Summoned Again?

Announcement It's true, I'm back. Lots of excuses posted on my profile, too.

I sat at the kitchen table and looked at the three people and one stuffed toy sitting with me. Susan was on my right and was in the middle of a laugh after Nat had made a particularly dirty innuendo. Crystal was on my left and laughed too; but, the joke had gone way over her head and she was only laughing because Susan was.

Nat laughed as well and I couldn't stop the grin from forming on my face. It felt great to have the people that cared about me being happy and relaxed around each other. Our little dynamic had evolved to the point that they felt more like family to me than my own family did.

That thought brought me up short and stopped my thoughts of happiness, mainly because it had been six months since the last time I had heard from my parents. After my falling out with my sister Jenny and her efforts at wrecking my reputation with them, my father had spearheaded the 'not my problem' faction and decided that my return to the land of the living was not something that he ever wanted my mother to deal with.

It went especially bad when my mother had heard about the incident with the tank running over the car I was in. It didn't matter that I wasn't hurt. All that mattered to them was that I could have died again and they wanted nothing to do with any of it. They had taken the insurance settlement money that they gained from my first funeral and supposed accidental death and moved away.

Needless to say, Jenny wasn't too happy about that. The blame on my behalf had now caused another rift between us, as if what had already happened wasn't bad enough. I didn't hear about any of this first-hand, though. It was through Susan and her discussions with her mother, who just so happened to be both Jenny's and my mental physician. No names were ever mentioned, for propriety's sake.

It didn't make a difference, since we were all aware of the conditions and circumstances about the situation, and we had no problem making the proper associations. Jenny would freak out if she knew that was how I was getting my information, however.

At least we were all getting the help we needed to try and deal with our problems. Jenny had actually been making great progress until our parents moved. I was sure that wasn't what angered Jenny, though. It was the fact that our parents didn't give her their new address or phone number. Blame fell to me, because they couldn't resist letting Jenny know that if it wasn't for me, none of it would have happened in the first place.

“Hey, stop that.” Susan said as her finger poked the spot between my eyebrows. “I'll kick Mr. Frowny Face's ass if he doesn't stop showing up.”

Crystal giggled. “You said ass!”

“So did you!” Nat said and grabbed Crystal's sides and tickled her.

The little girl's unbridled laugh filled the apartment and it made me forget the mess of my birth family. I was glad for that, because I wanted to concentrate on the family I had built for myself instead.

“How well has the latest design been accepted?” I asked, trying to get our conversation back on track.

“Better than we anticipated.” Nat said as she pet Crystal's hair. “Thanks for accepting my recommendation.”

“Yeah, like I'm going to reject anything that my aesthetics expert tells me.” I said with a deadpanned voice and expression, which made her laugh.

“You're going to give me a big head if you keep buttering me up like that.” Nat said as her eyes glanced at Susan.

“Nope! That one's too easy.” Susan said with a smirk. “I'll save the innuendo for a worthy target, thanks.”

Nat smirked back and nodded. She always enjoyed great banter.

“We should get the little monster to bed before you two start another verbal war of words.” I said.

“Hey, we're not that bad.” Susan said and I gave her a stern look. “We're not!”

I couldn't hold the look for more than a few seconds before I barked a laugh.

“You two do the dishes and I'll get her to bed.” Nat said and picked Crystal up. “Come on, my little Picasso. It's time for slumber land.” She started to walk across the room to the hallway where the bedrooms were.

“Teddy! Help!” Crystal said loudly and she held her hand out to the eight foot tall teddy bear. The ring on her finger glowed and suddenly the giant stuffed bear shot out of the chair towards her.

“Nat! Incoming!” I warned and Nat braced herself.

“Ooof!” Nat grunted as Teddy slammed into her back and the bear fell to the floor. “Crystal!”

“Sowwy.” Crystal said and gave her what we called 'the magic puppy pout'.

Nat was as weak to that move as I was and sighed as she bent to grab Teddy's arm. “I'm going to kill Damon for letting you wear that ring.”

“Hey! I restricted her to only using it at home!” I yelled to her back.

“Like that helps.” Nat groused and dragged Teddy behind her and they disappeared from sight.

“If she wasn't so short-sighted, she would see that it does.” I whispered.

“I heard that!” Nat said loudly and Susan couldn't help herself and laughed.

“You know you never win any kind of argument against us.” Susan said and gave me a kiss.

“Never give up, never surrender.” I said to her and she griped my face with her hands and kissed me hard.

“You're such a hard ass.” Susan said with amusement and stood. “You wash and I'll dry.”

“Oh, sure. Take the easy job, why don't you?”

Susan patted my cheek as she stood up. “I called it first.”

I chuckled as I stood to follow her. “Don't blame me if it doesn't get done.”

Susan's eyes almost sparkled as she walked to the sink. She knew what I meant and I could swear that her ass swayed a little bit more enticingly than it normally did. She glanced at me over her shoulder and smirked at me.

Such a tease. I thought as my eyes followed that sway a bit longer than I had intended.

Susan didn't comment when she saw where I was staring. All she did was take up the station where she could easily grab a towel and dry dishes to put them into the cupboards where they were supposed to go. I took up the primary spot in front of the sink and started to work. Neither of us said anything as we cleared up the dirty dishes that had gathered up over the last couple of days.

When we were done, Susan stayed quiet and took my hand. I remained quiet as well and let her lead me over to the Murphy bed that we had in the living room. It was funny that neither of us had tried to change the sleeping situation, even though Nat could have easily stayed in her own apartment on the lower floor.

We both appreciated that Nat would assume responsibility for Crystal and give us a bit of privacy. Of course, we never took advantage of her good nature and didn't abuse the privilege that Nat was kind enough to give us. Mind you, we did a lot while she distracted Crystal; but, we never put either her or Crystal into a situation where they would be uncomfortable. That wasn't how family was supposed to treat each other.

I almost laughed as Susan discreetly slipped out of her usual jeans and t-shirt and jumped into bed. “I'm not going to make a joke about how eager you are.”

“You better not.” Susan said, her face showing that she knew I wanted this just as much as she did.

I shut up and stripped off and climbed in with her, then we had some foreplay. It wasn't intense, since we never did it to any extreme while either Crystal or Nat were in the apartment. We weren't that insensitive. We took what we could get and did what we could get away with, then had some fun as we joined together and let our passion out in a moderate dose as we made love to each other.

*

A week later, I sat up in bed and almost screamed as a vision of what was going to happen overwhelmed my senses. It was a bad one, something that I had hoped wouldn't happen for a long time.

I was going to be called away again and it was a long time before I was supposed to be.

“Goddammit.” I whispered as I rubbed my face with both hands. “It's going to be a lengthy one, too.”

Susan stirred beside me and opened her eyes. “Damon?”

“Hey, beautiful.” I whispered and leaned down to kiss her. “Go back to sleep. I forgot that I have a few things that I need to handle.”

