s attitude. Those called before the council usually cowered, but Justin, a mere kit, was speaking out against not only the Alpha but pack laws and customs.



“You are so full of prejudices that have no basis in fact or reality,” Justin told the elders. “You believe that homosexuality is the greatest sin against the pack, but I contend that ignorance and bigotry are greater sins. Do you honestly believe that who a person has sex with will destroy the pack? Gay men and women have been having children for decades. And your bigotry against other shifters is absurd. Are you truly better than other packs because you are lynx instead of wolves or Omnis?”



“He speaks treason!” one of the elder women shouted and there were mutters of agreement.



“I speak the truth!” Justin shouted back at her, finally allowing his anger to show. “In my lifetime, I have watched you run off eleven powerful and productive homosexual shifters. Eleven! Those people could have been contributing to the pack and making it stronger, but because they preferred their own gender, they were ostracized.  In that same time, I have seen your disdain for anyone who isn’t exactly like you. You have made it impossible for anyone to have thoughts or feelings that differ from the collective, forcing some of the brightest and most creative people to hide their true gifts and talents.



“The world is changing around you,” Justin said. “The need for pack is not the same as it once was. We are not joined together for survival. We join together to create a community. But the community you are creating is restrictive and intolerant.”



Justin paused to look at his mother and Daphne who were both looking on with sad eyes. They had both known that this day would come and so he turned back to the elders.



“I will not stand before you and accept your judgments regarding my actions or my choices,” Justin said. “I will not give you that privilege. I renounce this pack. And if you cannot find a way to allow those who do not fit your stringent model of what is acceptable, I can guarantee that I will not be the last to do so.”



There was silence in the ballroom as Justin stared at his father, still in cat form. He ignored the rest of the elders, all of whom were glaring at him.



“Bravo!” a voice shouted from the back of the room as a single pair of hands began to applaud. “That’s the way to tell them, Justin!”



Justin turned and let a smile spread across his face. Brian was slowly sauntering through the groups of people to where Justin stood.



“And who are you?” Garret hissed. “You are not pack and you are not welcome here.”



“I’m his pack,” Brian said. He looked at Justin. “Assuming you want to be my Beta.”



“I would be honored,” Justin said with a beaming smile.



“You have yet to identify yourself,” Sherry reminded him.



“Oh, I’m the boogey man,” Brian shrugged. “Also known as Brian Kinney.”



“What happened to ‘packs are bullshit’?” Justin asked him quietly as the crowd erupted in outrage.



Brian shrugged insouciantly. “I may not need a pack, but I think my kid might.” Brian looked at Justin closely. “They really dislike Omnis?”



“Almost as much as gay people,” Justin said.



“How about one last ‘fuck you’, then?” Brian said with an unrepentant grin.



Justin nodded and shifted into the form of a coyote. Brian was right beside him as a mountain lion. There were more hisses of outrage as the two natural enemies of the lynx sauntered out of the room.

Part Three



Brian and Justin had scarcely reached the parking lot when Jennifer and Daphne came racing out. “Justin! Wait!”  The two men stopped and the two women were soon by their sides.



“Oh Justin!” Jennifer sobbed as she swept her son into a hug. “I’m so proud of you! And I’m going to miss you so much!”



“I know mom,” Justin said and there was a raspiness to his voice that gave away his emotion more than any tears could, though a few tears fell as well. “Dad would never have allowed me to stay anyway, no matter what the pack decided. You saw the way he came after me. He’s barely tolerated my presence since he saw my other forms. We both knew that this day had to come sooner or later.”



“I know,” Jennifer said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I knew as soon as I heard that they had called you before the council that you would never be coming home again…Oh baby.” Jennifer was crying again and Daphne took her turn to speak while Justin used all his power to try and sooth the two women who meant the world to him, never mind that he felt like he was breaking inside himself. He could hold on for them and fall apart later.



Daphne smiled sadly, tears falling from her eyes. “I wish I could come with you. You always find the best adventures.”



“Finish school, Daph,” Justin told her wisely as he gave her a tight hug. “Think about it for a while. And then if you want to leave them… Like I said, I’ll always be there for you.”



Jennifer had pulled herself together and was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. “I brought your things. They’re in the car. I couldn’t fit everything, but I packed the most essential items into a couple bags. I put the rest into a storage unit. The key and security code are in your bag. I want you to leave me a number for emergencies. Your father and Garret don’t have to know, but I’d feel better if I knew I could reach you. And I want your promise that if anything happens that you’ll call me. I don’t care what the others think. You may not be pack anymore, but you will always be my baby.”



“I promise,” Justin said and hugged his mom again.



“If we’re going to get his shit, we should do it before the rest finish up and start to leave,” Brian said. “They may have let us walk out of there out of respect for tradition, but you pissed them off pretty bad princess. There’s nothing stopping them from turning on us if they find us lingering on pack property.”



“He’s right,” Jennifer sighed. She led them over to the SUV Craig had bought for her birthday last year and opened the back. She pulled out two suitcases, a duffle bag and Justin’s backpack.  “You should get going.”



“I love you mom,” Justin said and finally let his own tears flow.



Brian put the bags into his jeep and pulled out a business card. “You can reach me at one of these numbers anytime. I’ll make sure Justin gets the message.”



Jennifer gave Brian a wobbly smile. “I guess you aren’t as bad as everyone says. Thank you.”



“Apparently, I’m building a pack here,” Brian said wryly. “So if you ever decide you can’t stand these fuckers any longer, the invitation is open to you. And you, Daphne.”



They said their final farewells before Brian and Justin climbed into the jeep and drove off just as the first members of the pack began to exit the building. Justin watched his mom and Daphne



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“So now what?” Justin asked wearily as he followed Brian into his loft. He had been unusually quiet on the ride, thinking about all of the things that he was going to have to figure out.



“Now we figure out how the hell to coexist,” Brian said. “I already called a realtor. Since tomorrow is a Saturday and I don’t have any pressing meetings, we’ll go start looking for houses tomorrow morning. Then in the afternoon we go pick up Gus. After that… the fuck if I know.”  Brain sighed heavily and flopped onto his white sofa.



Justin sat down on the other end of the stylish furniture. “I’ll have to be enrolled in school somewhere. I’ve still got a few months before I graduate and I know that my father will be calling St. James first thing Monday morning to pull me from there. He won’t keep paying my tuition, and I don’t want to go there anyway. There are too many pack members there. I’d end up creamed by the homophobes.”



Brian looked at Justin,” How old are you, anyway?”



“I just turned 18,” Justin said. “Last month.”



Brian nodded and laid his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I guess we’ll have to figure out what school you need to enroll at. That’s in addition to finding a nanny for Gus.”



Justin nodded and closed his eyes. He was exhausted.



“Don’t fall asleep,” Brian scolded. “There’s a perfectly good bed up there.”



Justin heaved a sigh as he got back up and trudged up the two steps to the bedroom area. For the first time he noticed that Brian had set up a small nursery area in the back of the loft, just like Justin had suggested, privacy screen and all. He smiled and then began pulling off his clothes before crawling between the sheets in just his briefs. A few minutes later, after locking up, Brian followed him to bed.



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Justin awoke to find that the loft was filled with morning light and that Brian was staring at him. “We aren’t mates,” the brunet said.



“Okay,” Justin said through a yawn and a stretch.



“But as long as you’re around, we might as well fuck,” Brian told him.



“What about your one time only rule?” Justin asked curiously.



Brian rolled his eyes. “Never had a shifter before, so I guess that there’s different rules. I’m still planning on fucking the humans as often as I want.”



Justin looked at his Alpha and nodded. “Fine. Then you won’t mind if I do as well.”



Brian was a little disgruntled by the thought that Justin would fuck anyone but him, but he couldn’t really claim exclusive rights to the brat if he wasn’t willing to offer the same. “Fine.”



“Wanna fuck now?” Justin asked. He noticed that Brian was naked and already lying atop the blankets and stroking his morning wood.



“That was the plan,” Brian said. “But we have to make it quick. We’re set to meet the realtor in an hour.”



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“He’s my guardian,” Justin told the realtor snidely when he stared at the two of them for just a little bit longer than was polite. For the sixth time that morning.



Brian snorted but chose not to comment. Instead he looked around the property that the man had brought them to see. It was actually the third place they had seen but the first two had been wholly unacceptable in Brian’s opinion. They were cute little houses in a cute little neighborhood. Brian may have been acquiring a son and a … Justin, but he wasn’t settling down. This place was more what he was looking for.



This place was a renovated fire house near Liberty Ave. The entrance to the house led to a small foyer with steps leading up straight ahead, down the hall to the kitchen, to an office on the right or to the living room to the left. The old bay doors had been replaced with bay windows that let lots of light into the main living space and overlooked the small garden out front. The living room, where the trucks used to park, was huge. It had hard wood floors and more windows along the side wall.



The kitchen was open to the living room, with a small dining area in between, and had a nice breakfast bar and professional grade appliances. Off the back of the kitchen was the breakfast nook and the laundry and utility room. There were also stairs to the cellar, which currently looked dingy and dark, but was dry and could easily be finished to make a family room and exercise room.



The office had more bay windows and there was plenty of light which filtered through the sheer curtains still hanging. Justin mentioned that it would be a great office or library.



They went upstairs next and the realtor pointed out how the old dormitories had been broken up into four bedrooms and the master suite. Each of the bedrooms was a good size and had good light. One bedroom in particular had windows on two sides and a sky light. It also had a utility sink.



“The former owner’s daughter was an artist,” the realtor told them. “She used this room for her studio. I’m sure you could easily have that sink removed.”



“No!” Justin said vehemently before Brian could even contemplate that.



“And why not?” Brian asked.



Justin flushed. “I’m sorry, it’s just, that’s what I want to do: be an artist. If we got this place, I could use this room as my studio and keep all of my paints and stuff out of your way.”



Brian regarded Justin. There was so much he didn’t know about this kid he had invited into his life and home. “We’ll see.”



The master suite was situated over the kitchen and took up the entire back end of the house. It had a small sitting area as soon as you entered which led to the bedroom. Off the bedroom there was a huge walk in closet and the bathroom. The master bath had a large steam shower, a soaking tub, and two sinks.



Finally, they went up to the roof, where the previous owners had built a small roof garden, complete with deck, hot tub and built in barbecue. Brian wanted to look out back and found that there was no back yard, only a small parking area off of the alley, but at least there was space to park three cars off the street. And the street that the property was on was fairly quiet, despite it’s nearness to Liberty Ave. They would actually be close enough to walk to the clubs.



Brian looked at Justin, who was looking longingly at the stainless steel appliances when he returned inside. Brian sighed and knew that this was the right place for them. “Let’s talk numbers,” Brian told the realtor.



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Brian put in an offer and they went to lunch to celebrate. Justin had never been to the Liberty Diner, he had never been anywhere on Liberty Ave before two nights ago, so Brian took him there. It was just Brian’s luck that practically all of his human friends were having lunch at the same time.



“Brian! Where have you been?” Mikey called out to him as soon as Justin and Brian had taken a seat in a booth beside theirs. “I haven’t seen you since… Wait. What’s that twink doing here?”



“Isn’t that the trick you ditched Michael for?” Emmett asked Ted just watched in awe of the blond.



Brian rolled his eyes. “Guys, this is Justin. He lives with me now. Justin, this is Michael, Emmett and Ted: the three stooges.”



Justin smiled at them. “Nice to meet you.”



“So was it love at first sight?” Emmett asked excitedly.



“Umm…” Justin didn’t know what to say to that. It had been for him. Or near enough. But he knew Brian wasn’t there yet.



“Fuck off Honeycutt,” Brian said. “We aren’t a couple. Justin’s more like…”



“An apprentice,” Justin filled in.



“That’s right,” Brian said with a smirk. “I’ll be mentoring Justin on how to be the best homosexual he can be.”



“Dear lord,” a red haired woman said before crossing herself. “He’s finally hit rock bottom and is passing his wicked ways on to another generation.”



“No, that would be my son Gus,” Brian said. “Justin’s not that much younger than me.”



