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  “I love you, Terry.”

  I moaned with pleasure. “I love you too, Andrea.” It was true. Our link allowed me to see the strong, no nonsense woman. The bold leader that would put it all on the line for her people. And the tender warmth of her passion that drove everything else. She cared deeply about her pack and the other people important to her. Feeling this from her made me glad I was counted among those she cared for.

  “Roll over, big guy. We need to get dressed and make sure our lovemaking didn’t get too much attention.”

  I chuckled as my now soft sex slid free. Then I rolled off and laid on my back for a second. It amazed me how everything looked and felt so much better after sex.

  That was when the guilt hit me. Did I have a right to enjoy myself after having hurt my Tua? Was I allowed to love while they lay unmoving?

  “Yes! Damn it!” Andrea thought to me. “We needed this, Terry. I needed you to claim me and make me yours. It was the only way I was really going to allow you to be my alpha, to be alpha of alphas. Don’t feel bad about what we’ve done, Terry.” She leaned over and kissed me. “Never feel bad about doing what we did. Yes, you should feel bad about what happened with your other Tua, but not about this.”

  “Okay,” I thought back.

  I briefly wondered if I had what it takes to lead a woman like, Andrea or if I should let her lead. She looked over at me with a scowl, but I had dismissed the thought as soon as I had it so her look softened. She didn’t comment.

  I sat up and looked around for my clothes. Looking at my wolf I watched as she sat next to me with her shirt still pulled up. As she pulled her pants up I felt a little sad that she was covering herself and I would no longer be able to see her. Her body was beautiful, and I didn’t know if I could ever get enough of seeing her.

  Andrea’s hands slid up her torso and cupped her breasts. Her fingers pinched and caressed her nipples causing my dick to go hard and my eyes to get wide. I looked up to see her smiling.

  “Men are too easy,” she said with a chuckle.

  “How could I not want to see those?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know they are small. I’m practically the chairman of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.”

  “They are small,” I replied. “But they are perfect just the way they are. I could never tire of your breasts. I want to reach out and touch them right now.”

  “And you really mean that. I don’t know if I can get used to knowing what’s in your head. It’s just weird. But, I won’t talk down about myself knowing you really like what you see.”

  “Like? I love what I see.”

  She chuckled. “I know you do. I might require a reminder from time to time though.”

  I leaned over and kissed her deeply cupping one breast as I did. She returned my kiss with just as much passion. My desire for her spiked and I knew if we didn’t stop we would never get anything done. Andrea pressed herself into me as we continued kissing. I pulled back, breaking the kiss and stopping before it was too late.

  “Sorry,” I said. “But we…”

  My wolf placed a finger on my lips cutting me off. “I know, we have work to do. It's okay. We will play later.”

  “Yeah, work first. We still have to prepare for… oh damn.”

  “What?” Andrea asked with concern on her face.

  “I was going to pull up your skills and see where you stood. See where I stood as well.”

  “Skills?” She asked.

  I spent the next few minutes explaining about my ability to see skills for my Tua and myself.

  Chapter 23

  After I was sure Andrea understood the skill system and its benefits I did exactly what I said I would do. I willed the skills window to open. It popped up in my field of view and I selected the Tua tab and Andrea.

  It surprised me to see that Andrea had six unspent points. Not only that, but there was a breakdown of why she had six points.

  3 points received for submitting.

  3 points received for being an Alpha.

  The new data had to be from now possessing both bracelets. I would have to explore my tree to see how it changed. First, I needed to finish up with Andrea.

  Bite 1:

  All wolf Tua will gain an increase in jaw strength giving them a 50% increase to biting force.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Sharpen 1:

  All wolf Tua will gain the ability to sharpen their claws to razor sharpness for a short duration. Last for 30 seconds, cooldown of 5 minutes.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Agility 1:

  All wolf Tua get an increase in agility by 20% making them more agile and harder to hit.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Night’s Embrace 1:

  All wolf Tua will gain an addition to strength, agility, and durability by ten percent at night when the moon is visible.