Susan blinked her eyes for several moments and then she sighed. “You've got another trip to go on, don't you?”

I thought about denying it, then sighed. “It's out of my control.” I said and gave her an apologetic look.

“You just remembered it now?” Susan asked and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning and it was her turn to sigh. “No, never mind.” She gave me a sad smile. “If you could change it, you would.”

I gave her a nod and a brief kiss. “I've got a week and a day to get everything prepped, if my timing is right.”

Susan's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment before they cleared. “At least you're not leaving at the last minute.”

“If I could change this, I would.” I tried to say and justify what was happening.

“No, no.” Susan shook her head. “I'll call mom and let her know you're going to miss her next session.”

“Uh.” I turned away from her and rubbed my face again. “Maybe... maybe...”

“What is it?” Susan asked as she sat up to rub my back.

“It might be a bit longer than just the one session.” I said, my voice low.

Susan stiffened a little, then she sighed. “This falls under the category of something you can't share with me, isn't it?”

“For now.” I whispered. “I don't want to take the chance that if you know, something bad might...”

Susan's hand on my back moved up to my neck and she leaned in to kiss me. “Don't.” She whispered and then leaned her head on mine. “I know when something can't be shared. I learned that when I was a kid and being around mom and her patients.”

“I guess they would keep a lot of secrets.” I said and she nodded.

Susan then let out a sigh and then smiled. “You have no idea.”

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it and ducked my head.

“It's okay.” Susan whispered and kissed my cheek. “I'll try and help when you tell Crystal.”

My mouth dropped open and I stared at her with a blank look on my face.

“Yeah, it's probably going to be bad.” Susan said.

That's an understatement. I thought and closed my eyes. Even if I use my time dilation ability on the new world, it's not going to help very much. Word has to spread before I can even try to claim that my task will be done.

“You'll need Nat to drop some of her side projects.” Susan said and I glanced at her. “Either that, or you'll have to hire someone else to look after Crystal while I'm at college.”

“Dammit, she's going to kill me.” I said as I rubbed my face in frustration.

“Who? Crystal or Nat?”

“Yes.” I said and Susan made a snorting noise.

“I won't deny that it's going to be a mess.” Susan said. “There's nothing to do but to do it, though.”

I gave her an appreciative smile and a nod.

“Let's get back to sleep. We can wait until breakfast to break the news.” Susan said and laid back.

I looked down at her luscious chest and she let out a stifled laugh.

“Go ahead.” Susan said with a knowing smile and I dove for her nipples.

If she only knew that I still kick myself mentally for not indulging in them years ago. I looked at her face as I suckled on her huge nipples. If I wasn't mistaken, I was pretty sure that there was a hint of the knowledge on her face.

Maybe I should tell her. I thought and stopped making out with her breasts. “Susan...”

“You know I regret it, too.” Susan whispered.

My eyes widened and she laughed.

“Damon, I can tell when you're stuck in your 'deep thinking' vibe.” Susan said and rubbed my head. “If mom was here, she would warn you about not living in the past and to enjoy what you have now.”

I had to blink my eyes at that observation, then I let a smile grow on my face.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.” Susan chuckled and swatted the back of my head. “I'm never inviting my mom to watch us, no matter how much it might turn you on.”

“Are you sure?” I asked as my smile almost split my face.

Susan laughed. “Damon!”

“I know.” I said and moved up to kiss her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Susan said and then she grabbed my head and pushed down. “Now make yourself useful and show me how much.”

I chuckled and kissed my way down her body. “Yes, ma'am.”

Susan didn't object at all as I settled between her legs and did as she commanded.

*

A week later, I stood in the spot that the summoning circle was going to appear. I had a whole week to prepare and I took full advantage of it. I was fully prepped and stocked up with everything I could ever need for the next six months. Tents, food, equipment, and enchantments. You name it, I had it in storage.

I also had enough for eight people, since at least three others would be in my party because that was the standard summoning ritual and I was sure that I was going to meet at least a few others. I even wore a backpack to pretend to pull smaller items out of, just in case I needed to hide that I had an inventory.

“I'm gonna miss you.” Nat said as she stood ten feet away and held Crystal in her arms.

“I'm going to do my best to get this done as soon as possible.” I promised.

“Damon, even if you use the time dilation locally, you still need to visit a lot of places. We all know that you're going to be gone for a lot longer than you assume you are.” Nat said and Crystal started to cry.

“Oh, sweetie. It's okay.” I said and reached for her, then let my hand drop and made it into a fist. There was no way that I could take the chance that I would be caught moving during the summoning. “Auntie Nat and Auntie Susan will take care of you while Teddy takes care of me.”

Crystal's tears rolled down her face. “His brothers are gonna miss him.”

I chuckled. “They are going to be so jealous! Teddy's going to conquer another world!”

Crystal giggled despite her tears. “General Teddy is on the march!”

“He's going to kick butt and he's going to show them that they can't take me away from you for long.”

Crystal nodded and hugged Nat's neck tightly. “I love you, Uncle Damon.”

“I love you too, sweetie.” I said and the summoning circle appeared below my feet. “Be good for Nat and I'll be back as soon as I can.”

“Get me something!” Crystal said, almost a demand.

“Sweetie, I'm going to bring you back something special that no one else in this world has.” I promised as the circle lit up brightly, then I disappeared in a flash of light.

*

Unlike every other time I had been summoned, I disappeared from where I was and then appeared on the new planet. No white room, no assigning of classes and powers, nothing. I blinked my eyes as gravity seemed to take over and I dropped like a rock from a significant height. I cast the featherweight spell before I hit the ground and landed softly on jagged rocks.

I quickly looked around and tried to figure out where I was. I was confused as well, because I was completely alone. “Where are the others?” I asked aloud and used two of my rings, one for search and one for detect. My map appeared in the corner of my vision and started to fill in with the details. Just as five red dots appeared on it, I saw some brief movement off to my right.

“How did you do that?” A woman's voice asked loudly.

I turned around and looked, only to see nothing. “Um... hello?” I asked, even though I knew she was a hundred and twenty-three feet away.

A large lump in the dirt shifted and a cloth fell away from a leather clad figure as she stood with a gun pointed at me. “Who are you and how did you get here?”

I held my hands up and showed her that I wasn't carrying anything. I was also wearing my normal clothes, since I had expected to be pulled into the white waiting area and didn't want anything I already owned to interfere with whatever the divine being was going to do. Since that didn't happen and I was already on the new world, I started allocating points into all of my skills and abilities.

“Don't shoot.” I said in as calm of a voice as possible and kept my hands up. “My name's Damon and how I got here might be a bit difficult to explain, assuming you don't have planes flying around.”

The blonde haired woman gave me an odd look for a moment, then she looked up to see if she could see anything.

“You shouldn't divert your attention from a perceived threat, even with your partner trying to sneak up behind me.” I said after I saw movement on my map. I heard two gasps and tried not to laugh. “I might not be from around here; but, I'm not stupid.”