The group went quiet for a moment and Brian realized that he hadn’t told any of them about Gus being born, or modified their memories. Justin apparently realized that too, because he began filling them in on the details of Thursday night, keeping their attention long enough to allow Brian time to fiddle with their minds a little. While he was at it, he placed a suggestion in each of their minds that would make them accept Justin’s place in his life just a little easier. Brian didn’t usually do things like that, but since he was already in there, it seemed like a good idea just this once.



“So we’re going to go pick him up from the hospital in a little while,” Justin concluded just as Brian was pulling out of the last one’s mind.



“Well, congratulations, kiddo,” Debbie said. “Now explain how you picked up this little ray of sunshine.”



Brian rolled his eyes again. “His folks tossed him out after they found out he’s gay.” Brian figured he could play the sympathy card and at least three of the four would buy into it.



“Oh, Sunshine!” Debbie cooed. “You need a milkshake to cheer you up.” And then she was off to put in an order for them that they hadn’t actually given.



“That’s Debbie, by the way,” Brian told Justin. “She’s Michael’s mom and sort of like a surrogate mom to me. She took me in when I left my folks.”



“She seems very… nice,” Justin said warily.



“And loud,” Michael said from his place leaning over the back of the other booth. “That’s okay. She takes some getting used to, but she’s a great mom. Now that she knows about you, she’ll try to smother you, so watch out.”



“And fatten you up,” Brian muttered.



Sure enough, ten minutes later, Debbie was back with a double cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake for Justin and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat for Brian. Justin dug into his meal with gusto and Debbie looked on with approval while Brian shuddered at the thought of all that grease. “At least he knows how to enjoy his food,” Debbie scolded when she saw Brian’s face.



The others all laughed at that and Justin felt a little better, like maybe he could belong to this human pack.

Part Four



Lindsay and Gus were both released at the same time, so she and Melanie were able to say their goodbyes to the baby that should have been theirs. Even though their memories had been modified, the longing for a child of their own lingered and Justin took a few minutes to help sooth their pain. He knew that they would soon be able to leave Gus behind and think about asking another of their friends to father a child for them.



Brian, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Gus. So much so that he actually gave Justin the keys to the jeep so that he could sit in back with Gus. Justin drove carefully and got them back to the loft with no difficulty. Once there, Brian carried Gus and Justin carried the small diaper bag that the hospital had sent with them and they were soon settling the little guy into his temporary home.



“Can I use your computer?’ Justin asked and Brian waved him to it while he fed Gus a bottle and talked to him in low tones that even Justin’s shifter hearing couldn’t pick up.



Justin shrugged and switched on the machine before settling in to do some research. An hour later, he stood up and went over to the sofa where Brian was still sitting with Gus in his arms, even though the baby was now sleeping.



“What did you find?’ Brian asked quietly so as not to disturb Gus.



“I wanted to find out what the regulations are for home schooling in Pennsylvania,” Justin told him. “All I would need to do is have you register me and then I can study for the exams. The district holds the exams in June and I can graduate without ever having to actually start a new school.”



Brian looked at Justin. “Is that a good idea?”



“I was looking at the content for the exams and I could pass the tests now if I had to,” Justin said. “St. James was a lot harder than the district requirements. And if I did that, I could watch Gus until you had time to figure something else out. I mean, I don’t think he’s going to start shifting for a while, but he’ll probably start earlier than most kids. Just because you’re as powerful as you are. You’ll need to find someone you can trust to watch him.”



“It would give me until September, I suppose,” Brian said. “Speaking of September, what are you going to do about college?”



“Well, I’ve already been accepted at PIFA,” Justin told him. “And I have an educational trust that was set up by my mom’s parents that won’t be affected by me leaving the pack. I’ll be able to draw money for living expenses, too, so I can help pay my way.”



“Don’t worry about household stuff,” Brian said. “I make plenty enough to pay for the house and food and what not. You can use that money to pay for clothes or art supplies or whatever.”



“Brian…”



“Listen to your Alpha, Justin,” Brian said playfully, but then he got serious. “I wouldn’t feel right letting you pay for the stuff I’d be paying for anyway. Keep your money.”



Justin sighed and gave in. It was Brian’s right as pack leader to make decisions like that and, even as a Beta, Justin felt it was his duty to go along with it. “Okay. I suppose I could get a car; then I wouldn’t have to take the bus everywhere.”



“Just how much is in this trust?” Brian asked, so Justin told him. Brian’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t thought that there would be that much. “Well, I’ll take you out car shopping soon, then.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Sunday was rather lazy, and they spent most of the day at home. Since Gus had been fussy most of the night, that was a good thing. They did go out for a little while to shop for a few things for Gus. Brian hated some of the things that Lindsay and Melanie had chosen for him. They ended up buying new bedding for his crib, new clothes and a new diaper bag that was more acceptable to Brian’s fashion sense.



Justin spent part of the day unpacking his things and seeing what his mother had included in his bags. Mostly there were clothes, but his art supplies had made it along with his laptop, a few DVDs, and his MP3 player.



“You’re going into work with me in the morning,” Brian told him as they got ready for bed. “I’ve got a meeting in the morning, but then we can use the afternoon to take care of that home schooling shit, get you a phone and maybe talk to the lawyer who controls your trust.”



“Okay,” Justin agreed and began getting the things he and Gus would need for a morning spent at Brian’s office. He found the pack and play, which could be used as a cradle, put that by the stroller and then packed the diaper bag.



They went to bed when Gus fell asleep; both were exhausted after the night before and they slept in shifts, taking turns getting up with Gus. And the next morning they gathered everything together and headed off to Kinnetik.



Justin had never seen Brian’s office before, so he was surprised how large Brian’s company really was. And how close to Liberty Ave and the new house it was. Brian introduced Justin to Cynthia, his assistant, and while they chatted, Brian took the opportunity to fix her memories regarding Gus. She was the only one in the office, besides Ted, who even knew that he was going to become a father, so he didn’t have to worry about the rest of the staff.



Justin set up a small area for Gus while Brian headed to his meeting in the conference room. Once Gus was down for a nap, however, Justin sat in the office and began to work on some of his own sketches. By the time Brian returned, Gus had his mid morning feed, a new diaper, and was on his second nap of the day.



“I found a schedule online that is supposed to help babies sleep through the night faster,” Justin told Brian when he returned. “If we follow this, Gus should be sleeping through the night most nights within a month or two.”



“That would be nice. I’m used to late nights but this is getting ridiculous,” Brian said “I’ve got a couple things to go through for Cynthia and then we can go.”



“Sure. There’s no hurry,” Justin agreed, but then his stomach growled.



“Why don’t you walk over to the diner and order us some sandwiches to go,” Brian said with a chuckle.



So Justin left and Brian worked while Gus slept on. When Justin returned, they set out for the lawyer’s office first. Brian had gotten Cynthia to set up the appointment and he was rather glad that he had.



“Justin, your grandparents did set up an educational trust for you,” Tom Bradley told them. “But your grandmother also provided for you in her will. That money was to be held until your twenty-first birthday. However, there was a stipulation that said if you were to leave home anytime before your twenty-first birthday, those funds would be released to you automatically. Apparently, she did not think you and your father got along.”



“We didn’t,” Justin said. “We don’t. And I moved out last week. My father will have disowned me by now.”



“Actually, he has,” Tom said. “He was never made aware of this clause in the will, but his lawyers were, and they informed me of the change in status just this morning. The full inheritance will be released to you. The trust will still be available for your educational costs, but any living expenses can be taken from those other funds now.”



“How much are we talking?’ Justin asked with a frown.



The lawyer named a figure that could easily allow Justin to paint for the rest of his life and never have to worry about money. “If you would like, I can arrange for an appointment with the firm that is handling your investments. I need to contact them anyway to let them know that you will be controlling the decisions regarding those accounts from now on.”



Justin looked to Brian and Brian said, “Have them contact my assistant and she can arrange the appointment. In the meantime, Justin was hoping to look for a car.”



“I’ll have them deposit funds into Justin’s checking account today to cover the cost,” Tom said. “That will be in addition to the quarterly allowance that we will begin paying out. Also, when the bills for PIFA come in, just forward them to my attention and they will be paid for out of the trust.”



They left and Justin looked a little shell shocked. Brian decided that they would hold off on car shopping, even if the funds were there, and give Justin a couple days to get used to the idea that he had money.



Their next stop was the offices of the school district. It took almost an hour to fill out the proper forms and get the curriculum that Justin was supposed to be following, but once that was done, they had plenty of time go buy Justin a cell phone.



Justin was rather quiet the entire time, only perking up when he was fussing over Gus or asking questions of the store clerk about phone options and plans. It wasn’t until they were on their way back to the loft that Justin spoke directly to Brian again.



“My Gran always knew about me,” Justin said. “I never had to tell her about being gay or being an Omni; she just knew. She also knew that my dad would never accept me being different. I knew she had set aside the trust, but she never said anything about the other money. She used to tell me all the time how talented I was and that I shouldn’t waste my gifts, whether it be my shifting gift or my artistic gifts. But she died last year. I miss her.”



“I’m sorry,” Brian offered. “I never had anyone like that until Debbie came along. I don’t know what I would do without her.”



“At least I still had mom,” Justin said. “But I don’t even have her now. He took her from me, too.”



“Why did she stay?” Brian asked. “It was pretty obvious that she doesn’t agree with the pack or your father.”



“My sister Molly,” Justin said. “She stayed for Molly. She needs Mom more than I do right now. And she needs the pack. Molly is… special. She’s never been able to control her shifts.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



The week passed in a blur for both Brian and Justin. Justin spent his days with Gus while Brian worked. The new schedule seemed to be helping Gus sleep a little longer each night, but they weren’t perfect yet. Somehow they found time and energy for sex, but not much else. The realtor called and told Brian that the offer on the house had been accepted and all they had to do now was wait for the closing. In all, it could have been a worse week, but by Friday afternoon, Brian was getting restless. It had been more than a week since the last time he had gone out and he needed to be some place other than home that night.



That was why Emmett Honeycutt arrived at the loft at nine that evening, after Gus had been put down. And why both Justin and Brian were dressed for clubbing when he arrived.



“He’s asleep right now, but he should wake up again around 11,” Justin told Emmett. “He’ll need a diaper and there’s a couple bottles in the fridge. Just nuke one for 20 seconds. He might want a little attention, but he should go back down again pretty quickly.”



“Stop being a mother hen,” Brian told him. “It’s unattractive.”



Emmett laughed. “It’ll be fine. And if anything comes up that Auntie Em can’t handle, I’ll call.”



The two men finally left the loft and Brian muttered, “I must be desperate if I’m letting that queen watch my kid. He’ll have gone through every drawer and cabinet in the place before an hour is up.”



Justin laughed and then sobered. “Everything?”



Brian laughed. “Well, maybe not everything, but he’ll be looking for sex toys and porn and stuff.”



“Like the drawings I did of you naked the other night?” Justin said with a smirk.



“Like those,” Brian sighed. “Make sure none are missing when we get back. I don’t care if he sees them but I don’t want him taking one home so he can jerk off to it.”



They climbed into the jeep and were soon on their way for their first evening out together. Babylon was just starting to really fill up when they arrived. Brian took Justin by the hand and led him inside, ignoring the bouncer who was checking IDs and collecting the cover charge. They went straight for the bar where Brian ordered two doubles of bourbon and two beers. Shifters had a naturally high tolerance for alcohol, but Justin was fairly new to drinking still. He had only ever had the occasional glass of wine with special dinners at home, so the bourbon hit him harder than it hit Brian, but it helped loosen him up.



They sipped their beers slowly as Brian leaned his back against the bar and scanned the crowd. “Here’s how this is going to play out. We’re going to dance. Once we’re out on the floor, people will start to notice you. You’ll pick one, and then the two of you will follow me and my choice for the night to the back room. You’ll do as I do and the trick will have the time of his life and you’ll be well on your way to earning a reputation as a hot commodity. They’ll be lining up to let you fuck them before you know it.”



“Let me fuck them?” Justin asked. He’d rather only Brian fucked him, but he hadn’t really considered the fact that Brian might prefer the same thing.



“Your ass is mine,” Brian growled. “So if you want to fuck around, you’ll be the one doing the fucking. Got it?”



