by Sky Winters
“Yes,” said Sana. “There are forces that you know nothing about that meddle in the affairs of our kind. Very powerful forces. But they weren’t able to reach you and him.”
Mona said nothing, instead taking a slow sip of her tea, her mind on the fighting that was going on as they spoke.
“And there’s more,” said Awa. “You can’t sit this battle out. There’s a delicate balance of power in the city, and if your brother manages to beat the bears, it’s only a matter of time before he takes over the city.”
“Then why aren’t the tigers helping?” asked Mona.
“Because our elders are stubborn. They want isolationism above all, thinking they can simply ignore the chaos that builds around them,” said Sana, her words almost spit out in disgust.
“But Giovanni will win this war if you don’t stop him,” said Awa. “Only your power can bring this fighting to an end. And the longer you wait, the more bloodshed there will be.”
Mona stood, feeling rejuvenated, and full of purpose.
“Then I can’t waste another second.”
CHAPTER 15
Mona stood with Sana and Awa on the roof of their Harlem townhome, looking down at the green span of Central Park and the rest of the city beyond, the inky dark of the starless sky above them an obsidian curtain over the city.
“You cannot sit out this conflict like we have been commanded, little one,” said Awa. “Your power could make the difference between an ending to the fighting and an all-out slaughter.”
“We have done all we can for you, Mona,” said Sana. “Go back to your home, and put an end to what your brother has begun. The fate of our people in this city hangs in the balance.”
Mona turned back to the brother and the sister.
“Thank you both for everything you’ve done.”
“It was nothing,” said Sana. “Just know that you have friends in the Senegalese.”
“And remember what we’ve done for you, should we ever have a favor of our own to ask,” added Awa. “This is a strange time for our people and we all need all the allies we can get.”
“Oh, and one last thing,” said Sana. “Consider that all of us are in difficult situations. We must, as you surely know, act in ways we might not otherwise when we are commanded as such. Keep this in mind when you see your friend in the bear clan once again.”
Mona nodded, the thought of Boris still weighing heavily on her heart, despite his apparent betrayal. Then, she shifted into her wolf form, looked out onto the city, and exploded into a run at incredible speed.
However more power she was beginning to feel since Boris’s training, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Her muscles felt like they were powered by an impossibly strong engine, her breath seemed bottomless, and her reflexes allowed her to jump from rooftop to rooftop with perfect precision, not missing a beat. She had no idea what was in the potion that Sana gave to her nights ago, but whatever it was, it was the final key needed to unlock the incredible power that she had learned was inside of her.
Leaping and running, she made her way to the East Village, and finally to Boris’s townhome. As she looked around the neighborhood from the vantage point of a particularly tall building, she saw the red and blue flashing lights of police cars in various places; something told her that this had to do with the war. Taking care to hide her form, she deftly darted to the rooftop of Boris’s place, shifting into her human form and sneaking in through the window of Boris’s bedroom. Once there, she found a pile of her clothing, put on an outfit, and walked with careful steps through the house.
Nothing on the second floor seemed out of place, but the appearance of normalcy changed as soon as she approached the downstairs living room, the place where the conversation that she had heard took place.
The scene in the room was one of a large, violent struggle. Bodies were strewn here and there, red claw marks on their skin. As she looked closer, she saw that they had all been killed with a combination of claws and bites, some from wolves, some from bears. But she didn’t recognize anyone; she realized they were all foot soldiers, no one higher-up.
“Mona, is that you?” called out a voice, thin and hoarse.
Mona turned around in surprise and saw that it was Aran, his body slashed and bloody. She rushed over to him, kneeling at his side.
“Aran, what happened?” she asked.
“Surprise attack,” he said. “We tried to hide out here, but they found us.”
“Where are the rest of the bears?” she asked, propping his head up with her hand.
“I don’t know,” he said, before breaking out into a coughing fit. “The elders went into hiding as soon as they realized that your brother got the drop on them.”
“And where’s Boris?”
Another coughing fit, this one producing a sputter of blood.