“Dropping into a hunting area unannounced is pretty stupid.” A woman's voice behind me said.

I turned partially to get a look at her and saw a short woman with long curly black hair. She also looked damn fine in tight jeans and a leather jacket. Easy, Damon. Now is not the time to think about stuff like that. “I can honestly say that I have no idea why I was dropped here, where here is, or what you are hunting.”

Both women let out barks of laughter.

“Are you kidding me?” The first one said as she walked over to me, matching the other woman's pace and they both reached within twenty feet of me and stopped. “How can you have no idea what's going on?”

I let out a laugh and pointed up. “I literally just dropped out of the sky.”

The black haired woman laughed again and holstered her weapon. “Okay, he's got us there.”

The other woman sighed. “I can't believe you're buying this, Anita.”

“It's not like he has a reason to lie, Karen.” Anita said and waved a hand around. “We're right in the prime hunting area for the wolves and no one would come out here without backup.”

“Uh, actually, there was supposed to be three other people arriving with me.” I said and both women gave me surprised looks with wide eyes. “Like you said, I have no reason to lie.”

“So, there could be three more guys around here somewhere?” Karen said and her gun was trained out to scan the horizon.

“Another guy and two women.” I corrected and Anita gave me a questioning look. “It's a team thing. Always two men and two women.”

Anita smiled. “Nice. I like equal opportunity outfits.”

I glanced down at her tight jeans, and her well defined womanhood, and back at her face. “No comment.”

Anita let out a laugh. “They don't start out like that, you jerk. They ride up when I move around.”

“Hey, I wasn't complaining.” I said with a smirk and she swatted my arm with a backhand.

“We're in a dangerous hunting ground and you're flirting?” Karen asked as she shook her head. “What kind of luck do we have, anyway?”

Anita gave her a knowing grin.

Karen sighed and put her gun back in the holster on her back. “Fine. Let's go back to camp for now. We can try looking for a possible target in the morning.”

“Do you mind if I come along?” I asked.

“No.” “Yes.” Anita and Karen said at the same time.

“I'm choosing to apply the 'no' to you not minding and the 'yes' to me coming along.” I said cheekily.

“Oh, I like him.” Anita said and started walking away.

Karen gave me a harsh look, let out a huff, and followed her friend.

“You know, your jeans are just as tight in the back.” I commented and walked behind them.

“Why else do you think I went first?” Anita said without turning around. “Now you don't have to strain so hard to get a good look.”

I chuckled. “I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Oh, for Obfome's sake.” Karen almost growled.

I felt something like a tingle when that word was said. It wasn't quite magic and it wasn't quite benign, either. I quickly cast time dilation on myself and stopped walking, then closed my eyes. I hadn't done this on purpose before, trying to intentionally force a premonition, and I wasn't sure if it would work. I concentrated on the word, assumed it was a name of a deity because of how it was used, and let the name echo over and over in my head.

After an hour, I had nothing. I sighed and cancelled the time spells as I resumed walking. Neither Anita nor Karen had any idea that I had done anything at all.

We walked for nearly half an hour before we reached their campsite that was near a small rock outcropping. They dug through their small amount of supplies and then pulled out two spray cans. I stood there and watched as they sprayed themselves and their personal gear, then shook the cans and both sounded empty.

“Sorry, Damon. It looks like we're out of smell canceller.” Anita said. “You'll have to either use your own or you'll have to leave before it gets dark.”

“Perhaps.” I said and held my hand out for the can. “Can I see that?”

Anita shrugged and tossed me the used item. I caught it easily and walked away from the camp for a minute. I put the can into inventory and immediately got the option to fix it. I almost laughed as the can changed from empty to full. I took it back out and used the copy spell to make a dozen of them, stashed them in my backpack, and went back to the camp after spraying myself with it.

“There was still some left.” I said and handed it to her.

Anita took it without a word and shook it, only to hear that there was still some left. “Huh. Maybe it was stuck in a clump at the bottom or something.” She said with a shrug and tucked it back into her pack.

“At least you're not going to lead them right to us.” Karen grumbled.

I didn't sigh at her words, so instead I walked right over to her and got right in her face. She was a few inches shorter than me, so she squinted her eyes at me and looked like she was going to either hit me or curse at me. I grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her up slightly as I smashed my lips against hers. I felt something thick under my fingers as well.

“HMM!” Karen hummed in protest for a second and tensed up, then she relaxed and her tongue started to assault mine. I let her arms go to hug her and she wrapped her now free arms around me and held me tightly as we kissed each other. I also felt something thick covering her lower back, the same as what I had felt on her arms.

This went on for several minutes and Anita didn't say anything or tried to stop it. I broke the kiss when I could smell her distinct scent flowing out of her and stepped back to look Karen in the eyes. Her face was flushed slightly red and her eyes were half closed.

“Are you satisfied that I'm not only lusting after Anita?” I asked her, pretty blatantly, even though I knew I had made her wet from the make-out session we just had.

“Y-yes.” Karen said and opened her eyes fully to look into mine. “I know I shouldn't think that, considering we just met you and...”

I reached up and cupped the side of her face to stop her. “I get it.” I said and gave her a light kiss. “You need a bit more scent canceller.”

Anita let out the laugh she was holding and tossed over her can. I caught it and handed it to Karen.

“Thanks.” Karen said and turned slightly away to apply it.

“So, how often do you come here to hunt?” I asked as I sat down on the spot they left for me.

“This is our third time here and we've only been lucky enough to catch one.” Anita said and took out a sandwich from her backpack.

“We've been to half a dozen other reported roaming areas and caught several other wolves for the doctors and scientists to study. They want to figure out what the hell happened to them.” Karen said and took out her own sandwich.

“What happened to them?” I asked and looked at Anita.

“They're about the height of a man.” Anita said with a shrug. “The common theory is that they are mutated from normal wolves and are taking over all the wild wolves out there.”

I stopped to think about that for a minute. “Hold on, you mean all wolves, right? Not just in this area?”

“Yes. They think that there won't be any normal wolves left soon and all that will be here are the mutated ones.”

“Are you killing them?” I asked and tried to keep any inflection from my voice.

“That depends.” Karen said and I raised my eyebrows. “We're not an extermination squad or anything.”

“But.” I said pointedly and she sighed.

“We sometimes have more than one show up when we lay the bait.”

“Ah. You only need one.” I said, almost in a whisper.

Anita's hand touched my arm. “It's too dangerous to have more than one around. They would never let us take one without fighting for them.”

I opened my mouth to say something about how it was their job to protect their own, then closed it when I saw the look on her face. She knew what I was going to say. I nodded and took a sub sandwich from my backpack, which made the two women stare at me with hunger on their faces.

“I have more.” I said and handed it to Anita, took another out of inventory and handed it to Karen, then took out my own. I also took out three bottles of apple juice and handed two over.