“Not a problem,” Justin smiled sweetly at him. He might be small in stature, but Justin truly was a strong Beta and could easily bring these men to heel.



They went to the dance floor and Justin showed Brian that he knew how to move his body. They made quite the sensual sight, moving with and against each other. The men in the club seemed to be drawn to them and they were soon surrounded by a crowd of strangers intent on making themselves known. Justin appraised the men on offer as he danced and finally settled on one that he thought would be both enjoyable and meet Brian’s high standards.



“I want to fuck you,” He whispered in the man’s ear and he was satisfied when he saw the man shiver in response. Justin took the man’s hand and followed where Brian was already leading his partner.



Brian’s partner was of medium build and had sandy brown hair—he looked like a surfer or skateboarder—while Justin’s was more muscular and about Brian’s height with red hair and a smattering of freckles all over his well developed body. He looked like a top, but Justin knew he would be the top tonight.



He followed Brian’s lead once they arrived in the back room and allowed the man to suck his cock for a few minutes before grabbing a hand full of hair and puling the man back to his feet. Justin spun him around and pressed his body to the wall while he grabbed a condom and lube from his pocket. Brian had been very thoughtful about providing the small packets before they left the loft and Justin made good use of the offering as he quickly prepared his trick before sliding his cock home and beginning to fuck the man. He used his hands to keep this trick’s hands in place and immobile, controlling the larger man with ease. It may have been his first time topping, but Justin had paid enough attention to the way Brian played his body to know just what to do. When he found the man’s prostate, he began a teasing and arousing rhythm that would have the man begging in no time at all.



Justin took a moment to glance over at Brian, just a couple feet away, as he plunged deeply into his trick. That man was already whimpering and crying out for release and Justin put more effort into producing the same affect from his partner. It didn’t take long. The fact that others in the back room were now watching the four of them with avid interest didn’t go unnoticed by either shifter, but they were far too busy enjoying the feeling of tight heat around their engorged flesh to care much at the moment. And when Justin’s trick began to come without a single touch to his cock, his voice raised in pure unadulterated pleasure as he shouted to the gods, Justin was able to enjoy the feeling of anal muscles spasming around his cock for the first time and followed the man over the edge with a loud groan of completion.



He looked back over at Brian, who was already buttoning up his jeans and watching him with a smirk on his face. “Not bad for your first time out.”



Justin snorted as he cleaned himself up and tossed the used condom away. “I was fucking phenomenal.”



The muscular trick, who was still leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath agreed. “He was the best I’ve had.”



Brian rolled his eyes at the man and dragged Justin through the maze that made up the back room. They went to the bar and had another drink before hitting the dance floor again. By the time they reached the floor, word of Justin’s prowess had spread and he had twice as many men to choose from for the second round.

Part Five



The loft was silent when they finally returned and found Emmett sleeping on the sofa. Brian kissed Justin deeply and pulled him up the stairs to their bedroom. Once the partitions were in place he began to pull Justin’s clothes from his body, but Justin stopped him briefly.



“What about Emmett?” Justin whispered.



“He’s asleep,” Brian said. “And who the fuck cares anyway? You fucked three men tonight in a room filled with people watching. He could make popcorn and sit beside the bed and I wouldn’t care. I want your ass.” He kissed Justin deeply and restarted his attempts to get him naked. “Do you know how hot it was to watch you fucking those men tonight, knowing that they want you, but that you belong to me? They can have a taste, but only if I say so.”



Justin chuckled lowly and helped Brian remove their clothes until they were both naked. “You are a possessive bastard. I think I like that.”



Brian didn’t answer; he just tossed Justin to the bed and then covered his body with his own. After more than a week of regular fucking, it didn’t take long for Brian to prepare Justin and soon he was plunging deep into his lover with fast and hard strokes that left Justin struggling not to cry out and wake Emmett or Gus.



Brian had one of Justin’s legs resting on his shoulder and the other was wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper with every thrust.  It was hot and sweaty and fast and furious and just as they were both teetering on the edge of their release, the unthinkable happened and Gus began to cry.



Brian froze, his cock still deep inside Justin and was torn between finishing and going to see to his son’s needs. “Shit!”



“As you were,” Emmett’s voice called out from the other room. It wasn’t nearly as sleepy as it should have been if he had just woken up. “I’ll get him.”



Brian started to thrust again, slowly this time as both shifters used half an ear to listen to Emmett coo to Gus. “If I thought he was at all serious and wouldn’t kill me, I would have made popcorn,” the dark haired man whispered to the baby as he changed his diaper.



Justin began to laugh and then Brian joined in. It took a little bit of effort to get back to where they had left off, but soon they right back where they had been. Only this time, Justin didn’t worry about waking Gus or disturbing Emmett. When Brian prodded against his prostate over and over again, he began to moan and grunt and babble as noisily as he wanted, and when he finally came, he shouted Brian’s name. Brian was never quite as vocal as Justin liked to be when he was bottoming, but he too allowed himself to voice his pleasure as he finally spilled himself.



It took them a few minutes to recover, but eventually Brian pulled the sheet up over their bodies and called out to Emmett. “You might as well come up here then, you nosey queen.”



“It’s not my fault Gus heard your voices and refused to go back down,” Emmett said as he handed Gus over to Brian. The fussy infant settled down again almost immediately. “See that, he knows his daddy.”



“Not his daddy,” Brian said distractedly. “His pops.”



“Well, papa Brian,” Emmett said around a yawn. “Since you’re both home, I guess I’ll be off.”



“You don’t have to leave,” Justin said. “You can stay on the sofa.”



“And be witness to your morning sex?” Emmett asked with a leer. “As tempting as that is, I think that Brian’s patience would be pushed past breaking if I did. Besides, it’s almost time for me to be up anyway. I’ve got a new job working at a bakery and let me tell you the hours are hell, but the product is delicious.”



“Thanks Emmett,” Brian said as the other man got ready to go.



“Anytime,” Emmett said with a smile. “And I mean that.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



The pattern was set after that. After a long week of work and caring for Gus, the two men spent Friday and Saturday evenings out at Babylon. Usually Emmett watched Gus, but sometimes Debbie would volunteer. She thought of the boy like a grandchild and was happy for a little time with the tyke. Gus was getting better about sleeping through the night as time passed, though he did still have some bad nights.



The move to the new house went as smoothly as Brian had anticipated. Hiring a decorator to furnish the new space and coordinate the transfer of their belongings helped. Justin loved his new studio and Brian found that he enjoyed having an exercise room at home. They had gotten the work on the basement done before the move and now they had a nice media room, an exercise room, a wine cellar and a good sized storage room down there.



In June, Justin took his exams and passed them with flying colors. Now that he had a car of his own, he and Gus spent much of the summer going to various parts of the city where Justin could paint or sketch the cityscape while Gus napped. As August rolled around, however, they still had not found a nanny for Gus and it was starting to concern Brian.



“Well, it needs to be someone you trust,” Justin said as they were packing a bag for Gus so that they could go to the diner for dinner with the gang. “Because obviously neither of us knows any shifters willing to work for us.”



“You think a human could deal with a shifting baby?” Brian asked skeptically.



“No, but I think they can watch a human baby and can be trusted to call you if he shifts,” Justin said.  “I mean, I’ve gotten to know your friends pretty well Brian and I think that most of them would accept our secret and keep it to themselves if we asked.”



“Not all of them,” Brian muttered.



“We only need one,” Justin said. “Or maybe two.”



Brian eyed Justin. “You have something in mind.”



Justin shrugged as pulled out a change of clothes and put it into the diaper bag. “Well, I just thought that Gus knows and likes Emmett. And Emmett, as much as he can be a nosey queen, loves Gus. I think he would keep our secret. And if he knew what to expect, he wouldn’t panic when it happened. Plus, he just quit his job at the bakery and is looking for work.”



“There’s more going through that blond head of yours,” Brian predicted.



“Well, I also thought that Debbie might be trusted to keep the secret,” Justin said. “I mean, she’s been babysitting for a while now and it won’t be long before Gus starts shifting. Once he does, do you really want to tell her that she can’t babysit any more?”



“I’ll think about it,” Brian said as he lifted Gus and put him into his carrier.



Justin grabbed the packed bag and headed down the stairs ahead of Brian. They stopped to click the carrier into the stroller and then they were off to dinner at the Diner. It was a cool evening for early August and that made the walk pleasant. They chatted a little bit about their day and Justin told Brian about picking up his texts from the university bookstore. Brian told Justin about a new account that he had signed that morning.



They found the entire gang waiting for them when they arrived. The first few minutes were spent, predictably, with everyone cooing over Gus. After a while, talk turned to other things and Brian had a chance to sit back and think about what Justin had suggested. He knew that Debbie might be skeptical at first, but if he showed her his other forms she would accept him. He also knew that she would keep the knowledge to herself. She loved him as a surrogate son and something like this wasn’t about to change that.



Emmett on the other hand liked to be the center of gossip, always ready to discuss the tidbits he picked up from his many acquaintances. Yet he had been able to keep certain things to himself, even without Brian having to ask. For instance, he had never once told anyone about the multiple times he had awoken to find Brian and Justin screwing in the next room before they moved from the loft. Now he stayed in the guest room, and there was no way that he could hear them or see them, but back then, their sex life had been pretty open to the man caring for Gus.



Emmett had also never discussed the one time that he and Brian had been out shopping and had run into his mother. It had been an ugly scene and one that had hurt Brian more than he had let on. That was how he had found out that his father was dead, through his mother’s ranting in the middle of the mall. But Emmett had respected Brian’s feelings without ever having to be asked and had never said a word about the incident to anyone. And if they did freak, Brian could always make them forget.



Maybe Justin had the right idea.



It must have been fate—or Justin’s manipulations—that ensured that Emmett and Debbie were the last of the group still lingering after the meal. Debbie was just getting off work and Emmett and Justin were discussing some new movie.



“Emmett, you free to come to the house for a few minutes?” Brian asked. “I’d like a chance to talk with you about something pretty important. You too, Deb.”



Justin smiled at Brian, knowing that Brian had decided to follow his advice. It made him feel more like a trusted Beta than just a fuck buddy when Brian did that. “I have a mixed berry cobbler in the fridge that we can heat up for dessert and serve with ice cream.”



“You don’t have to bribe us to come Sunshine,” Debbie told the blond with a fond smile.



It was settled and soon Brian, Gus and Justin were making the trek back to the house with Emmett and Debbie in tow. The talk was animated, as it must be with Debbie and Emmett involved, and the short walk passed quickly. Justin set to work in the kitchen with Emmett helping get the dessert and coffee together while Debbie followed Brian upstairs to put Gus down in his crib. Before long, however, they were all seated in the living room with their dishes of cobbler and coffee—or just a glass of bourbon in Brian’s case—and waiting for Brian to bring up the reason for the visit.



“Yeah, okay,” Brian finally said as he finished off his glass and got up to pour another. “So there was a reason I asked you both over.”



“We figured that out,” Debbie said dryly.



Brain rolled his lips between his teeth and then gave Debbie a falsely sweet smile. “Always so nice to have your support.” Before anyone else could continue the customary banter, however, Brain retook his seat and got serious. “Justin and I are really grateful to both of you for watching Gus for us. But there’s something you need to know about him, and us, if you’re going to continue to babysit.”



“You sound so ominous,” Emmett said nervously.



Justin smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s nothing bad, just important and very confidential.”



Brian nodded and then turned to Justin. “So, do we show them or tell them.”



Justin chuckled. “Tell them and then show them. No need to cause a panic.”



Brian nodded again and took a swig of his bourbon. “I told you that I left home because my home life sucked. But that was only part of the truth. I left home because the pack that I belonged to wasn’t tolerant of gay people so I left before they could throw me out.”



“Pack?” Debbie asked.



Justin nodded. “I left my pack for the same reason. Brian and I aren’t like most people. We have… gifts.”



“Gifts?’ Emmett said. “Like supernatural powers?”



“You could say that,” Brian said wryly.



“Like what?” Emmett asked excitedly. “Can you move things with your mind? Can you start fires when you’re pissed? Do you see dead people?”