  Cost 1 point.

  Initially, I spent four points buying each skill. With that finished I had two more to spend with four more abilities to choose from.

  Bite 2:

  All wolf Tua will gain an increase in jaw strength giving them a 60% increase to biting force.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Sharpen 2:

  All wolf Tua will gain the ability to sharpen their claws to razor sharpness for a short duration. Last for 30 seconds, cooldown of 10 minutes.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Agility 2:

  All wolf Tua get an increase in agility by 40% making them more agile and harder to hit.

  Cost 1 Point.

  Enduring Howl 1:

  All wolf Tua will gain the ability to howl and inspire the wolves around them making them fearless for 30 seconds, cool down of 5 minutes.

  Cost 1 point.

  The new fourth skill was intriguing, and I chose it as one of the remaining two points. The next decision came down to offense or defense. Agility would allow my wolves to move out of the way of an attack while the other two skills were offensive. I chose Agility with the thought the longer my wolves could fight the greater chance we had of overcoming greater numbers of enemies.

  With Andrea finished I willed the screen to go back then selected myself. This was where I found the biggest surprise. Not only did I have my skill tree in the shape of connected spheres, but there were three basic stats.

  Constitution: 6

  Dexterity: 5

  Intellect: 6

  As exciting as it was to see I wondered exactly how they affected me. I was used to seeing many more stats in games like strength, stamina and so on. It was something to figure out later. For now, I had unspent skill points, five to be exact. A little more investigation showed me a breakdown of skill point acquisition.

  1 skill point gained for taming a wolf.

  1 skill point gained for taming a snake.

  1 skill point gained for taming a turtle.

  1 skill point gained for taming a ferret.

  1 skill point gained for taming an additional wolf.

  The fact that I haven’t received a point for Cassie and Dragon was interesting. Something to figure out later along with the lack of a dragon tree. Time to allocate.

  Constitution: 7(+1)

  Dexterity: 7(+2)

  Intellect: 8(+2)

  Intellect seemed like a no brainier since I was the man in charge. I also went for a well-rounded build so I could function well in any role. So far I have done a lot of combat and thought being prepared to for a fight was a good idea. Now to finish up with any ability points, if I gained any.

  The all too familiar screen came up with the sphere representing me in the center more spheres branched out representing my Tua, or probably the types of Tua I had in my pack. The Turtle, Serpent, and Ferret sphere were gray and would not open for me. As before, there was no Dragon sphere. The Wolf sphere, however, was available. So I opened it.

  To my delight, the abilities I selected from Miranda’s points were still there. I had four more points to spend with a note stating that three points came from taming a second w
olf, and one point was a bonus for taming a pack alpha. I started by reviewing the previously purchased abilities.

  Wolf Sense lvl 1:

  Werewolves make bloodhounds jealous. Your nose is as sharp as a werewolf making your olfactory senses 300% better than human norm.

  Next Level: Not Applicable

  Cost: Not Applicable.

  Dexterity lvl1:

  A dog couldn’t catch a cat if it moved like a sloth. Increase your dexterity and all it entails by 60%.

  Next Level: Increase dexterity by 65%.

  Cost: 2 Ability Points to upgrade.

  Do you wish to purchase Dexterity 2?

  Fierce Bite:

  Don’t look a gift wolf in the mouth, because you are liable to get bitten. Increase attack power of your Tua by 80% for 20 seconds

  Next level: Increase attack power of your Tua by 80% for 25 seconds.

  Cost: 1 Ability Point.

  Do you wish to purchase Fierce Bite?

  Connection lvl 1:

  Increase your connection to your Tua. Increased connection allows for fifty percent more energy gained when the associated gate is opened taking fifty percent less energy from the target the gate is associated with.

  Next Level: 60% more energy received and 60% less taken.

  Cost 2 Ability Points to upgrade.