The two women stared at the huge sub sandwiches and then looked at me like I was insane.

“You can save them for later if you want.” I said and started to eat mine.

Anita and Karen exchanged looks, tore one in half to share and stored the whole one. I didn't bother telling them that I had two hundred more or that I had the ingredients to make twice that many. I didn't want to overwhelm them with what I could do. Not yet, anyway.

I had a problem and a decision to make, though. I knew what they were there for and I had a hard time justifying it. I was sure that they were going to be paid for their work and they probably needed the money, considering that they were out hunting by themselves. I didn't want to just let them capture and subject a wolf to experimentation, though. I knew that they wouldn't live, because the doctors needed more specimens, which meant the old ones were already dead.

I glanced at my map and cast Topography to fill in the details. I was used to the influx of information after using it back home and on another world, so I didn't get a headache from the map filling in. There were still five dots on my map that had been there when I first cast the spell. Two dots beside me were green and the three red dots at the edge of my map were still there and weren't moving.

“I think I'll go for a walk.” I said when I was done with my lunch. I put the wrapping and empty bottle into my backpack, slung it over my back, and stood up.

“Don't take long. It's going to be dark soon.” Anita said and didn't look up.

“I'll be quick.” I said and started to walk away.

“If you're going to pee, you need to spray some stuff around.” Karen said and held up the can.

I chuckled. “I'm good, thanks.” I waved and sped up my walk. When I was far enough away, I cast an eavesdropping spell and listened in to them as I started to run.

“So, is he legit or a plant from another company?” Anita asked.

“He... he's legit.” Karen said.

“Oh? What makes you so sure?”

“He's not wearing under-armor.” Karen said, her voice was matter-of-fact. “No one in their right mind would come out here without bite protection. No one.”

So that's what that was. I thought and sped up my run. That's pretty smart, actually.

“He could just be stupid.” Anita joked and laughed.

Karen laughed as well. “If he is, he's my kind of stupid.”

“Yours, huh? He said he's lusting after the both of us.” Anita countered.

“He only kissed me.” Karen rebutted.

After a moment, both women laughed. “Share?” They said as one, then both laughed again.

I cancelled the spell and made my way over towards the edge of the map and the three red dots waiting there. I slowed down to a walk when I was several hundred feet away and saw the three dots react. Two spread out in a classic flanking manoeuvre and one stayed in the middle of where I was headed.

Early warning system or something? I thought as I continued to walk.

The flankers didn't alter their course as they made their way out and around, staying far enough away that I couldn't see them visually. The sun continued to drop and the daylight started to fade as I came closer and closer to the middle red dot.

When I was a hundred feet away, I noticed movement in front of me as something stood up. I had to blink my eyes to clear them, because I thought they were tricking me. Hearing that a wolf was man-sized was one thing. Seeing a wolf that had a head at the same height as yours, when you're standing at just over six feet tall, was definitely something for the record books.

There's no way that this is a mutation. I thought as I walked closer, because I could feel it with my Beast Conversion skill. I didn't hesitate or falter in my pace, either. If there was one thing that you should not do, it was to show weakness to a predator. I came to a stop exactly ten feet away from the wolf and I stared into her bright ice blue colored eyes.

The wolf let out a growl and took a single step forward. I jerked when I felt something tingle down my spine, because there was no way I would get anything like that from a wolf.

There was no way that... My thoughts cut off as I grew an erection. “This isn't happening.”

The wolf growled again, much louder this time, and took another step forward.

I grunted as my manhood pressed very hard against my pants. I couldn't lower my hands to adjust myself, since I didn't want to startle the wolf.

“I'm sorry if I'm disrespecting you.” I said and nodded down at my crotch. “I'm not sure why I'm thinking you'd be a suitable sexual partner.”

The wolf's growl cut of as if it never started and her nose darted forward to smell me. I felt it press against my erection and I let out a moan, quite involuntarily. She let out another growl, only this one seemed to have a tone of possessiveness that I was sure I was superimposing in my mind. There was no way that a wolf would even consider having a human drive himself into her depths. Things like that were never supposed to happen... and that was assuming this was a female wolf.

The two flanking wolves came into sight and let out little whimpers. That surprised me, especially since I had expected them to jump on me and try to tear me apart. They didn't know that that wasn't going to happen, since I had all of my skills and spells maxed out at their new normals, as well as my stats. I could kick ass even better than I normally did, thanks to this being the fourth world that my Judge's ability let me raise my basic stats by another 99 points.

I was sitting at level 1 with 1395 points in my normal 999 stats. I was sure that one good fight would pop me to level 99, just like that dragon had on the second world. The only problem was, this world seemed to not have the fantasy aspect that the other worlds seemed to have by default. I didn't detect anything magical like that at all. In fact, I only saw the two women I had encountered so far as they pulled out real guns and not swords or wands.

That was going to be a problem, especially if I wanted to max my level out. My thoughts cut off as the wolf tilted her head slightly and bit into the front of my pants.

“Hey!” I exclaimed as she ripped the cloth away with my underwear and left my manhood hanging out. She let out a growl and I definitely felt like she was claiming me, which was very odd to feel from an animal.

She lifted her head and looked into my eyes. I had to blink and then I felt something form between us. I wasn't sure what it was, then she darted her head down and her long and very rough tongue licked me from the base of my balls to the tip of my penis.

“Oh, fuck!” I cursed as I immediately ejaculated from the rough treatment. That had never happened to me before... and before I could react... her tongue lapped it all up and she sucked it all in. It left my manhood completely clean and I stared at the wolf in disbelief. I could swear that she gave me a smile before she let out a bark.

The two flankers let out a little yip in response and took off running. She gave me a pointed look and then turned away.

“WAIT!” I yelled and she stopped to turn back. “What am I supposed to do about what just happened?”

The wolf turned back to look at me in the eye, stuck out her tongue to lick my face, then she took off at a run. She was gone from my map a few seconds later and she left me standing there. My erection bobbed up and down all on its own and I stared at where she had been standing.

“Well, fuck me.” I whispered and looked down at my penis. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

As if it knew what I was asking, it seemed to deflate and looked sad. I let out a laugh and stored my underwear and pants, paid to repair them, then equipped them again. I was not going to tell Anita or Karen about what had just happened. Nope, never. That was a secret I was going to take to my grave, barring complications.

I thought about Nat and what she would think, then had to laugh. “Okay, maybe I'll tell Nat. She might laugh her ass off at it. She did fall in love with a horse woman, after all.”

That thought brought my mind to the implications of using the beast conversion ability on the wolf, considering she was so willing to interact with me. It was definitely something that I would have to consider. I looked at the spot where she had stood and let out a sigh, then turned and ran back towards the camp where Anita and Karen were. Their dots hadn't moved and I quickly made my way over to them.

“That took a while.” Karen said and gave me a once over with her eyes.

“This place seems a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” I said and again sat down in the spot they had set aside for me.