“They took him, figured they’d use him to draw you out. They’re all looking for you, Mona.”
She thought about Boris, her feelings toward him still conflicted.
“They’re at the Elizabeth Warehouse in Nolita, they’re waiting for you.”
“Just stay here, Aran. I’ll get help.”
He shook his head and waved his hand as if dismissing her.
“Don’t worry about me. Just some water. I’ll be fine.”
She nodded in understanding and ran into the kitchen, pouring a glass of water. But when she returned to the living room, she saw that Aran had died. Mona wondered if he had been saving his last bit of life to warn her about Giovanni, should she come. Closing his eyes with a sweep of her palm, Mona returned to the second floor, then onto the roof. She knew of the warehouse that Aran spoke of: it was a place where Giovanni often performed drug-related business. It was only a few blocks away and staying in her human form, she ran across the rooftops once again. After a time, she was at the warehouse.
She approached the front door hesitantly, still not certain of her plan. Opening the door, she stepped into the small lobby of the warehouse, a member of her clan sitting in a chair, his eyes closed. With careful steps, Mona snuck passed him, now able to walk with the silent steps of a stalking wolf. But when she reached hallway that led to the main store room, she encountered a pack of her clan.
“There she is!” shouted one as they group ran towards her.
She considered fleeing, but knew that it was pointless- one way or another, she would have to confront Giovanni.
“Goddamn traitor!”
“Lying bitch!”
“Bear lover!”
The insults flew at Mona in harsh volley as they grabbed her limbs.
“Your brother’s just been waiting to get his hands on you,” said one of the men, a man with scraggly blond hair and a scar down his face.
“Figures she’d turn her back on her own kind,” said another, a woman with stringy brown hair and a wild look on her gaunt face.
Mona let her body go limp as the group brought her to the main store room. Finally, they reached a set of double doors which one of them kicked open, revealing a massive, open room, lit with large, hanging lights that cast the space in a harsh, white light. The room was packed full of male and female members of the clan who stood guard over dozens of bears that were bound in chains and forced onto their knees. And at the far end, in a large chair with a tall back that gave the appearance of an industrial throne, was Giovanni, seated with Boris bound and chained as his side.
“Sis,” he shouted, rising from his chair. “We were wonderin’ when you’d finally show up!”
CHAPTER 16
“Gio!” shouted Mona, walking towards her brother with a stride braced with newfound confidence, a feeling that she’d never before been able to show in front of him. “What did you do?”
She looked at Boris as she walked closer, who wore an expression of regret on his face.
“I did exactly what needed to be done,” he said, a swagger to his steps. “I brought these little bears to heel, and took our rightful place as the
rulers of Lower Manhattan.”
“Wasn’t too hard, either,” he continued. “Once I got the drop on them, they ran like scared little puppies. The Elders of their tribe and that shithead Alpha- what’s his name, Dime? Eh, who cares- are holed up in some Midtown penthouse while the ground troops are all here. Pretty fuckin’ sad, if you ask me.”
“Mona!” shouted Boris. “Please forgive me, I was only doing what I was commanded.”
Giovanni silenced Boris with a swift kick to the ribs.
“I thought bears were supposed to be the strong, silent types,” said Giovanni.
“Don’t you dare hit him again!” shouted Mona.
“Aw, you don’t want me to hurt your little bear boyfriend?”
Giovanni then drove another kick into Boris’s side, sending him onto the ground in a coughing, gasping mess.
“I’m warning you, Gio!” Mona said, her voice stern and strong.
“Or else what, sis?”
Mona stared into her brother’s face for a hard moment.
“Listen, Mo,” said Giovanni, his tone softening. “I didn’t lure you down here to fight.”
“Then what?” she demanded.
“I’m glad you’re here, because I want to make peace.”
“You’re kidding me,” Mona said.
“No kiddin’. I know we’ve had our differences, and I know I haven’t been the best brother. But everything I did was for your own good, and for the good of our pack.”
“What, like keeping me locked up like a prisoner?”