Justin smiled at Emmett’s immediate turn to movie plots. “We can turn into animals.”



There was a moment of silence while the two humans in the room tried to process that information. “You’re shittin’ me,” Debbie finally said.



“Not shitting you,” Brian said. “We’re shape shifters. The legends of werewolves and Native American spirit guides had to come from somewhere. Well, our people are the sources of those legends.”



Justin hurried to explain. “There are several types of shifters. Wolf and feline are the most common. But there are others. Shifters usually form small societies, or packs, of like shifters. In the past it was for protection, but these days it’s more for governing our kind.”



“So you both left your packs because they were a bunch of bigots?” Debbie asked.



“And now we’ve formed our own pack, of sorts,” Brian said. “I’ve never heard of a pack with human members, but that is essentially what we are asking you to become. As a part of the pack, it is your responsibility to protect the pack. Mostly that means keeping it secret from other humans.”



“The reason we’re telling you this now is that Gus is going to start shifting soon,” Justin said. “He won’t have any control over it at first and we need to know that you’ll be able to deal with it if and when that happens.”



Debbie nodded and then turned to Emmett. “Are you buying any of this?”



Emmett shrugged. “They seem sincere, but it’s very far fetched.”



“Now we show them,” Justin told Brian.



“What form?” Brian asked.



“Think non-threatening,” Justin said just before he shifted and a rabbit sat in his place.



Brian laughed and shifted into a hawk and perched on the back of the sofa. It was the least threatening of his forms. Debbie and Emmet shared a look before Emmett cautiously held out a hand to Justin and the rabbit sniffed at him before hopping over so that Emmett and Debbie could both pet him.



“He’s real,” Emmett said with awe.



Justin hopped back to his spot on the sofa and shifted back. “We’re real. And what we’ve told you and shown you is real.”



Brian shifted back and Debbie asked, “So Gus could turn into a hawk?’



“Probably not a hawk,” Brian said. “We won’t know what his first form will be until he actually does change. Justin and I are both Omnis. That means we have the potential to be any animal.”



“Most Omnis only have one form,” Justin said. “But both Brian and I have four forms.”



“What else can you become?” Emmett asked.



“Well, I’m also a lynx, that was what my pack was,” Justin said. “And I can be a coyote or an eagle. Brian’s forms include the hawk you saw as well as a wolf, a mountain lion, or a bear.”



“I’m glad you chose the hawk,” Debbie said faintly. “I’m not sure I would have liked meeting up with those others.”



“Even shifted, I would never hurt you,” Brian told her quietly.



Debbie smiled at him. “I know that.”



“So, we have to watch out for Gus to start shifting?” Emmett asked. “I mean, does that mean we can’t ever take him out in public?”



“Not never,” Brian said. “But it will be better if there aren’t many people around him until he can control when he shifts. Otherwise I won’t be able to do damage control.”



“What sort of damage control?” Emmett asked.



Justin glanced at Brian before saying, “Brian can… help people forget things.”



“Is this something all shifters can do?” Debbie asked.



“No,” Justin said. “In fact most shifters only have the ability to shift. There are some, however, who have special gifts.”



“Do you have one of these special gifts?” Debbie asked.



“He’s an empath,” Brian said. “He can feel what other people are feeling, figure out their intentions, and sometimes he can help ease mental or emotional distress.”



“I had a friend who was a healer,” Justin said. “And there are other gifts, too.”



“If we can’t accept all this and keep your secret, you’ll make us forget, won’t you?” Debbie asked Brian.



“Only if I have to,” Brian said. “I don’t like doing that shit to people.”



“Have you ever done it to either of us before?” Emmett asked.



Brian sighed and drank his bourbon. “Only once. It was just after Gus was born. We discovered that he’s a shifter, so I…”



“Lindsay and Melanie could never have cared for him properly,” Justin explained. “We had to do what was best for him and them.”



“He wasn’t supposed to come live with you,” Debbie said. “But if he’s going to start turning into an animal randomly, I suppose I can understand why you did what you did. How do other shifters deal with the childcare issue? Obviously they can’t send their kids to daycare.”



“Most packs have a couple people willing to care for the young ones until they are old enough to control their changes,” Brian said. “But…”



“How long before he can control it?” Emmett asked.



“It depends,” Justin said. “Most kids don’t start changing until between their first and second birthday. Gus is going to be a powerful shifter, though, and he’s already starting to show signs that he’s ready. Most kids take about a year before they can control their changes, but again, Gus is powerful so he might take less time.”



“Or he might take longer since he’s going to be so young when he starts,” Brian said. “I’d guess that by two he’ll have control enough to be allowed to be with regular people more often.”



“How are you going to take care of him?” Debbie asked. “You can’t send him to daycare and you don’t belong to a pack.”



“Actually, that was another reason we asked Emmett to come tonight,” Brian said.



“Em, we thought that since you aren’t working right now that you might consider becoming Gus’ nanny,” Justin said.



“Me?” Emmett squealed. “I would love to!”



“Good,” Brian said. “Then you can start Monday. Justin can get you familiar with his daytime routines and go over any questions you might have about restrictions or what to do if he changes.”



“What do we do if he changes?” Debbie asked.



“If there are other people around, call me,” Brian said. “And don’t let them run off. I’ll handle everything else. If you’re alone, call either of us, but there’s not really anything anyone can do. When he’s first changing there may be times that he stays in animal form for days.”



The rest of the discussion was set aside after that because Gus woke up for his 11 o’clock feeding and Debbie and Emmet went home.

Part Six



It was the first week in October when Brian got the call from Emmett. “Um, Brian, I think maybe you need to come home.”



“Is it Gus?” Brian asked with concern, ignoring the looks of the other men in the conference room.



“Yeah, he’s changed,” Emmett said. “And I’m pretty sure that… yeah, you should definitely come home now.”



Brian hung up the cell phone and made his apologies to the clients before rushing from the office. He called Justin on the way. Justin was between classes and promised that he would skip his last class of the day and be home in twenty minutes. Brian, meanwhile, was driving like a mad man for the mile between his office and home. He made it there in record time and rushed into the house.



When he found Emmett and Gus, they were in the nursery. Emmett was cowering in the corner while an angry little lion cub bared his teeth at him and growled.  Brian paused in the doorway to laugh at the sight. “Fuck, Honeycutt. You let a cute little cub corner you?”



“Cute he may be, but those little teeth look very sharp,” Emmett said feeling relieved that Brian was home.



“What did you do to piss him off?” Brian asked as he walked right over and picked the cub up. Gus immediately began to purr his satisfaction as Brian scratched between his ears and petted him.



Emmett sighed. “We were playing and he wanted to play with my phone. When I told him no, he shifted and began that little display. Every time he settled down and I thought he’d be okay, he’d get riled up again as soon as I would move.”



“Well, that was very naughty,” Brian told Gus as he continued to pet him.



Now that Brian had him, Gus really was very cute and cuddly and Emmett took the opportunity to stroke his soft fur. “He’s really soft.”



Brian snorted but didn’t have time to reply because the mudroom door slammed and Justin shouted, “Brian? Emmett?”



“We’re up here,” Brian said and waited for Justin to come running up the stairs. “Hey princess. Look who figured out how to terrorize the nanny.”



Justin rolled his eyes at Brian but walked over to pet Gus. “Hey there, Gussy. You aren’t supposed to scare the sitter.” Justin looked to Emmett. “What did he do?”



“He had Emmett cornered when I got here,” Brian said with a laugh.



Emmett sighed. “He was just a little peeved with me for not letting him chew on my phone.”



They all went downstairs and Justin cooed over Gus while Brian and Emmett talked about what he could do to control the little lion cub. It was true that Gus’ teeth were pretty sharp when in that form, but Emmett was going to have to suck it up and teach the cub that he wouldn’t be intimidated. Shifters, especially young shifters, responded to authority. If Emmett showed fear or nervousness, Gus would terrorize him daily.



“A low angry growl and grabbing him by the neck should settle him down,” Brian explained. “If that doesn’t work, you can swat his nose, but not too hard. Just enough to remind him who’s in charge.”



“He knows who’s in charge,” Emmett muttered. “And it isn’t me.”



“It is you when we aren’t here,” Justin said as he took a seat beside Brian on the sofa. Gus was prowling around their feet, enjoying the freedom of movement that this form gave him. As a human, he was crawling but it was much harder to coordinate that body’s motions.



Gus stopped in from of Emmett again and narrowed his eyes. The three adults watched and Emmet knew that this was a big moment. If he backed down now, Gus might always see him as lower in the pack. Emmett glanced at Brian for a moment before narrowing his eyes at the cub and growling. The cub hesitated and Emmett grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and growled again.



Gus’s tail tucked between his legs and he lowered his eyes and head.



“You did it!” Justin praised with a smile as Emmett let go of Gus and sat back in his chair with relief. Gus sniffed at his pant leg and then leapt into his lap to be petted. Emmett was happy to comply.



“He’ll need reminded sometimes but as long as you keep your head and don’t let him get away with shit, you should be fine,” Brian told him.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Over the next few weeks, Gus seemed to spend more time as a lion than he did as a baby. Brian theorized that he liked being able to get around, but Justin worried that if he didn’t spend more time as a baby then he’d fall behind in learning how to walk or talk. But since there really was no way for them to force him to change, they let it play out. Brian and Justin often spent time in the evenings with Gus, the three of them in cat form. The mountain lion, lynx and lion cub all wrestled and played until Gus would be too tired out to keep up his form and shifted back into a baby.



Gus’ first birthday was quickly upon them and Debbie insisted that he needed to have a party to commemorate the occasion. Even though both Brian and Justin thought it was a bad idea, they finally relented. The guest list was limited to just Debbie, Emmett, Vic, Ted, Michael, Lindsay and Melanie. Lindsay had recently made the announcement that she was pregnant again—this time the father was from a sperm bank—and she and Melanie seemed to glow with happiness.



Michael, unknown to Brian and Justin, thought it would be a good idea to bring a date with him. Since Brian and Justin had moved in together, Michael had been feeling more and more neglected. Sure Brian still made a point of having lunch together a couple times a week, and sure they still danced at Babylon when Brian and Justin went out, but it wasn’t the same. Justin and Gus took up most of Brian’s attention and Michael was beginning to feel like he was being left behind. So he had decided that he needed to find a life of his own.



Ben was a great guy. He was a college professor specializing in cultural studies and he had traveled all over the world. Michael thought that he might have just hit the jackpot with this one. Though Brian had yet to meet him, everyone else seemed to like him. So Michael hadn’t thought it would be a big deal for him to the birthday party.



Justin watched as the gang milled about the room munching on the food and talking and laughing. Gus was eating up all the attention and had yet to shift, thankfully. The only person who had yet to arrive was Michael, and as soon as the doorbell rang, Justin smiled and went to answer it. Gus, ever the inquisitive child, followed right behind him, so Justin picked him up and they opened the door together.



That’s when all hell broke loose. Michael was not alone. There was a man with him and Justin had to assume that he was the person Michael had been dating. Before Justin could do more than register that there was an extra body there, however, Gus had shifted and was growling and snarling at the stranger.



“Holy shit!” Michael shouted and proceeded to take a step back. Ben, however, was blocking his way and held him in place.



“I’m sorry,” Ben said. “I shouldn’t have come.”



Justin nodded to Brian’s office and carried the still angry cub in there. Ben steered Michael into the room behind them. Justin growled at Gus and stroked his neck until he settled down, though the cub was still tense. Justin knew why that was, but it was obvious that Michael didn’t.



“What the hell is going on?” Michael asked.



Ben and Justin exchanged a look. Justin ignored Michael and said, “Ben, you’re welcome here. It’ll be fine. I’m going to go put Gus in his room and get Brian. Maybe you two should talk in the meantime?”



Justin left and closed the door behind him quickly, but not before he heard Michael say, “Will someone please tell me why Gus just turned into a lion?”



“That was not nice, Gus,” Justin scolded as he carried the little cub up to his room. “You are on time out. We don’t growl at people just because we don’t know them.”



Brian came up behind Justin as he sat the now unhappy cub into his crib. “Everything alright?”