“We keep watch on a four hour rotation.” Anita said and pat my shoulder. “I'm up first, you're on the night shift, and Karen gets the morning.”

I glanced at Karen and saw her sad face. “Why don't I take the whole night?”

“Huh?” “What?” Anita and Karen asked at the same time.

“Look, I know I need to earn your trust. Let me take the entire night and I'll stand guard. I'll keep you safe and protected and the both of you can get a full night's sleep.”

“You don't have to do that.” Anita said and gave Karen a pointed look.

“I know. I'm offering.” I said and touched Anita's arm, then turned to look at Karen. “Please, let me do this. If I can't do such a simple thing, then I don't deserve to stay anywhere near you, right?”

Karen looked to be in deep thought for a moment, then she gave Anita a questioning look. She received a nod in return. “Fine. You can have the whole shift. If anything happens, though...”

I had to repress my smile at her acceptance. “I'll wake the both of you the instant anything shows up.”

“Good.” Karen said and pulled out a thin blanket and a squished pillow.

“Oh, no. That won't do. Allow me.” I said and opened my backpack. I pulled out an actual sleeping bag and handed it over. “It sleeps two and is thermal, so go ahead and enjoy it.”

Both women gave me pointed looks.

“It's compacted and unfurls to the right size.” I said and fluffed it out as it unrolled. It really did fluff up and looked very comfortable. “Since it produces its own heat, you can take off your clothes and relax.”

Their pointed looks didn't abate at all and I had to chuckle.

“I'll just walk over there and keep watch, shall I?” I pointed to a spot ten feet away and walked over to it, making sure that I didn't turn around or look at them while they decided to either change or just climb in with their clothes on.

They didn't know that I knew there wouldn't be any wolves scouting that night, not after that little altercation I had with that female wolf. For some reason, I was sure that we would be left alone and that no wolves would bother coming anywhere near where we were stationed and camping out.

*

“I can't believe we didn't get anything.” Karen said a day later as we walked out of the hunting area.

“I'm just that good of a guard.” I said with a smugness that made Anita laugh.

“You're not full of yourself or anything.” Karen quipped and I had to laugh, too.

“Nah, I'm just used to having creatures avoid me.” I said and put an arm over her shoulders.

Karen looked at my hand and then at my face. “What are you doing?”

“Staking a claim.” I said with a grin and Anita barked a laugh.

“You guys didn't get anything?” A guard asked as we entered the station on the edge of the hunting area.

“We've got another day on our license, so we're hoping for a score next week.” Anita said. “We need to restock before going back out.”

The guard nodded and waved us through.

“He didn't even ask about me.” I commented as we exited the checkpoint.

“They won't bother, even if you show up bloody and mangled.” Karen said. “You can remove your arm now.”

“I can't. You need to process my claim first.” I said with a serious voice.

“Oh, for Obfume's sake.” Karen sighed.

“Our room's in the hotel on the strip.” Anita said. “Number 218.”

“Geez, give him our home address while you're at it.” Karen said and Anita grinned at her.

“It's okay.” I said and I grabbed Anita by the shoulder and pulled her in close. “I'm buying you dinner first and then we're going to enjoy the weekend together.”

“The whole weekend?” Anita asked, a little surprised.

“If you want to use up your last day on Monday.” I said suggestively.

Karen took no time getting to my meaning. “You mean...”

“I hope you can survive that long.” I winked at her and she blushed.

“Well, I'll try my best.” Anita said and hugged my side.

We went to the best restaurant on the strip and I spent a lot of money on the freshest food and prompt service. Well, I say money when I really handed over small slivers of gold. Let me tell you, people practically fall over themselves when you say you only have pieces of gold to pay with.

“You gave that waiter over a thousand dollars as a tip!” Karen said as we left the restaurant with my arm over her shoulder and my other arm over Anita's.

“It's not like I could have cut the slim bar in half.” I said with a shrug.

“You are a horrible person to not carry money!” Anita said with a laugh. “Half the workers in the restaurant wanted to have your babies, and half of those were men!”

I laughed. “Gold! The universal sex currency.”

“It sure is.” Anita said and leaned into my embrace. “You've definitely made me horny!”

“That isn't as hard as you imply it is.” Karen said with a crooked smile.

“Says miss kiss me first.” Anita said and turned her head to look at me. “You know what? You haven't kissed me yet.”

“I haven't?” I asked with a perplexed look on my face. “Well, damn. I'm a horrible friend, aren't I?”

“Yes, you are.” Anita said in a seductive voice. “Are you going to correct that oversight?”

“As soon as we get inside your room.” I said back and led them into the hotel they were staying in. As we passed by the hotel desk, I flicked two slim bars of gold onto the desk. “I hope that's enough to cover their room.”

“Yes, sir!” The man behind the counter exclaimed and swiped the gold from the bar. “I'll have breakfast sent up at eight in the morning!”

“Thank you.” I said and entered the stairwell.

“You didn't have to do that.” Karen said, her voice a little lower than its normal tone.

“Of course I did.” I said and kissed the side of her head. “I know I've inconvenienced you both, especially since no wolves have shown up since I dropped in on you.”

Karen gave Anita a look and she nodded.

“Now I'm going to make it up to the both of you.” I said and opened their door for them. I ushered them into the room and locked the door behind me, then stripped off.

“Oh? You think we're that easy?” Karen asked.

“Easy? No.” I said and slipped off my underwear to show her my already erect member. “Delightfully seductive? Yes.”

Karen blushed and Anita chuckled.

“Are you going to strip or do you want me to do it?” I asked and looked at both of their faces.

“No.” “Yes.” They said at the same time.

I chuckled. “I'll take the 'no' as not stripping and the 'yes' as you want me to do it.” I said and then started stripping them off. Karen blushed and didn't protest as I gently took off her clothes while Anita helped. It wasn't long before the three of us were naked and I took their hands and led them to the bed.

“We shouldn't be doing this.” Karen said as I laid her down on the bed.

I dropped down between her legs and spread her thighs to get a good look at her. “I'm looking at a delicious meal in front of me.” I said and lightly touched her outer lips with a fingertip. “Tell me now that you don't want me to taste you.”

Karen gave me an incredulous look and didn't say anything. I smirked at her and then dove between her legs. She moaned and closed her eyes as I went to work on her. Anita was patient and laid beside her friend to wait her turn. She knew that I was going to give her the same attention and didn't mind that Karen was a bit too insecure with how she felt about me to wait and go second.

I brought Karen to orgasm several times, more than she thought she was going to have, and I left her panting and moaning with loss as I switched to Anita. Unlike Karen, Anita was into it right away and actually told me what she wanted. I obliged of course, and left her just as pleased as Karen after a significantly shorter period of time.

I stood and showed the both of them that I was still ready for them and made a bit of a show about which I was going to do first. Karen growled out loud as I dithered and Anita had to laugh and pushed me to her friend instead, essentially making the 'hard' decision for me. I knew Karen was impatient and had played on that to build her frustration a little, then I slid inside of her to make her moan my name.