“Yeah, like that. I couldn’t risk your power falling into the wrong hands. Shit, I turn my back on you for five minutes and these bears are climbin’ over each other to turn you against me.”
“He’s lying, Mona!” shouted Boris.
“Another fuckin’ word outta you and you’re not gonna like what happens!” said Giovanni, pointing at Boris with an angry finger.
“And so you think slaughtering the bears and turning us into a pack of drug dealers is how to keep us safe?”
“I know that. You want to slowly accumulate money like our ancestors while the other packs get more powerful by the day. War was inevitable. I just wanted to give us an advantage before it broke out. And it worked! We brought down the bears within days and the tigers are next.”
Then his voice grew grave.
“Because, sis, there are things outside of this city that you don’t even want to know about. Things more powerful than you’d believe. And unless we come out on top and make this city our stronghold, they’ll take advantage of this fighting and kill us all.”
“What’re you talking about, Gio?” Mona said, confused.
“Nothing you need to know about now. But like I said, I’m here to offer the olive branch, as it were. Surrender, join me, and we’ll rule this city as a family, like we were meant to. We can put all of this bullshit behind us.”
“Until the humans come down on us for dealing, that is,” said Mona.
“They won’t; we’ll be too strong. We can rule this city from the inside out.”
Mona looked again at Boris, his face an imploring expression.
“I’ll even look past you running around with this piece of shit,” said Giovanni, looking at Boris with disgust. “And I’ll only ask one thing of you: that you kill this fucker.”
Mona was stunned. Her eyes shot to Boris, who wore a stoic expression on his face. She walked towards her brother, closing the distance between them to mere feet, the eyes of the dozens and dozens of wolves and their bear prisoners on the three.
“Mona, I know you have no reason to believe me, but I wanted to get to Giovanni for getting the woman I loved hooked on that poison he sells. I used you to do it, but I didn’t anticipate what would happen, that I would fall in love with you.”
“Your girl, huh? I’ve seen so many junkie floozies that I can’t even keep track of ‘em all,” said Giovanni, his tone dismissive.
“Both of you, just shut up!” cried Mona, conflicted and unsure of what to do next.
Boris’s words moved her; she would be lying if she said feelings of her own hadn’t burrowed into her heart. But his betrayal wounded her. And Giovanni’s offer was no offer at all, but he was kin- the only kin she had.
She couldn’t ignore the way that he treated her. He claimed it was for her own good, but she knew that it was simply out of fear of her power. And a man like him in power would be a reign of terror that the clans had never before seen.
“Maybe I’ll just have to make the choice easier for you, huh?” said Giovanni.
Pulling a massive, gleaming buck knife from his hip sheath, he approached Boris, grabbing his hair in his hand, and holding the knife to his neck.
“He dies either way, Mo.”
A welling of rage boiled in Mona. As Giovanni held the blade to Boris’s neck, Mona knew that the days of her brother lording over her like a dictator were over. In a quick instant, Mona shifted into her wolf form and stared at her brother with murderous eyes, power coursing through her.
“Ah, I get it,” said Giovanni, throwing the knife to the ground with a clatter. “Kin doesn’t mean a goddamn thing to you. Fine, have it your way, sis.”
He then shifted and the two of them moved around one another, forming a shifting, menacing circle, both baring their teeth and sounding fierce growls. Mona knew that while her power was immense, Giovanni was still her brother, and much of the same power was in him as well.
Giovanni made the first move, leaping towards Mona, a wild growl sounding as he leaped. But Mona was too quick for him. She jumped out of his way with reflexes that he couldn’t hope to match. Mona cast a quick glance around the massive space of the room; the rest of the pack was watching intently, wondering who would be the Alpha of their pack when the battle was over. And Boris watched with eager eyes, knowing both his life and the life of his new love were on the line.
Giovanni snapped his jaw at Mona, which she dodged with just as much ease, his teeth biting into the air with a wet, angry snarl. He attempted to swipe at her with his knife-sharp paws, but nothing connected. Mona realized that Giovanni’s power, immense as it was, was nothing compared to her reflexes. She realized that the battle was hers to end and she could sense that Giovanni knew it.