  Do you wish to purchase Connection 2?

  Previously I had selected Connection, Wolf Sense, and Dexterity. I was still satisfied with the choices I previously made, so it was time to upgrade. I purchased two upgrades, one for Dexterity and the other from Connection. Gaining more power while reducing the strain on my Tua was a win in my book.

  Dexterity lvl 2:

  A dog couldn’t catch a cat if it moved like a sloth. Increase your dexterity and all it entails by 65%.

  Next Level: Increase dexterity by 70%.

  Cost: 4 Ability Points to upgrade.

  Do you wish to purchase Dexterity 3?

  Connection lvl 2:

  Increase your connection to your Tua. Increased connection allows for 60% more energy gained when the associated gate is opened taking 60% less energy from the target the gate is associated with.

  Next Level: 70% more energy received and 70% less taken.

  Cost 4 Ability Points to upgrade.

  Do you wish to purchase Connection 3?

  Once I made my selections, I willed the window closed. Another window popped up over the first informing me I was about to spend ability points and status points. It asked for confirmation of my choices and I selected yes.

  I took in a sharp breath as power rushed through me. My muscles tensed starting at my chest and working down my arms, and toros. Simultaneously, the sensation moved up into my neck and down my back. It stopped at my toes. The power of Tuatha that I felt when borrowing from my Tua also spiked. When it came back down, it stayed above normal giving me a feeling of being charged without pulling from my Tua. Upgrades with both bracelets had an immediate effect, and I liked it.

  “You look like you creamed yourself,” Andrea said.

  “Almost feels like it,” I replied. Without the windows in the way I saw my wolf seated in front of me staring. “Do you feel any different?”

  “Yeah, I felt a change after you accepted me. Then just a moment ago I felt a rush like lightning in my veins. I still feel some of it, like its permanent.”

  “That’s because it is, I think. Or maybe permanent for as long as you are with me. Who knows? We’ll have to find out. There are so many questions and every day I feel like we get more questions than answers.”

  Andrea leaned forward and placed her hand over mine. “That’s part of life’s little mystery. The questions give us a reason to do more than just survive. They make us want to seek answers and thrive. We’ll find answers, Terry. We’ll do it together and we will find new questions together.”

  I smiled at her. Andrea was nothing like any of my other Tua and I was glad she was with us. “Because we are never alone,” I said.

  “What’s that?” She asked.

  “It's something I’ve come to saying about us, Tuatha and Tua that is. We are never alone.”

  “Yeah,” she sat back and her eyes went distant. “I like it, and its fitting. We are never alone.” Her gaze came into focus and locked on me. “Now, with our pack behind you, Terry, you will never be alone. Not as long as I rule.”

  “Thanks, Andrea. That really means a lot. I’m glad to have you in my life. I feel like I can be a better person because of the influence you and my other Tua have on me.”

  Andrea smiled. “Come on. I think I see Dris coming.”

  We walked down the hill hand in hand out of the line of site to the compound so we used it as a staging point. Dris stopped his bike a few feet away, killed the engine, put down the kickstand and stood, raising his leg up and over the bike.

  “We should be good to go,” Dris said as he walked to us. “I see you two are getting along well.” He looked at me with a stern expression. “You better not get any ideas about hurting our girl, here. The pack is fond of her and will take turns kicking your ass if you hurt her.”

  Andrea laughed while the bottom fell out of my stomach. “Stop, Dris. Terry is a good man and I don’t think we have to worry. Right, Terry?”

  “Right. No plans to hurt anyone. I’m happy to have Andrea in my pack and happy to have all of you, Dris. No plans on getting my ass kicked.”

  Dris laughed and clapped me on the back with a hand so big it almost covered my back. “Just fucking with you, Terry. Andrea says your good people, and that’s good enough for me. I suspect the same will be for the rest.”

  “We set?” Andrea asked turning us back to the topic at hand.