It didn't take her long to finish again, which I suspected was a multiple, considering the look on her face. I moved to Anita and she enjoyed it to a much higher degree, especially since she was getting it after Karen, which I guessed put it way into the dirty category of sexual experiences for her.

It was like the two women were well suited for each other and I was like a medium for them to work through together. It was an odd revelation for me, to say the least. I played up to it, though.

I mean, why wouldn't I use it? If there was one thing I could do for a woman, it was to make sure that she enjoyed herself when she was having sex with me. I had two women to please, my workload was essentially doubled, as was our mutual pleasure... so, I did my best to make sure that none of us were disappointed.

*

“What... what the hell was that?” Karen asked, incredulous, when she woke up the next day. She felt a dead weight on her chest and looked down to see a very muscular arm across her breasts. The hand was somehow tenderly holding her side and she turned her head to see a relaxed male face on her pillow.

“I'm sure you know what it was.” Anita's voice said from the other side of the man's head and then she laughed a little. “By Obfume's grace, I'm both sore and feeling fantastic!”

“Shh! You're going to wake him!” Karen gasped and Anita laughed longer this time.

“He just fell asleep, so no. He's going to be asleep for a while.” Anita responded.

“Wait, what?” Karen lifted her head to try and look at her friend. “How do you know that?”

“He just finished me off with his mouth. Again.” Anita said, her voice full of satisfaction.

“That's not fair.” Karen said with a bit of anger.

Anita barked a laugh. “He said to tell you that he promised to make you squeal when he wakes up in an hour.”

“Huh?” Karen asked, completely confused.

Anita reached over the man between them and took her friend's hand. “He only needs an hour and he'll be ready to go.”

“What? But... but that... how can he...” Karen mumbled and Anita laughed.

“He said something about an enhanced metabolism that lets him operate at superhuman levels.” Anita said and let her friend's hand to go rub the man's back. “He's not kidding, either.”

Karen's mind went back to everything that had happened the night before and her face flushed to a deep red. “How did he do all of that?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Anita said and her hand slid back up to rub the man's neck. “It sure was fun trying to see if we could exhaust him, though.”

Karen couldn't stop the laugh that escaped and Anita smiled at her.

“Let's doze off for a bit more and then we can both see if he will live up to his promise.” Anita said and laid back down to close her eyes.

“All right.” Karen said and closed her eyes as well. The weight on her chest wasn't restricting her like she thought it was. In fact, it was just like she had first thought. His arm was a comforting weight that was holding her tenderly and making sure that she knew the man next to her was showing her attention, even though he was asleep.

She hadn't had anything like that happen to her before and she wasn't sure what to think about it. Before she could wrack her brain over the experiences she did have before, she dozed off with an odd expression on her face. She would never admit that it was anticipation for what was to come.

*

“You're lucky we were taking the whole weekend off.” Anita said as I rolled off of her and hugged her to my chest to keep the intimate contact between us.

“I'm pretty sure we're all lucky.” I responded and looked up as the room's door opened. “Speaking of which...”

“Keep it in your pants, Romeo.” Karen said, her face slightly red.

I held in my laugh, because that was as blatant of a lie as I had ever heard. “Thanks for going out to grab something to eat.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Karen said and put the food down on the small table at the side of the room.

I let Anita go and slid out of the bed, letting the blanket fall down to perfectly cover Anita. “I'll take it from here.” I said and hugged her from behind.

“W-wait...” Karen started to say as I snuggled my face into the side of her neck and nibbled on the skin there. “Hmmm!” She moaned and her knees started to give out.

I held her tightly and kept her upright as I ruthlessly attacked one of her weak spots.

“S-stop... stop. We need... to eat... before...” Karen said between panting breaths.

“It'll keep.” I whispered to her and cast a stasis spell on the food and then took her to bed.

Anita had a bemused look on her face as I quickly stripped Karen of her clothes. She held up the edge of the blanket and I put Karen into the bed, then I easily slid inside of Karen without bothering to warm her up first and she let out a growling moan.

“She's going to make you pay for that later.” Anita warned me, then she kissed me and one of my hands shoved my fingers into her in time with my movements inside Karen. “Ohhhh...” She moaned as she laid back and let me work her over while I worked over Karen at the same time.

Getting the both of them to match their moans wasn't as difficult for me as someone might think. I had quite a bit of practice with Stephanie and Bethany back on Earth and even if Anita and Karen didn't have the same kind of relationship with each other like Steph and Beth did, they still liked to see each other enjoying themselves.

*

Two days later, three people stepped out of the hotel room, immaculate in their slightly upgraded outfits. Neither woman had asked where the man had gotten the practical armor under-suits that were made with the softest Kevlar they had ever felt. They also didn't mention how much better that they felt while wearing them. In fact, it seemed to increase their speed and strength slightly as well.

“I hope the last day of our contract isn't a dud.” Karen said as they stepped out into the sunshine.

“I told you not to worry about that.” Damon said and briefly touched her lower back. “I won't let either of you suffer while I'm around.”

“Oh? And how long are you sticking around?” Anita asked. Her voice was both hopeful and fearful.

“According to my previously set schedule, at least for the next six months.” Damon said.

Both women gasped and stopped to stare at him.

“Surprise.” Damon said to their shocked faces.

“You... you can't be serious.” Karen whispered as she stared into his eyes.

“Well, if I happen to meet up with the rest of my crew, that might change slightly.” Damon admitted.

“Let me guess. You're doing the two women?” Anita asked without even a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Damon chuckled. “I haven't even met them yet, so no.”

Both women's shocked faces stayed as they continued to stare at him.

“Yes, I know that doesn't really make sense. This was our first mission in this area and we were supposed to meet up first for a debrief and a mission statement, telling us what we are here to accomplish. That didn't happen and I found the two of you instead.” Damon said and made a motion to start walking again.

Karen and Anita seemed to shake slightly and started walking in the direction he indicated.

“You're here by mistake?” Anita asked.

“No, I was meant to come here. There was just supposed to be three others with me. I also don't know why I'm here or what I'm supposed to do.”

Anita didn't ask anything else and Karen had a pensive look on her face.

“Right here. This is us.” Damon said and pointed.

Both women gasped when they turned and saw an armoured transport vehicle. It had solid tires that were three feet high and the windows were under folding armor plates.

“Is that a turret?” Karen asked, her voice filled with a bit of awe.

“Yep! It has a 50 calibre machine gun with belt feed from a mounted box with ten thousand rounds.” Damon responded and walked over to it to open the side door. “Who wants to sit up front with me and who wants to...”

“TURRET!” Karen yelled and dove inside.

Damon and Anita had to laugh as she scrambled up into the mounted seat that was suspended from the roof of the vehicle. She had no trouble figuring out the seat belt and strapped herself in.