Justin sighed. “Michael brought Ben. Did you know he’s a shifter?”



Brian’s eyes widened in surprise. “He is?”



Justin nodded. “Gus caught his scent and got all territorial. Scared the crap out of Michael. I left Ben to explain it to Michael in your office, but you probably should go make sure that Michael isn’t going to go screaming into the street.”



“I’ll do that,” Brian said. “And I’ll send Debbie up to stay with Gus until he settles down. I think you should be there for this discussion.”



Justin nodded. It only took a few minutes to get everything under control. Justin told the others that Gus wasn’t feeling well and they were going to have to cut the party short. Emmett raised a brow and Justin nodded to him. He went up to help Debbie rather than going home with Ted and the girls. Justin headed for the office where he could hear raised voices.



“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” Michael was shouting. Justin entered and took in the scene before him. Ben was sitting in the wingback chair by the book shelves while Michael paced and ranted. Brian was in his mountain lion form, just casually grooming a paw while he waited for Michael to finish.



“Fifteen years, Brian,” Michael said. The anger had faded and was now replaced by hurt. “In fifteen years you couldn’t have just mentioned this? I mean really, don’t you trust me at all?”



Justin leaned against the desk and watched as Brian shifted back to his human form. “I didn’t tell anyone until a few months ago. And then it was only because Gus needed someone to watch him.”



Michael looked at Justin. “He knows.”



“Because I’m one too,” Justin said.



Michael looked around the room. “So all of you…?”



Ben nodded. “I would have told you eventually, if things between us looked like they were going to work out. But this isn’t exactly something you share on the first date.”



Michael sat in the other wingback chair and sighed. “So, explain this to me.”



Brian and Justin shared their stories and then sat back to listen to Ben as he shared his own tale. “Unlike these to, I didn’t choose to leave my pack. I was forced out because I was caught in a compromising position with Greg, the Alpha’s son. It was not a pleasant ousting, either. The Alpha didn’t bother to wait for a formal meeting of the council. He tried to tear my throat out. Only the fact that Greg intervened saved my life. I ran and have kept running since.”



“What do you mean?” Michael asked.



Ben gave him a fond smile. “I mean, a lone wolf sounds very romantic, but in truth, wolves prefer to be in packs. I traveled and went from university to university because it kept me from dwelling too hard on the fact that I was alone. And then I took every opportunity to take research trips once I had my doctorate.”



“So you’re a wolf,” Justin asked. “Makes sense why Gus reacted that way, then. He hates when Brian’s a wolf, and he’s his father. And he doesn’t like my coyote form either. He must have something against canine forms.”



“Wait, you can change into more than one animal,” Michael asked Brian.



“Four,” Brian said. “So can Justin. And before you ask, no, it isn’t common.”



“So you are both Omnis,” Ben said with a nod. “I’ve met a few in my travel, but none with more than two forms. In some of the African packs, they would treat you like gods.”



Brian smirked at that knowledge.



“So now what?” Michael asked.



Brian and Justin shared a look before Brian turned to Michael. “You think you can keep this quiet? I mean, you can’t tell anyone about this that isn’t in this house right now. Debbie and Emmett are the only other humans we have entrusted with this knowledge. I want to trust you too, but I need your word that you will put our pack’s safety first.”



“Of course I will,” Michael said. “I would never do anything to hurt you or Gus. Or Ben.”



“In that case, welcome to the pack, Michael,” Justin said with a warm smile.



“I should go,” Ben said. Justin could feel the longing and wistfulness coming off the wolf in waves. He knew that Brian didn’t have to be an empath to feel it, it was so strong. And Brian’s next words proved that.



“You’re welcome to join the pack as well,” Brian said and looked at Ben. “We won’t kick you out for fucking anyone or anything. As long as you don’t mind the fact that we’re Omnis.”



Ben blinked at him and then let a smile grow across his face. “I think I could live with that. It would be an honor to join your pack, Alpha.”

Part Seven



“How did I go from no pack to this?” Brian muttered to Justin in bed that evening. After everything had settled down, those who were left, those in their pack, had finished the party, including the cake. Gus had still been a bit wary of Ben, and had stuck beside Brian most of the time, but he had returned to human form and hadn’t felt the need to shift again that afternoon.



“I have no idea,” Justin said innocently.



“It’s entirely your fault you know,” Brian pouted. “Before you, I was happy being alone.”



“Well, I’m glad you let me in,” Justin said. “I like being your Beta.”



Brian kissed Justin and said, “I like having you as my Beta, too.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Time seemed to fly past for the pack and things settled back into a routine. As the weeks and months passed, Gus gained more control over his shifting and Brian and Justin were pleased to find that he was developing his human skills as well. He walked for the first time just a few weeks after his first birthday, and he began using small words a few weeks after that. By the time he was 18 months old, Gus was much like any other toddler.



Brian and Justin continued to have their nights out at Babylon, and Justin continued to follow Brian’s lead when it came to picking up tricks. Truth be told, he rather enjoyed the hunt. It was something that the predatory side of him seemed drawn to. But Justin was only half predator. One of his forms was prey. Justin found that he enjoyed the times he spent alone with Brian more and more, and while he didn’t wish to stop tricking together, he wished that Brian would acknowledge the fact that there was more between them than just Alpha and Beta.



Kinnetik was doing better than ever and Justin’s schooling was right on track. Things were well with the pack. Ben seemed to fit right into the group, both pack and human, and Brian often spent time with him, talking about the other packs and shifters he had met in his travels. Emmett continued to watch Gus during the day and Debbie often watched him when the boys went out, but now Ben and Michael took turns as well. They were getting closer every day and no one was surprised when Ben went to Brian and asked for permission to marry the human. As Alpha, Brian had the right to refuse the match, especially since most packs frowned upon mating with non-shifters. Brian had laughed and said, “If you want to tie yourself down to one man, don’t let me stop you.”



And so Brian had done something he had never thought he would do: he performed a traditional mating ceremony for his best friend. Mating was taken very seriously among shifters and the mating ceremony was the most serious of all traditions among shifters. It didn’t matter that same sex marriage was not legal. To a shifter the tradition carried more weight than human law. So, when Brian stood before the pack and listened to their formal petition and declared the two mates, he was more moved by the moment than he had ever thought he would be.



Justin was thinking wistfully about their ceremony one Saturday afternoon, wishing that Brian would just go on and take the leap with him already, when the doorbell rang. Gus was napping and Brian was working, so Justin went to the door. He was wary, since they weren’t expecting anyone, and when he opened the door, his senses went on high alert.



“Justin?”



“Matt?” Justin said with some surprise. Matthew Ryerson had been two years ahead of him in school, but they knew each other from the old pack. “What are you doing here?”



“I left,” Matt said quietly. “Can I… can I come in?”



Justin used his empathy and realized that Matt was being sincere. He held the door wider and smiled, “Sure. Let’s go to the kitchen. I was just about to fix some sandwiches for lunch. We can eat and you can explain.”



Over lunch, Justin heard the entire story. Matt had gone to college at IUP and met a human girl that he was totally in love with, but he knew that the pack would never accept her. He had graduated from school and Garret had ordered him to come home, which Matt had done, but he’d asked his girl, Alicia to come with him. He had told her about what he was and about the pack, so she understood the need for secrecy. For a few months it had worked, but Alicia was getting tired of trying to hide their relationship and Matt was tired of it too. He wanted to get married and have kids and do what other people in love do. So he had made the choice to leave the pack.



“Only now that I’m gone…”



“You miss being a part of something bigger than you are,” Justin said. “You miss knowing that someone out there cares about your well-being. You miss the friendships and family and companionship that having a pack gave you.”



Matt nodded. “I heard… I heard that your Alpha performed the mating rite for a shifter and a human.”



Justin grinned. “He did. Brian’s not big on mating himself, but he believes we all have the right to love whoever we want to love. Actually, he’d say we have the right to fuck whoever we want, but he means the same thing.”



“Do you think…?”



“I’ll put in a good word,” Justin said with a shrug. “But you’re going to have to be the one who asks. He’s not as bad as all the stories.”



“There are new stories these days,” Matt said conspiratorially. “The young shifters are getting tired of the old ways. They talk a lot about you and Brian and how you’re building a new kind of pack. There are others interested in joining your pack. And not just from our old pack.”



Justin frowned. “Well, I predicted there would be others who left, but I’m not sure I expected anyone else to want to join us. I mean, we’re gay and we’re Omnis.”



“You were right about the old prejudices,” Matt told him. “Those of us who have spent any time out in the real world see how things are changing and we don’t want to be held back by outdated traditions and bigotry.”



“Well, good to know that there are intelligent shifters out in the world,” Brian said as he entered the kitchen.



“Brian, this is Matt,” Justin said. “He’s just left my old pack because he fell in love with a human girl.”



Brian snorted. “A breeder. I suppose you want to mate with the girl?”



Matt nodded. “I had hoped that you might… I’d like to formally request permission to join your pack, sir.”



“Sir? Fuck that shit,” Brian snorted as he moved over to kiss Justin hello and then steal a bite of his sandwich. “My name is Brian. And if you think you can put up with our unique pack, you’re welcome to join. Meet the rest before you go getting too set on joining though.”



“We’ll have a party,” Justin suggested. “Matt can meet the others and bring Alicia. They can decide together if this is something they want.”



“She would be pack to,” Brian said. “We already have three humans in our pack, so she wouldn’t be alone.”



“We’ll come meet everyone, but I’m pretty sure this is where we’re meant to be,” Matt said with a smile. “Thank you.”



Brian sat and Justin got up to fix him a plate of his own. While he worked, he continued to catch up with Matt. “So, you graduated from IUP. What was your major? What are you doing now?”



“I was a business and marketing major,” Matt said. “The job market sucks, though, so for now I’m stuck working as a waiter.”



Brian perked up his ears and began shooting questions to the kid about his various courses and what sort of work he wanted to do.  Matt, it turned out, wanted to go into advertising.



“I have a position open for a junior copy writer,” Brian said. “It pays shit, but it’ll still be better than waiting tables. And if you prove you can do the job, there’s room to move up.”



“I… sir!”



“Fuck,” Brian muttered. “What did I say about that sir shit?”



Matt flushed. “Sorry, Brian.”



“Sorry’s bullshit,” Brian said. “Just don’t do it again.” He got up and put his now empty plate into the dishwasher. “Be at Kinnetik at 8:30 Monday morning. If you’re late, I’ll give the job to someone else.”



Matt turned to Justin once Brian had gone. “Is he always like that?”



Justin smiled. “Yes. He acts like a complete and utter prick but at the same time he’s doing everything he can to help someone out.” Justin shook his head. “I’d known him for less than 24 hours when he let me live with him and made me his Beta. That was after telling me he didn’t believe in packs.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Others came to them in the weeks that followed. By the time Matt and Alicia had their mating ceremony, their pack had grown from seven people to twenty-three. They came from packs all around the region. Most had some reason to turn away from their packs. Some were gay, but not all. There were those who, like Matt, wanted to mate with a human. There were those who felt like they were being stifled by old traditions. There were some who had been abused.



There was even one who had simply left because she had been assigned by her Alpha to care for twin toddlers until their mother was healed from surgery on her foot. The Alpha, in fact the entire pack, knew Mary was horrible with children and tried to avoid them as much as possible. She believed it was the Alpha’s not so subtle reminder that she had a duty to mate and produce offspring for the pack. Brian had snorted at that and welcomed her to the fold.



These people would just show up that their house and Brian listened to their tales before allowing them to meet the rest of the pack. Of the 23 members of their pack, 6 were human, 7 were Omnis, 5 were Lynx, 2 were wolf, and 3 were leopard. Of the 23, 12 were gay and 9 were straight and two were too young to know. There were now three young ones, though one of those was close to adulthood. She and her mother had come from an abusive situation, and had run all the way from Chicago to get away before stumbling upon their pack.



And then, just days before Christmas, two more refugees landed upon their doorstep.



“Jennifer?” Brian said with a frown as he saw Justin’s mother standing in the cold night, snow falling fast around her and clutching something under her coat. “Come in here before you freeze.”



“Brian,” Jennifer breathed in relief. “Thank god.”