  Dris gave one curt nod. “Boys and girls are moving into position as we speak.” He pointed to his bike where he now had a small trailer attached. “Set it up and got us some gear. It’s in the trailer. You good with a rifle, Terry?”

  “Never used one,” I replied feeling inadequate.

  Andrea rubbed my back. “We were all rifle virgins once. Don’t sweat it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Shotgun?” Dris asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew he had to be feeling doubt in the plan after finding out my experiences with firearms. “I’ve used a pump-action shotgun before.” I left out it was once and recently.

  “That will have to due. I have a pump action Benelli that should do you. I wanted her for myself, but them’s the breaks I guess. How does it look?” He pointed his chin in the hill's direction.

  “Not good,” I said. As we stood there, I explained the situation in the compound as we knew it. Dris didn’t show a reaction as I spoke which surprised me. If I was right, we were in for one hell of a fight. A rougher fight then we may be prepared for.

  Chapter 24

  Andrea, Dris, and I laid on our bellies watching the compound. The sun had just set, and it was almost time.

  “The first part of the plan should kick off any second now,” Dris said.

  He was a giant of a man and I didn’t want to meet him in a dark alley, but I was glad he was on my side. A large chunk of the plan had been his brainchild. Also, he took it upon himself to get everything set up while Andrea and I were gathering intel and other things.

  “There.” Dris pointed off to the left.

  A bright orange spot came into view. It moved quickly toward the wall. I activated Wolf Sense and my sight shifted. Now I could see like a werewolf. The orange spot became a fire on top of a bottle held by a rider on a motorcycle. The rider got within throwing distance and let the bottle fly. He turned and gunned it disappearing into the darkness.

  The bottle shattered and flames jumped to life. The beasts next to the fire jumped and tugged at their tethers with no luck. A patrol ran back to the spot it passed a few minutes before. The leashed Lycans pulled up short and tugged back away from the fire. The handler fought hard to get his charges closer to the problem. He gave up and threw down the leashes. As he ran to
ward the fire the freed Lycans ran away.

  “So far, so good,” Dris said. “That’s just the first part of Phase 1, though.”

  Two more orange glows appeared on the opposite side of the compound. The bikes raced toward the wall and chucked their firebombs. Before they turned away two more orange spots appeared at the halfway point between the first two attacks and on the far side of the compound.

  We watched as wave after wave of bikers threw Molotov cocktails at the wall. By the time the last biker threw his bomb they doused the first flames. Two spots burned themselves out but numerous bombs set the walls on fire.

  “A couple more minutes and Phase 2 will start,” Dris said.

  “Any trouble getting the truck?” Andrea asked.

  “No problems. Eliza sweet-talked the mechanic while Johns stole the keys from under his nose. Easy as blueberry pie.”

  I could hear the rumble of a large diesel engine in the distance. If luck held, this part of the plan would proceed without a hitch.

  “This is the first of a couple surprises I’ve planned,” Dris said. “I think you’ll like this.” He pulled his phone and sent a quick text.

  The sound of three more trucks started reached our vantage point. I looked over at the large man wondering what else he had in store.

  The first truck came into view as it barreled toward the wall. It’s run started on the opposite side of the compound as the firebombers had started. I watched as it traveled from my right going left. The truck hit the wall with a loud boom that seemed to split the night wide open.

  This was one of the tricky parts. The Lycans tethered to the ground were not responsible for their actions, nor did they deserve to die. The tail lights of the semi came on just as it hit. The wall and the brakes did a stellar job of halting the truck's forward motion.

  The other three trucks hit the wall a couple seconds later. All but one stopped just after tearing a hole in the wall. The last one didn’t stop until it was ten feet inside the compound even though the driver braked when he was supposed to. We thought there might be casualties and deemed it acceptable, but now, seeing a large Lycan shrink down to the form of a nude young woman, I wasn’t sure. I hoped that she wasn’t dead. From my experience, the Lycan aberrations would shift back after being rendered unconscious.