“Come on! Let's go! Go! Go! GO!” Karen exclaimed and slapped the sides of the console in front of her.

“I'd rather show you how to...” Damon started to say.

“Give me the safety manual if you have to! Just GO!” Karen said and hit the button to raise the turret up. “Ohhh! I love this! I love it!”

“Don't get my turret too wet while you drool over it.” Damon joked and Anita laughed. “Climb in, Anita. Karen looks like she knows what she's doing.”

“She's an army brat. If anyone knows what she's doing inside an old army vehicle, it's her.” Anita said as she climbed in.

Damon followed her and they sat down in the comfy seats in the front. “She grew up on the bases?” He asked before he started it up. The rumble of the engine shook the vehicle briefly.

“YEAH! LET'S GO, BABY!” Karen yelled and her feet made tapping sounds on the turret's footrest.

“She did.” Anita said and had to laugh at her friend. “Damon, I hope you're prepared for what she's going to do to you tonight.”

Damon gave her a sexy smile and waggled his eyebrows.

“Ha! You planned this?” Anita asked.

“Of course.” Damon said and eased the vehicle out of the parking lot. He was careful of the other vehicles parked on the side of the street, mainly because he didn't want to cause too much trouble. It didn't matter if some of those vehicles were abandoned or wrecks. The last thing he wanted was to draw unwanted attention.

“I'm not going to ask where you got this thing or how much you paid for it.” Anita whispered as she reached over to rub Damon's leg. “Thank you for this.”

Damon nodded, knowing that she meant making her friend happier than she had been in years.

They drove out of town and quickly made their way back to the same hunting area that they had been in before. It didn't take long to get to their camping place and set it up as a base. With some of the extra equipment that Damon had bought, it was secured and made into a portable radio relay station.

“This stuff is great!” Karen said a bit loudly. “Our search will go so quickly today!”

“Well, not just a search.” Damon said with a crooked smile.

Karen's eyes squinted. “What do you have planned?”

“Nothing!” Damon said and held his hands up in surrender. “I swear!”

“Anita! Get him!” Karen ordered.

“Gladly.” Anita said and tackled Damon to the ground. After a bit of a playful wrestle, Anita had her mouth wrapped around Damon's erection and had him groaning and moaning.

“No mercy.” Karen said as she pulled her pants and under armor down, then turned around and sat on his face.

Damon didn't fight against his earned punishment at all.

*

“Okay, okay. It's target practice.” I admitted after having a very enthusiastic sex session with both women. I had Anita hugged to my side and Karen laid on my chest, both women were slightly exhausted.

“Why didn't you... just say that?” Karen asked. She moved a little and looked into my eyes.

“I wanted to see what you would do if I didn't volunteer the information.” I said and she squinted her eyes at me. “I applaud and bow to your superior interrogation technique.”

Anita chuckled at my side and she reached over to tap Karen on the nose. “He got you there.”

Karen huffed and then smiled. “It was a good one, wasn't it?”

“The best.” Anita and I said at the same time, which made the three of us laugh.

After a short rest and a bit of a clean up, we were back inside the armoured vehicle and were speeding across the rough terrain. It was almost like Arizona, with dirt, rock outcroppings, sparse vegetation, and some wide open spaces.

“I love this thing!” Karen exclaimed as we drove over a little jump and cleared a crack in the ground that would have been difficult to cross on foot. “Are you sure we can't go faster?”

I had to laugh at her enthusiasm. “I can go faster if you want to end up with your face in the dirt and a few thousand pounds of metal on top of you.”

“What's the downside?” Karen asked, which made Anita and I laugh.

“I told you she was nuts for this stuff.” Anita said.

“If I find a good long stretch, I'll open it up, all right?” I asked and Karen let out a whoop and a yell. We drove on for a few more minutes and approached the place I had set up the previous day.

“We're coming up on where I set up the targets.” I said as a warning.

“Sweet!” Karen said and I heard her checking a few things in the turret. She had actually read through the safety manual, just to prove to me that she was serious about it, and I also heard the whir of a physical check of the 50 calibre gun's feed mechanism.

“Position is in ten... nine... eight...” I said out loud and then I jammed on the brakes and the vehicle slid across the dirt and threw up a large dust cloud. “Four... three...”

“Target on the right!” Anita almost gasped as she caught sight of a mannequin that was aiming a machine gun at them. “300 yards!”

“On it!” Karen said and turned the turret to face that way. “Oh, Damon!” She said and pulled the trigger. “I love you! I LOVE YOU!”

Anita and I were already wearing our noise cancelling headphones, so the sound of the gun unloading didn't deafen us inside the vehicle.

“I think she just noticed the hidden bad guys I set up on the ridge above the ambusher.” I said to Anita as we watched the mannequin get pulverized and the trail of bullet impacts run up the ridge to plow into the spots where I had a few mannequins posed in prone positions.

“How many?” Anita asked.

“A dozen, assuming she guesses that...” I stopped talking when a loud explosion blew a good chunk of the ridge apart. “...there's an ammo cache for the bad guys and takes it out.”

“She's going to drain you tonight.” Anita said as the piles of rocks, mannequins, and fake guns landed all around the bottom of the ridge. “She's not going to need my help, either.”

I reached over and touched the side of her face. “Yes, she will.”

Anita had a thoughtful look on her face for several moments, then nodded. “I'll have her back.”

I smiled and leaned in to give her a soft kiss. The gunfire stopped and the whir of the feed cut off.

“These bastards can't be working alone!” Karen said loudly, even though there were no competing sounds to her voice at the moment. “Let's hunt them down!”

Anita grinned at me and pushed me back into the driver's seat. “You heard the commander! Let's go!”

“Yes, ma'am!” I said with conviction and brought up the simulated satellite connection to find the next spot. “I've got a hit two clicks to the west.”

“Hit the gas and get me over there!” Karen said as she hit the release on the gun feed to check the bullet train. “No snags! We're good to go!” She said and reset it and clicked it back into place.

“How long are you going to let her play?” Anita asked in a whisper.

“I have six other spots, all in different setups and some even shoot back.” I whispered back and hit the gas. We took off at a good speed and Karen let out another whoop and a yell.

“They shoot back?” Anita asked and I could hear the worry in her voice.

“They're blanks and I have bullet simulators on the outside of the hull.” I whispered with a smirk.

“Oh, that's devious.” Anita breathed back. “I think I love you, too.”

“You can't help yourself. I'm just that awesome.” I quipped and she reached over to smack my arm.

“I changed my mind. You're an asshole.” Anita said with a laugh.

“That's what I said. I'm awesome.” I grinned and she kept laughing.

*

After target practice all afternoon, the three people took the armoured vehicle back to the campsite that was their base. They had great fun during their time in the vehicle and now it was time for Damon to get his reward.