Brian had just shut the door when he saw a small head peeking out from the collar of Jennifer’s coat. “Is that Molly?”



Jennifer smiled and shrugged off the garment. Brian saw a small capuchin monkey clinging to Jennifer’s side. “Yes. Molly, this is Brian.”



The monkey chittered at them and then hopped to the floor and headed for the kitchen. The adults followed in time to see a very surprised Justin with an arm full of monkey and a jealous Gus growling in cub form at his feet.



“Mom?” Justin said as soon as he saw Jennifer. “Molly’s an Omni?”



Jennifer sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. “She is. Today was the first time she’s shifted to anything but a lynx. I thought she might be safe since you started long before you were eight. I was wrong. Your father found her and…”



Justin took the chair beside his mother at the table and let Brian deal with Gus. “It’s going to be okay. What did you do?”



“Well, I told him off for the bastard that he is,” Jennifer said with a small smile. “And then when he shifted, I took him down a peg or two. Your mother is no pushover. Craig may think he’s a Beta, but he’s got nothing on an enraged mother.”  Justin chuckled and gave her a hug.  “Afterward, I packed up our things and left. I told Sherry I’m leaving the pack and I’m divorcing your father. They’ll never let Molly stay now and she was the only reason to stay after you left.”



“What will you do?” Justin asked.



“She’ll stay here until she gets on her feet,” Brian said. “And she and Molly will be joining the pack.”



Jennifer looked at Brian. “Is that an order?”



“Yes,” Brian said with a smirk. “Don’t make me pull rank on you.”



Jennifer laughed. “Okay. We’ll stay for a few days. But the truth is, I’ve been thinking of divorcing Craig for a while now. I’ve got my realtor’s license and a job lined up with one of the better real estate agencies in town. And I have some money put aside to get us on our feet. Plus your grandmother left me a little something. The biggest issue is going to be who’ll watch Molly if I’m working.”



“Emmett watches Gus,” Justin said. “But there’s another young one about Molly’s age in the pack. Tim is a stay at home dad, but he used to be a teacher for kids with special needs. He might be willing to help with Molly. And I think she and Andy, Tim’s son, would get along pretty well.”



Jennifer nodded. “It’s worth talking to him at least.”



They got Jennifer and Molly set up in the guest bedroom, put Gus to bed and then headed off to bed themselves. After their bedtime routine, which included at least one round of fucking per night, they settled down and Brian held Justin in his arms.



“I’m glad they’re here,” Justin said. “But I’m sorry mom had to go through this. First me and now Molly.”



“Hmmm,” Brian grunted noncommittally. “There are two multi-form Omnis in your family, Justin. One might be considered an aberration. Two is a pattern.”



“You think one of my parents is an Omni?” Justin asked.



“So do you,” Brian said. Justin had not been surprised at all by Brian’s theory.



“I used to think it might be a recessive gene or something,” Justin said. “But with both of us being Omnis, yeah, the thought had occurred to me.”



“One of them is definitely a Lynx,” Brian said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have both ended up with a lynx as one of your forms.”



That made sense. After all, Gus had not taken on any of his father’s forms. But both Justin and Molly’s first forms were that of a lynx.



“I don’t think my mom is an Omni,” Justin said. “I think she would have told me after she found out I was, if she had been.”



“You’re probably right,” Brian said.



“So that means my dad must be,” Justin said. “How could he have hidden it for all these years? And how could he be such a prick to me about being an Omni when he’s one himself?”



“Who knows,” Brian said. “Maybe he was jealous that you have multiple forms. He might only have one form. Or maybe he was jealous that you felt comfortable with your forms. They say that some of the biggest homophobes are those who are fighting some latent homosexual tendencies themselves. Maybe it’s true of closeted Omni’s as well.”



Justin chuckled and then sobered and sat up to look at Brian. “You don’t think….”



“Who knows, princess,” Brian shrugged. “Now lay back down and let’s get some sleep. I have a feeling that a capuchin monkey doesn’t sleep late.”

Part Eight



It only took a week for Jennifer to get things set up and move into a condo with Molly. Tim took over her daily care, helping the child who was so painfully shy that she couldn’t stay in human form for long. Some of their old pack had believed that she was mentally impaired, but the truth was that Molly simply was more comfortable in her animal forms and found being human just too difficult. So she took longer to learn things because her animal mind didn’t process new information the same way her human mind could. But Tim was slowly able to draw the shy little girl out and soon she was learning alongside of Andy, who Tim home-schooled, and doing better than she ever had in their old pack.



Justin was thrilled to have his mother and sister in his life again, and the pack had a small gathering to welcome the new members. A few weeks later, Mel and Lindsay welcomed their daughter, Jenny Rebecca, into the world. Life was moving along for everyone. Ted had even met a man and was now happily setting up house with Blake. The only ones who seemed to be stuck in the same old rut were Brian and Justin.



The refugees continued to come to them through the spring and as Gus’s second birthday approached, their pack was up to 47 members. It was after a welcoming gathering that Brian finally brought up a subject that had been on his mind for a while.



“If we’re going to keep bringing new members into the pack we’re going to have to get a bigger place to meet,” Brian said as they cleaned up after the party. “This place is getting a little cramped.”



Justin agreed. “We should probably start thinking about pack laws too. I mean, it was one thing when we were just a small group and we could talk everything over. Now, though, people need to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t.”



Brian sighed as he flopped onto the sofa and pulled a joint out of his shirt pocket and lit it. “We’re going to end up just like all those other packs if we do that.”



“No, we won’t,” Justin said. “We can set up rules to protect the pack without restricting people’s rights to live their lives freely. And believe it or not, most of these people aren’t looking to do away with all of the old ways. They just want a place where they can feel safe and appreciated. The old packs might keep some safe, but only at the cost of losing their freedom and individuality.”



“We should have a council to help with the laws,” Brian said reluctantly. “Not elders. Just the fucking word makes it sound like they’re too old to know anything.”
“We could put it to the pack,” Justin said. “Let them nominate and vote in the council. Make things more democratic.”



“Great, another meeting,” Brian sighed. “Which brings us back to needing a meeting place.”



Justin chuckled. “We could buy Babylon and have the meetings there.”



Brian thought about that and hummed.



Justin looked at him. “It was a joke, Brian.”



“But it’s not a bad idea,” Brian said. “The club is empty during the day, and closed on Mondays. It has plenty of room inside. It would pay for itself.”



“And you could own your personal playground,” Justin huffed as he stole the joint from Brian. “Brian, seriously, can you imagine my mother willingly walking into Babylon? Even in the daytime? Buy the club if you want it, but don’t make that the pack meeting place. Everyone needs to feel comfortable in the meeting place, not just you.”



“Fine,” Brian said. He took the joint back and took a deep drag. “I’ll talk to you mother and see if she has any commercial listings that might work.”



“Better.” Justin said and then leaned over to cover Brian’s lips with his own, shotgunning the joint.



Brian sat back and looked at Justin who was reeling a bit from the shotgun. “I’m going to look into buying Babylon too.”



Justin just laughed tiredly at that and stole the joint from Brian again.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Jennifer suggested that they find a place near Liberty Ave since that was where Brian and Justin lived. Most of the new pack members lived or had moved within a mile of their Alpha and a meeting place near their home would be fairly central to the pack. Brian had agreed and so they set about looking for a place that didn’t make Brian cringe when he saw it. The old VFW hall they saw first was so reminiscent of the place his old pack had met that Brian refused to even go inside or consider it. There was a church next. Again, Brian hated it, though he did at least walk through the building.



Finally, Jennifer showed them an old YWCA building. It had been closed for a few years and needed some serious renovations. The club had closed because it was much smaller and offered fewer amenities than the YMCA down the road. It did have a large meeting room, however, that was in good shape. The rest of the building, including the weight room, pool, and racquetball courts, would need work, but Brian liked the idea of having an actual club for his pack. If the snobs from Justin’s old pack could have a country club, Brian’s pack could have a health club.



He signed the papers that day and within two weeks, the property was theirs and the renovations had begun. Justin didn’t wait for the renovations to be complete to call for their pack meeting, however. His duties as the pack Beta were increasing as the size of the pack increased. One such duty was to organize pack meetings.



The meeting room had a side entrance from the parking lot, so the pack was able to skip having to go through the construction to get to their destination on the night of the meeting. Justin had ordered chairs for the room and he, Ben, Michael and Emmett had spent time that afternoon setting them up. As far as Justin was concerned, there was no need to have everyone standing around like they used to in his old pack. Emmett and Justin had also set up a table with snacks in the back of the room.



“Looks like an AA meeting,” Brian scoffed as he entered the room a few minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. He came over and kissed Justin’s cheek, mitigating his teasing a bit. “You ready for this?”



“Our first real pack meeting?” Justin asked. “I think so.”



Brian looked down at his Beta. “Don’t doubt yourself, Justin. You are the best fucking Beta I’ve ever met. You’re strong, smart, and you balance my harsher qualities. They are lucky to have you.”



Justin smiled at Brian. He was the empath, but Brian always seemed to know what he was feeling. “Okay. I won’t doubt myself.”



“Good,” Brian said. He looked around the hall and noticed that everyone seemed to be there. “We should get this show on the road.”



Justin followed Brian to the front of the room and waited for the others to settle down. They were quick to do so as soon as they noticed that Brian and Justin were waiting. The hum of conversation slowly died out until the room was silent.



Justin smiled at them from behind the small podium that they had found in one of the closets. “Most of you know that we hit fifty members this past week. Our pack has grown from three to fifty in less than two years. I think that must be some sort of miracle. Because of that growth, however, Brian and I have discussed a few changes that we think will help the pack.”



Brian stood up and Justin sat down. “You can see the first change. This building will become more than a meeting place. We’re in the process of renovating it to accommodate the needs of the pack. This used to be a YWCA, so there are some things, like the pool and weight rooms, which will be fixed up and reopened. We’re also putting in a pack daycare. I expect that you horny breeders are going to be producing young soon, and we’ll need a place to raise them.”



There were chuckles from the pack, everyone by now used to Brian’s ways.



“It’ll take a few months to get everything up and running, but once it is, everyone in the pack will have access,” Brian said. “The other changes we’ve discussed aren’t nearly as much fun, but they are necessary, unfortunately.”



“Brian,” Justin admonished and the others laughed. It was not the norm for a Beta to scold an Alpha—especially in public—but Brian and Justin had a whole different dynamic than most Alphas and Betas.



Brian rolled his eyes and continued. “We need pack rules and we need a governing council. But since I don’t believe that age necessarily has anything to do with a person’s ability to think or reason, I’m not in favor of just putting everyone over a certain age on the council. Justin has suggested we do this democratically, so that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to start with a council of six, not including Justin and myself. As the pack grows, we’ll increase the size of the council, one new position for every fifty new members, with a limit of twenty. Any more than that and it gets hard to agree on anything. The term for the council will be two years, so these aren’t guaranteed positions for life.”



He turned to Justin and the blond took Brian’s place behind the small podium. “Okay, so, we want to give you a few minutes to consider your choices. We’ll take a five minute break and when we come back, we’ll open the floor to nominations. Once the nominations are all in, we’ll hear from each of the nominees. After another short break, we’ll vote.”



Two hours later, they had their council. It wasn’t surprising that Ben had been elected, but Jennifer seemed shocked to find herself sitting on the council, as did Debbie. She had protested that she wasn’t a shifter when her name had been called out, but several of the young gay men she had helped out over the last few months had argued it didn’t matter because she was pack. Tim, Mary, and Matt rounded out the numbers.



“I think you have picked a pretty good group,” Justin said. Neither he nor Brian had voted, not wanting to influence the pack’s choices. “One last thing before we adjourn. The council will be meeting to begin discussing pack rules next week. If you have any ideas or concerns, please feel free to talk to one of the council members, or with Brian or myself. Your opinions matter. We may not be able to make every suggestion a reality, but we will seriously consider each one. Thanks for coming out.”