But she couldn’t spare him. It wasn’t the way of their kind.
Mona squared up to her brother, tensed her back legs, and pounced, flying through the air like a bullet, opening her mouth, and slamming her jaws shut on Giovanni’s neck, her teeth digging deep into his flesh. A whimper sounded from Giovanni and Mona felt his body go limp in her jaw. With a quick shake, she finished him off before letting his body drop from her mouth and land on the ground with a meaty thud.
Not a sound could be heard. Mona shifted back to her human form, her nude body defiant and proud as the pack looked on. Then, every wolf lowered his head in submission and dropped to one knee.
The pack had a new Alpha.
CHAPTER 17
Mona looked up at Boris with seductive, narrowed eyes as he positioned himself on top of her, her legs spreading open as he moved between them. She looked down, feeling herself grow wetter at the sight of his thick, hard cock. It had been months since she took control of the pack and officially began her relationship with Boris, but she still had yet to tire of the sight of his magnificent, long prick.
“I love you, baby,” he said, his cock resting on Mona’s pussy.
“I love you, too,” she said, her hand on the back of his head, feeling his warm skin through his thick head of hair.
Then, with a plunging of his hips, Boris penetrated Mona, filling her completely. He moved into a steady, slow rhythm, taking pleasure at the feeling of her wet warmth enveloping him. Mona breathed in steadily, feeling the pleasure radiate out from where he was inside of her, the soft exhalations of his warm breath on her face. He propped himself up on his thick arms, moving his hips gently, his cock sliding in and out of her.
“That feel good, ba
by?” he asked, his voice weighted with arousal.
“Mmmm, yeah,” she said. “So fucking good.”
Boris increased the pace of his thrusting, entering her at a quicker speed, the sound of his cock sliding in and out of her audible from under the covers that were draped over their lower bodies. Mona loved the wet sound of him fucking her; knowing that his cock was filling her to capacity was enough to bring her to the brink of orgasm in and of itself. He lowered himself slightly and brought his lips to her neck, kissing the delicate skin behind her ear, the sensation sending shivers through her body as he ran his hand through her red hair, his cock still sliding in and out of her.
“Fuck me harder,” she said, now desperately craving the sensation of him pounding her.
He lifted up a bit, a smirk on his full, red lips. She could tell that he wanted it, too. Boris increased the pace of his thrusting. No longer gently moving in and out of her, he now entered her at a jackhammer speed, the feeling of his hard cock pulsing in Mona, driving her to the wild brink of abandon with each thrust. Mona felt her orgasm build and build as Boris’s fevered, powerful thrusting brought her closer and closer. Looking down, she saw a thin sheen of glistening sweat form on her quivering breasts, the heat from Boris’s body radiating sensual warmth.
She let her hands slide along the length of his body, as much to keep herself steady as it was to feel his muscles. Mona watched Boris’s handsome face tighten as he pounded her, seeing that he was moving closer and closer to cumming.
“Cum inside me, baby,” Mona said between breaths, the heat and pleasure radiating from her sex on the brink of breaking loose.
Mona closed her eyes again, focusing on the feeling of Boris inside of her, listening to his sharp grunts and the sound of his hips slapping against hers, that wet flesh-on-flesh that turned her on so much. She took in a deep breath through her nostrils, the sweaty, musky smell of his body filling her senses. She focused on the feeling of the sweat of his back under her fingertips. All of these sensations whirled into a storm of passion that brought orgasm tantalizingly close.
Then, as she felt her vision blur beneath her eyelids, her orgasm came, ripping through her body and sending hot waves of pleasure down all of her limbs, from the fingers that dug into Boris’s back, to the toes under the sheet which were now tight and curled. She savored the feeling of the orgasm that her lover brought her, letting the sweet surrender loosen her body, which began to feel plaint and soft as pudding beneath his furious pounding.