Karen wasted no time dragging Damon into the oversized sleeping bag she had set up the last time they had been there and she forced him to remain perfectly still while she worked him over. At one point, she even had to handcuff him to stop him from playing with her. She warned him that she was in charge and that he wasn't to do anything that he wasn't ordered to do.

Damon didn't fight against her wishes until she was distracted by her own pleasure while she rode him like a bucking bronco. She was doing her best to make him feel good and completely missed Damon actually helping her until she had collapsed against his chest, exhausted.

“You... bastard.” Karen complained between heavy breaths. “I wanted... to do... all the work.”

“You did. I just helped near the end.” Damon whispered. “I couldn't let you stop until you were done, could I?”

Karen growled and then let out a shuddering breath. “All right, fine.”

“It's time for the backup to arrive!” Anita said a little loudly, before she opened the flap of the large tent and walked inside.

“W-what?” Karen asked and barely moved her eyes as she turned her head to look.

“I'm here to rescue you!” Anita said as she stripped off, then she slid into the sleeping bag and eased Karen to Damon's side and tucked her under his arm. “Rest there and let me continue your work.”

Karen didn't say anything as Anita proceeded to do just that. She worked Damon to hardness again, which wasn't difficult at all, and then she rode him just as hard as Karen had. She even restrained Damon's hands to stop him from helping, which made Karen happy.

*

“The town thanks you for your patronage.” The mayor said as she was handed the limited hunting license that she had issued several weeks ago. “We haven't had any attacks on the citizenry since you've been here. That alone was worth having you here.”

Karen huffed and Anita tried to not smile.

“Don't worry. I'm sure that us being here and making a show of what we can do, will keep the attacks from happening for a long time.” I said and gave her Angel's professional smile.

“Oh, my.” The mayor whispered as her face flushed red and certain parts of her grew warm.

“Back off and keep your dick in your pants.” Karen said and smacked my arm, hard.

“Ow.” I said and rubbed it, pretending that it hurt.

Anita couldn't stop her smile this time, because we were wearing the under-armor and knew I wasn't hurt in the least. “Thank you for the opportunity you gave us.”

The mayor coughed a bit to compose herself. “I'm sorry that you couldn't collect any bounties this time.”

Karen and Anita nodded while I turned my head to listen.

“Someone's trying to open The Bear.” I said.

“Mayor, we have to go.” Karen said and grabbed both my hand and Anita's. “Until next time.”

The mayor nodded, a little confused, and watched us practically run out of her office as Karen dragged Anita and myself behind her.

“No one touches my baby!” Karen said and let our hands go as she drew out two guns. They were heavily modified to fire miniature tranquilizer darts that were the same size as bullets. She had twelve shots per gun, not counting the one in the chamber, and she burst out of the city hall's main doors already firing.

“AHH!” A man's voice yelled, then he and the man next to him dropped to the ground, the small darts sticking out of their chests.

“I've got the two on the right.” Anita said and a second later, they were down.

Three men on the other side of the armoured vehicle took off running, tossing their tools away to try and run faster.

“Oh, no you don't!” Karen said and stopped running, took aim, and shot all three of them in barely a second. They were on the ground without being able to take another step and slid to a stop several feet away from where they were hit.

“Hey, you didn't do anything to help.” Anita said to me as she handcuffed her two captures.

“I didn't need to.” I said with a smile. “Plus, I'm never getting between Karen and someone trying to hurt The Bear.”

Anita snorted a laugh and caught the extra set of cuffs I tossed her. “That's a good point.”

I cuffed Karen's first two targets that she had taken down and Anita brought the pair of cuffs I just gave her to Karen. They dragged the three criminals back over to the others and we called the police. They showed up with a police van and took the criminals, who just happened to be the next group of hunters that had a license.

Needless to say, the mayor was not too happy about that. It had taken months to arrange the schedule for the hunting groups and this had thrown everything off by a significant amount. I tried to reassure her again that the attacks wouldn't be happening, while I poured on my charm. She was only partially convinced, which meant that she had a deep seated need to have the wolves either removed or eradicated from the area.

What I didn't tell her was that I had set up different relay stations to warn me if there were any wolves in the area and to scare them off. They had hidden gun turrets, too. Not to kill them, though. Everything was non-lethal and would ensure that no encroachment would happen. The best part about it was that I had set it for everything and not just for the wolves. When any human hunters tried to go to the same areas, they would be incapacitated and restrained until I set them free.

Karen left her contact number in case of an emergency and we climbed into the armoured vehicle. “We're not going to check it over or anything?”

“We don't have to.” I said and started it up. “This thing could drive through a building and it might have a scratch afterwards. Maybe.”

Karen barked a laugh. “We have to try that!”

“Stop giving her ideas, dammit!” Anita spat at me and I laughed.

We sped out of the town and towards the next state. Karen had an appointment in a week to try and get another guarding contract. It was a dangerous thing to do before, since they had to rely on using whatever vehicle the scientists or explorers could scrounge up. With our armoured vehicle that Karen had affectionately named 'The Bear', they could escort up to ten people with personal gear or up to five with accompanying tech or luggage.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Anita asked me as I poured on the speed. Now that we were on flat pavement, there were no restrictions on how fast we could go. Unlike normal people, if you had a hunting license, there was no speed limit.

“I don't see why not.” I said and easily swerved around the light traffic. Horns blared and I ignored them, since I had missed them by several car lengths.

“Stop being a wuss!” Karen exclaimed and gave the car we had passed the middle finger. “I love how the bear handles. It's like everyone else is standing still.”

“I'm still not letting you drive.” I said.

“Spoilsport.” Karen groused.

“Of course I am. That's why I haven't told you to run targeting drills on the other cars.”

“YOU BASTARD!” Karen yelled and her hands flew over the console and started up the exercise. “Just for that, I'm not sucking you off tonight!”

I glanced at Anita and winked as I whispered. “That's what she thinks.”

Anita clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn't laugh out loud.

*

The wolf hunkered down at the side of the road and was covered mostly with dirt and sparse bushes to help it hide. When it heard the growling engine long before it saw the vehicle, it turned its head to look. Its eyes watched as the odd looking thing swerved around the other cars and quickly approached. It sped past the wolf's hiding place and the wolf didn't move or show any indication that it was going to do anything.

It comes. The wolf thought. Half day.

Stay until safe. Move when dark. The thought came back to it and the wolf closed its eyes. It would never defy the pack leader and would listen to the order without trying to find a way around it. Until she had come for them, they had almost been wiped out by the humans. Now, years later, the females were having litters every few months and the pack was growing faster than ever.

Miss mate. The wolf thought. He had been out for two weeks now and was desperate to get back to her.

She miss you, too. Has new pups to see.

The wolf twitched to move and thought about running, then settled down to wait. It was much too dangerous to move when so close to the main road that the hunters used and it was the middle of the day.

Will reward when return. Know desperate. Appreciate.

The wolf let out a low rumble of acknowledgement and sent the feeling to her.

Others come, too. See soon.