The meeting broke up, but the pack did not disperse immediately. They were all talking excitedly among themselves. Justin and Brian watched as Michael and Emmett mingled freely with shifters and Jennifer and Debbie discussed their new responsibilities. They may not be a typical pack, but it seemed like their people were happy with how things were going.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The council met at Brian and Justin’s home a week later. Emmett had been recruited to watch Gus upstairs while the other eight talked in the living room over coffee, beer or bourbon. The council members had each received a host of suggestions and the first hour had been spent simply wading through them. They basically broke down to two categories: keeping the pack safe and keeping their rights intact.



“I’ve been thinking this whole week,” Ben said once they had moved on. “Brian, you’ve been trying to set up a new model of what a pack should be. Perhaps our governing laws should take a new form as well.”



“What exactly did you have in mind?” Brian asked.



“Well, rather than a list of rules and regulations, perhaps we should consider a code of conduct,” Ben said. “Buddhists have the Eight Precepts. Doctors have the Hippocratic Oath.  We don’t tell the people what they can and can’t do. Instead we set certain expectations for behavior.”



“I think I understand,” Jennifer said. “I tried to do that with Justin when he was growing up. Instead of telling him not to punch the neighbor’s son, I taught him to respect others and expected him to come to me if there was a problem.”



“Did you punch the neighbor’s son?” Brian asked Justin with a smirk.



“No, but I really wanted to sometimes,” Justin admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “He was a prick when we were kids, but he was okay once we got older. He gave pretty good head, at least.”



“So this code of Conduct, what exactly would that entail?” Debbie asked, ignoring Brian and Justin.



Ben looked around the group. “Well most contain several elements, but they are usually pretty specific to the group who are writing it. It could include the code of conduct, a section on discipline, and a section on governance procedures. Some include mission statements, or guiding principals. Sometimes they include an agreement from members to uphold the code. Some even have special codes for various positions within the organization.”



“So what are the guiding principals of our little club?” Brian asked.



“You should know, since they’re basically your principals,” Debbie retorted.



For the next two hours, they discussed the various aspects that they wanted to include in their precepts, disciplinary guidelines, and rules for governance. They hadn’t even begun to discuss the specific wording, but they had made some headway. Justin sent them all home with assignments to begin writing out various sections of the code.



A week later, they met again, this time armed with their various portions of the code.



“We need to set up rules in the governance section that balances the power between the council and the Alpha,” Brian said after they had read through the various offerings of the group. “I may be Alpha now, but I do not trust that someone might not come along behind me and abuse the position.”



“A lot of elder councils just go along with whatever the Alpha wants,” Justin agreed.



It took another two weeks, but they finally came up with a Code of Conduct that that they could all agree upon and be proud of.



Code of Ethics & Conduct
for Members of the Liberty Avenue Pack


Introduction



This Code of Conduct is an expression of the principles, values, standards, and rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of this pack in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of, and (b) respects the rights of all pack members.



All individuals (shifter or human, adult or youth) who are members of the Liberty Avenue Pack represent not only him/herself, but also the pack as a whole. This carries with it a great deal of personal responsibility. As a member of this pack, all individuals are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that is both true to the pack precepts and true their individual beliefs.



All members of the Liberty Avenue Pack are required to adhere to all federal, state and local laws, guidelines, standards and policies. The Governing Council, along with the pack Alpha and Beta, has the right to issue sanctions or take disciplinary measures, including but not limited to denying or revoking memberships to individuals in violation of such policies.



Precepts for All Pack Members



Members of the L iberty Avenue Pack subscribe to, and seek to live by, the principles of:



Tolerance: understanding that our pack is diverse and unique, accepting each of us as we are, we endeavor to give that same acceptance to others;

Respect: knowing that by giving respect to others, whether fellow pack members or a stranger on the street, we foster respect for ourselves;

Cooperation: realizing that we must work closely and harmoniously with others in order for the pack to prosper;

Responsibility: assuming always full responsibility for our actions, and accepting opportunities to fulfill our social, economic, and moral obligations…



The precepts continued on, but those were the most important of them. They had also included precepts for leadership, precepts for the council, disciplinary guidelines, and rules of governance. In all, the code wound up being four pages long.



“I’ll send out copies of the code with the invitations to the members for the next meeting,” Justin said wearily. It was after midnight when they finally finished. “I’ll tell them to look over the code and we can vote to accept it at the meeting.”

Part Nine



The code of ethics was voted into being a week later. Everyone seemed pleased by the fact that the council had attempted to allow everyone to keep their individuality while maintaining the safety of the pack. After the vote, they discussed the new daycare arrangement and Tim volunteered to be the head caregiver and teacher. And Michael was nominated to run the club once it was complete.



There was some discussion about whether they should invite several other humans to the pack. Alicia had a sister living in the area, Debbie wanted to include Vic while Emmett and Mikey both wanted to invite Ted and Blake. There was some division on the subject, so Brian told them all to consider the issue and they could present their arguments at the next meeting, but the decision to invite a new pack member remained the privilege of the Alpha. The pack could petition to include someone, but Brian had the final say. Personally, he was wary of including many more humans, but he had set the precedent of inclusion and was loath to change his stance now.



They celebrated Gus’ second birthday and the party went much more smoothly this time than it had the last. There were no uninvited guests and Gus, who had finally gained complete control over his changes, stayed human throughout.



By June, the renovations were complete and the pack—now 87 members strong—celebrated the grand opening. It was the first meeting that included the 7 new human members that had recently been invited to join. Ted had been flabbergasted, but Blake and Vic had both taken the news in their stride. Alicia’s sister and the other three humans were all fairly open-minded and agreed to keep the pack rules and safety. Justin’s insights and judgment about them had been invaluable.



Meanwhile, Justin was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of formal mating between himself and Brian. Brian had performed thirteen mating rituals since Ben and Michael’s and he had yet to acknowledge the fact that he and Justin were living as mates. For fuck’s sake, Gus called Justin Daddy. Justin wasn’t trying to force Brian to become monogamous. He was perfectly happy with how their relationship worked. But he did want to know that Brian was his and that he was Brian’s. He wanted the fucking commitment.



Thoroughly fed up with Brian’s lack of action, Justin finally broached the subject one evening when Debbie and Vic were watching Gus. They were getting ready to go out to Babylon, but Justin simply could not face another evening watching Brian fuck other men without some sort of assurance that Brian was his.



“Are we ever going to mate?” Justin asked.



Brian froze in the act of buttoning his shirt but didn’t turn around to face Justin. “I told you how I felt about mating.”



“You also said you didn’t believe in packs and look where that ended up,” Justin said.



“This is different,” Brian muttered.



“Why?” Justin challenged.



Brian finally turned to face his lover and grimaced at the determined look on the blond’s face. “It’ll change things.”



“The only thing that will change is that I would actually be able to call you my mate,” Justin argued. “We already live together. We fuck together. We’re raising Gus together.”



“I’m not having this discussion,” Brian said stubbornly as he sat down on the bed to pull on his shoes. “You know how I feel about this, so just drop it.”



“I don’t understand why you have to be this way,” Justin said miserably. Then he seemed to pull himself together and shored up his resolve. “I don’t understand it, and I’m not going to keep playing house with you. If you won’t be my mate, I’ll find someone who will.”



Brian blinked at that. “You’re leaving me?”



Justin took a deep breath but nodded.



“What about Gus?” Brian asked.



“I’ll always love Gus,” Justin said softly. “And I’ll always be there for him. Kids survive divorce all the time. He’ll survive me moving out.”



Brian stared hard at his lover. “Where are you going to go?”



Justin shrugged. “Emmett’s got an extra room.”



Brian gritted his teeth but nodded. “Fine. Are you coming tonight?”



Justin shook his head. “No. I think maybe I should… pack.”



“Fine,” Brian growled and stormed out of the room.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Justin waited until Brian was gone before breaking down completely. He needed to get out of the house before he changed his mind. He packed a bag of clothes and then went to the studio and grabbed some of his sketch books and pencils and shoved those into his bag. He could come back for anything else later.



When Justin showed up on Emmett’s doorstep, the tall brunet took one look at his tearstained face and wrapped him up in a tight hug. They spent the evening talking and crying and cursing stubborn men. In the end, Justin felt better about his decision and was ready to face life when the morning came.



For the next several weeks, Justin went through the motions. He went to class and took care of his pack duties. He spent time with Gus. He went to the club. He sometimes went to Babylon and picked up tricks. He and Brian were distantly civil towards each other when they were together for pack business or to hand Gus off. Justin put on a happy face for the world, but inside he was miserable. No matter what he said to Brian, he knew that there would never be a mate that could compare to Brian. Justin was destined to be with the obstinate man.



Meanwhile, Brian was slowly falling apart behind closed doors. In public, he was acting like a bear with a thorn in its paw. He growled at everyone. Even Cynthia, his loyal assistant, was ready to quit. The only person safe from Brian’s moods was Gus. And Justin. Brian refused to let the blond see the affect his absence was having on him. He refused to acknowledge the power the younger man held over him.



For three months they danced around each other and the rest of the pack stewed and gossiped about their disintegrating relationship. They did their best not to let it interfere with pack business, but it was almost impossible. The pack had come to be based upon the way Brian and Justin worked together to make the pack stable. Without the strength of their combined efforts, and with both barely functioning, everyone saw a decline in the way the pack was being run.



“We have to do something,” Ben told the council. He had called the council together to deal with the grumblings and problems that had been caused by the rift between Alpha and Beta.



“What can we do, though?” Mary asked. “They are both so stubborn.”



“Justin is absolutely miserable,” Jennifer said. “But he won’t go back.”



“And Brian’s more of an asshole than usual,” Debbie said. “But he’s the most obstinate man I’ve ever met.”



“Well, we have to do something,” Tim said.  “What exactly is the problem?”



Jennifer sighed. “Justin wants a mating ceremony. Which is perfectly understandable, but Brian refuses.”



“They live as mates already, or they did,” Matt pointed out. “What does a ceremony matter in the end?”



“It shows that Brian’s as committed to making things work as Justin is,” Debbie said. “I’ll work on Brian. I’ve been that boy’s mother for fifteen years; if anyone but Justin can make him see sense it’ll be me.”



“And I’ll work on Justin,” Jennifer said.



Ben nodded. “They both need to understand that the strength of the pack lies in their leadership and they aren’t doing a very good job at the moment. People are relying on them. They need to sort this out. Either get back together or figure out how to work together.”



“In the meantime, we need to work to reassure the pack that the pack is stable,” Mary said. “they need to know that this is just a temporary glitch, and not a reason to panic.”



Ben began handing out lists of pack members and they all agreed to visit and talk to everyone on their part of the list.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Jennifer appealed to Justin the next day. She took him out to lunch and gently explained how the rift between him and Brian was negatively affecting the rest of the pack.



“God, I’m so sorry,” Justin moaned. “I know it’s stupid to be so caught up on something that doesn’t really change anything, but it matters to me, mom.”



“It’s not stupid,” Jennifer sighed. “But is it worth destroying the pack over? You worked so hard to get it to where it is today.”



“I told him I was going to look for someone who would be willing to be my mate, but the truth is that I can’t even look at anyone else in those terms,” Justin said. “From the very first time I met Brian I knew he was destined to be my mate. I just can’t seem to convince him of that. After two and a half years we’re at the same place we were when we started.”



“He’s miserable without you,” Jennifer said. “He tries not to show it around you, but he’s completely unbearable with everyone. Only Gus seems to be spared from his horrific moods. He misses you. He loves you, even if he has no idea how to say it. Can’t that be enough?”



Justin gave a small self-deprecating chuckle. “It’ll have to be. I’m miserable without him too.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Debbie let herself into Brian’s office, ignoring Cynthia’s protests. “Brian Kinney, you asshole!”



Brian looked up from the copy he was reviewing and handed the papers off to the two men sitting across from him. “Make the changes we discussed and we’ll talk more later.”



Debbie watched the two men file out but her main focus was Brian. Once they were alone, she took a seat on the sofa and glared at him. “Well? Get your ass over here so we can talk. And bring the joint I know you have in your desk drawer.”



Brian bit his lips and rolled his eyes, but he complied. Once the joint was lit and passed, he asked, “What did I do now?”



“Besides being an asshole to everyone?” Debbie asked sweetly before taking another hit and passing the blunt back. “Don’t think I don’t know why you’ve been grumpier than that bear you can change into. You miss him.”



Brian looked away but didn’t deny it. “He made his choice.”



“Would it really hurt anything to just give him what he wants?” Debbie asked. “You love him.”



Brian shrugged. “Mating…”



“You and he aren’t your folks, kiddo,” Debbie said. “You’ve proved that. You’re raising Gus together and doing a fucking great job of it. You’ve been living together for almost three years. You aren’t your folks and no ceremony is going to turn you into them.”



Brian finally looked at Debbie. “He deserves someone who can give him the shit I can’t. He deserves someone who can say the words back when he tells them he loves them.”



“He deserves to be happy,” Debbie countered. “For some godforsaken reason you make him happy. You deserve to be happy too. And I’ve never seen you as happy as you are when you’re with him. Right from the very first time, I knew he was the one who would turn your world upside-down. And I was right. So stop being a shit and just do what it takes to keep him. Let yourself be happy Brian.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Justin was scheduled to spend time with Gus that afternoon and when he brought him back, Brian was there waiting for him. “Can we talk?”



Justin smiled and pulled Brian into a kiss. “I want to come home.”



“I never wanted you to leave,” Brian countered and then captured Justin’s lips again.



BJBJBJBJBJ



They were woken in the wee hours of the morning,  some time after their fifth round of make up fucking, by the miserable grunts growls of Gus in cub form. It was obvious almost immediately that something was wrong. Gus’ eyes wouldn’t focus, he was lethargic and too weak to even stand. Even through his fur, Justin could feel that his body temperature was too high.



“We need to get him to a doctor,” Brian said.



Justin looked down at the sick child. “Brian I don’t think he can change back right now. We can’t take him to a doctor.”



“What the fuck do we do then?” Brian asked as he began to pace the room.



“I’ll call Daphne,” Justin said quietly. “She’s a healer.”



Twenty minutes later, Daphne was at their door, still dressed in her pajamas with her jacket thrown on over top. She took one look at Gus in Brian’s arms and smiled. “Give him here.”



Brian wasn’t sure that such a tiny girl would be able to hold Gus, but she proved stronger than she looked. Daphne stroked and petted Gus while she whispered soothing words into his tawny ears. As Brian watched, the shivers that had been running through Gus for the last hour began to subside and he could see some life return to his eyes. This was the reason healers were so valued in a pack.



It didn’t take long before Gus had calmed enough to shift back into his human form. He squirmed out of Daphne’s arms and toddled over to Justin to be held. He still looked slightly feverish and very tired, but he was on the mend.



“He’ll be okay,” Daphne said. “Let him sleep as much as he wants today and make sure he get lots of juice and water. I’d say he’ll be completely well by tomorrow.”



“Thank you,” Brian said with complete sincerity. “Are you… Will they find out you were here?”



Daphne shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t really lie to my mom, though, so probably.”



Brian nodded. “If you need us, if you need help or anything, we’ll be there. Just call.”



Daphne smiled and nodded. “I will. I should probably get back before mom worries too much.”



Justin came over and gave her a hug. “Thank you. I’ve missed you so much, but this isn’t the way I wanted our reunion to be.”



“We’ll have a proper reunion, complete with cheesy teen romance movies, popcorn and gummy bears someday,” Daphne promised. “I’ve got to go.”



Justin watched her disappear into the early morning light. “Sherry’s going to know within an hour. The real question is whether she’ll protect her daughter or bring her before the elders.”

Part Ten



Word came the next afternoon. Daphne was being called before the elders. Justin swore up and down but Brian assured him that she wouldn’t face them alone. In fact, there were a number of their pack who decided to go to protect the young healer, including Jennifer and Matt. Their entrance did not go unnoticed; with so many of them it was impossible to stay in the shadows as Brian had once done.



“You have no right to be here,” Garret said as soon as he saw the entourage enter. “This is a pack meeting.”



“Daphne has been called before you because she healed our son,” Justin said coolly.



“Your son?” Craig sneered.



“Our son,” Brian confirmed.



“Fine,” Garret said as if he had an actual say in the matter. “Let the outcasts stay. They’ll soon have another piece of trash to join their so-called pack.”



Brian and Justin saw the way the Sherry’s face tightened when Garret said that. It looked like she hadn’t abandoned her daughter to her fate the way Craig had abandoned Justin.



“Daphne,” Sherry said gently. “Can you explain your actions?”



Daphne looked nervous but nodded. “Justin called and said that his son was sick and stuck in his lion form. They couldn’t take him to a regular doctor and his fever was very high. So I went over to help him.”



“So you admit that you willfully broke pack law by associating with two forbidden shifters?” Craig pressed spitefully.



“There was a child’s life at stake,” Daphne said, her voice stronger than before. “My power, my calling, is to heal all who are sick or injured. There is no limitation to that calling.”



“Pack law puts limitations on that calling,” Garret said snidely. “The riffraff should have been left to die.”



There were murmurs of discontent through the room and Justin and Matt had to physically Brian from attacking Garret for that comment. It would not be a smart move to engage the old pack in a fight with so few of their own pack in attendance.



“You would allow an innocent child to die over your petty bigotry?” Justin asked. “And you wonder why your pack is dwindling.”



“We may be outcasts,” Brian said. “But your people seem to like us better than they do you.”



It was true. There were twelve people that had originally come from Garret’s pack that had chosen to leave in favor of the freedoms that Brian offered.



“Weaklings,” Garret growled.



“I think not,” Jennifer argued. “Some of the best and brightest have left because you refuse to see past your prejudices. Matt, Justin, Emily, Sophie, Tony… these were the future leaders of your pack, but they have left you because you are blinded to the need for change. And now you sit there and threaten Daphne, one of the most gifted healers I have ever seen with expulsion for doing what she was born to do. You are a fool Garret.”



There were more murmurs from the pack around them and Justin stepped forward to hold Daphne’s hand. “Healers are a gift to our people, but they cannot walk away from the ill or injured, just as an empath cannot help but sooth those in emotional pain. It is who we are.”



“I will not apologize for saving a life, any life,” Daphne said quietly.



“I call for the immediate expulsion of Daphne Chanders,” Craig said with a malevolent smirk aimed at his son.



Sherry looked shocked. “You would truly expel her over a minor transgression such as this? She did no harm to our pack. She only healed a sick child.”



“She associated with them!” Garret shouted. “She’s as bad as the rest of them!”



Sherry shook her head. “For too long I have allowed you to lead this pack to ruin. I am ashamed to call you Alpha.” There were murmurs of agreement from those standing around the ballroom. “Jennifer is right, we have not only lost the confidence of our pack, but we have pushed our young ones out because of our need to hang on to outdated traditions and blind prejudice. Well I, for one, refuse to allow this to continue. I call for the immediate removal of Garret as Alpha.”



“I’ll second that,” one of the elders said with a smile. She looked down at the group standing before them and saw none of the weakness that Garret claimed but strong, courageous and innovative shifters. That is what they had been losing and it was time to stop the steady decline of their pack.



Unlike most votes, the removal of the Alpha had to be voted on by all pack members and they had to have at least two thirds support for it to pass. It was a risky move for Sherry. If the vote failed, she would more than likely be forced to leave the pack along with her daughter. Ballots were handed out quickly to the pack members and votes cast into a box on the elders’ table. It took a while for the votes to be tallied, but when they were one of the elders rose from his seat and called for order.



“The votes have been cast,” he said with authority. “Garret has been removed from the position of Alpha with 32 votes to keep him and 347 votes for his removal. We will now accept nominations for a new Alpha.”



Brian rolled his eyes at Justin as they stood there for another half hour while the pack went through the formal nominations and then the election. It was no real surprise that Sherry was voted in as the new Alpha. Normally, an Alpha would name his successor but, since the pack removed Garret, he lost that right. Garret and Craig were both escorted from the dais and Justin smirked at his father’s disgrace.



“My first formal act as the Alpha of this pack is to put forth motion to remove all laws that restrict our pack from interacting with other packs, including the pack of Brian Kinney,” Sherry said.



The elders quickly voted in favor of the motion.



“In light of the change in laws, I move that we dismiss the charges against Daphne,” Sherry said.



Again the motion passed.



“In the coming days, we will begin to review all of the pack laws that are driving our young ones away,” Sherry said. “We will review all of our preconceived notions and begin looking for ways to bring our pack out of the dark ages and into the new millennium. I extend an olive branch to your pack Brian Kinney.”



Brian snorted. “We’re good.”



“And if you’d like we’ll offer the assistance of some of our pack who have been crucial in structuring our pack laws to be more inclusive,” Justin offered. “As a thank you for healing our son.”



“Your thanks have already come through your support of my daughter here today,” Sherry said kindly. “But your offer of assistance is a welcome one. I thank you.”



Once the meeting was adjourned, there were many hugs exchanged as Matt was finally able to introduce his mate to his family and Sophie saw her mom for the first time in almost a year. But the biggest hug of them all was from Daphne.



BJBJBJBJBJ



There was a celebration at the club that afternoon. Not only was the news that one of the old packs had called a truce a great relief for many of their pack, but it was soon obvious to everyone that Brian and Justin were back together.



There was hope that now that one of the old packs had accepted them that more would soon follow. The members of the pack didn’t necessarily want to return to their old packs, but to be able to spend time with their families and friends again would be a huge relief.



Brian and Justin had begun a revolution without bloodshed, and they were eager to see the final results. If this single victory was any indication, they were sure to turn the world upside-down.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“So, Sherry seems like she’ll make a decent Alpha,” Brian said in bed later that night. “She said something about inviting those who have been expelled back into the pack.”



Justin shifted so he could see Brian’s face. “I’m not going back. My place is with you.”



“No matter what?” Brian wondered.



“No matter what,” Justin agreed. “I… I was wrong to leave. Being with you is more important than some measly ceremony. I know how you feel about me. I know my place in your life and I’m okay with that.”



Brian nodded. “Good.” They were both quiet for a time before Brian spoke again. “Think Sherry’ll perform our mating ceremony for us? Or we could ask Ben to do it.”



Justin sat straight up and looked down at Brian. “What the fuck?”



Brian shrugged and pulled his lips between his teeth. “You said it won’t change anything between us, but I think maybe it will. I think maybe it will make things even better.”



Justin blinked at him in shock. And then a smile slowly formed on his lips. “You do, do you?”



Brian grinned back. “Maybe. Besides, the pack needs the stability.”



“So we’re doing this for the pack?” Justin asked skeptically.



“And to make you happy,” Brian agreed.



“And it has nothing to do with your happiness?” Justin asked quietly.



Brian pulled Justin down on top of him and kissed him breathless. “I thought you were so good with that empathic shit. You should know by now that your happiness is my happiness.”



Justin grinned down at Brian. “I just had a thought.”



“That’s dangerous,” Brian teased.



“Fuck you,” Justin said as he swatted his lover’s arm. “My dad’s gonna shit when he hears about this.”



“Another good reason to do it,” Brian said. “He and my mom can get drunk and curse our names together.”



Justin laughed. “Sounds like a party.” He kissed Brian once more before settling back into his side. “You sure this is what you want?”



Brian thought about it and had to say, “Yeah, I’m sure. As long as we can still trick.”



Justin chuckled. “Absolutely. Hunting for tricks is one of my favorite pastimes.”



“I knew there was a reason I loved you,” Brian murmured sleepily.



Justin froze. That was the closest Brian had ever come to declaring his feelings for him and it felt like a huge step, even bigger than agreeing to the mating ceremony. Justin surreptitiously wiped tears from his eyes before whispering, “I love you too.”



Brian kissed the top of Justin’s head and closed his eyes. He had once thought he had everything a man could want in life but Justin had shown him how much more there was to life and then had offered him the chance to make those things his own. Justin had given him a pack, a son, a family, and a home. He thought back to that night on Liberty Avenue three years ago and smiled. Justin had given him the world when he had given himself to Brian and Brian was more grateful than he could ever say.



“Thank you,” Brian said softly into the dark room.



“Welcome,” Justin said, already half asleep.



Brian chuckled and pulled him tighter to his side and vowing to never let this miracle go.



The End