Chapter 187 – Reality Check

“No, she really is nice. Well, she is very polite… and formal. But she has been super helpful and friendly when I visit! We usually have tea and she teaches me things at her house. Also, her foxes are adorable… Yeah, like the epitome of fluffiness.” – Val, talking to her ‘fans’ about Inari.

“But why?” Val asked for what must have been the hundredth time since Saturday morning when Kurt told them about his untapped abilities. Given it was Monday morning, it was a question he had heard far too frequently.

“Because, we have a job to do.” Kristi said, annoyed by the constant repeating of the question. “We can talk about it when we get back from the next mission.”

Kurt just ignored them as they climbed the stairs out of the Den. He glanced over to Rindi only for her to blush and look away. He sighed, wondering if he had perhaps not needed to include ‘The Cat’ in that conversation.

He had decided to share that information after their morning coffee ritual on the porch, right after they woke up. That decision was partly because he wanted to be up front about things and partly because they were all in one place at the same time. He was also very clear that it was all new to him and that there would be a lot of limits. While Val had been excited, the other reactions were not what he had expected.

Kristi had been initially happy, going off the emotions she radiated from her necklace, but it quickly changed. The feeling of excitement morphed into one of resolve and anticipation, like she was waiting for something. It then swirled and blended into something so complex that he couldn’t decipher it.

The reaction he got from Rindi was also strange. Despite not sharing the emotional enchantment that they had, her face and body language were usually dead giveaways. Her entire body had tensed, going perfectly still as she stared at him, face stuck in a mask of intense focus. Then the color flooded her exposed skin and her eyes widened before she looked away, barely engaging in conversation, let alone such an intimate one.

The heavy silence after Kurt finished his explanation was broken by Kristi suddenly declaring that she wanted to hold off on any changes. Val, who knew of Kristi’s desire for children, looked wounded, a feeling of confusion and sadness coming from her until Kristi gave her some explanation on why she wanted to wait.

An explanation that she was repeating every couple of hours even after they had gone to visit the Den and do a round of temporary sterilization on the entire pack. Now she was starting again as they climbed the stairs with Jade in tow.

“But shouldn’t you at least try? See if he can get things moving or something?” Val insisted as they reached the entrance and stepped out into the sidewalk. “Wouldn’t it be better to kn-“

“No, Val!” Kristi seemed to have had enough and whirled on the kitsune, her shout startling all of them. “No, it’s not better to know right now. Right now, that is something that we ‘think’ will work and that is filling me with hope. I don’t want to have that hope crushed if it doesn’t work and I am left with nothing but pieces of a shattered dream. Again!”

“Kristi I-“ Val tried to reach for her, but the dragoness had already flashed away and was halfway across the parking lot in a single lunge.

“I need some space.” Came a mental message shortly before she disappeared from sight

Val looked like she was about to either start bawling or chasing after her. Based on the feeling of remorse coming off both her and Kristi, it might have been both.

Kurt put a hand on her shoulder, spinning her into a hug. “Just give her a few.”

“But…” Val began.

“Val. She will be fine.” Kurt insisted. “You need to trust her and trust that she still loves you.”

“I-I just w-was soo… I th-thought she would…”

He held her for a while, slowly rocking back and forth, ignoring Jade, who had the good graces to walk to the other side of the building. Rindi stayed, hesitantly reaching out and putting a hand on Val’s back to show some support.

After a few minutes, Val calmed down and fanned her face with a hand. “Woooo. Ok.” She said with a sniffle, her voice still a little thick with emotion.

“Let’s talk about it later.” Kurt said. “Maybe when we aren’t in the middle of something.”

That reminded them they were there for more than just divine birth control for the pack of werewolves. They turned and walked around the corner of the barn to find Jade standing on the sidewalk, waiting patiently for them.

Her head turned as they approached. “Should we reschedule?”

“Nah, let’s go.” Kurt insisted. “Kristi can catch up if she wants to.”

“Very well, sire.” Jade turned and led them toward a group of people standing in what appeared to be the middle of a fresh, dirt road.

As they approached, Kurt saw that the group was larger than he initially thought as the tallest among them had been standing on the outside of the gathering. They parted as the group approached, revealing a mass of well over fifty people facing a man with a white board and a small box to stand on.

“… group two will finish preparation of the utility tunnel while group three begins excavation of the foundations for the community center. Half that group will split and begin marking plot boundaries for Area 1 of the above ground housing.” A dwarf was saying, pointing to the map on the whiteboard and nodding to groups of people. His high pitch voice cutting through the air, easily reaching the entire crowd.

“Groups, four, five and six are going to go with Lady Jade, when she gets here, and begin marking the underground facilities now that we know where utilities will be going.” He noticed Kurt and the others approach. “Ah, yes. Lady Jade is here now.”

“Good afternoon, Mayor Alman.” Jade said. “May I borrow your podium for a moment?”

“Of course, Lady Jade.” Alman made to get down but Jade motioned for him to stay there and finish what he was doing.

After the man, who was apparently going to be the mayor, finished delivering his morning address, Jade took his place. “Good afternoon, everyone. It is lovely to see you all again.”

A chorus of greetings came echoing back to her from the variety of people standing there. Kurt saw it was quite the menagerie and a rather strange group. There were several orcs, who had been screening the rest of the group which prevented him seeing everyone until he stepped up. That had given him the impression that this group was mostly made from the brawny race but he had been very wrong.

Kurt saw dwarves, elves, a couple goblins and of course the orcs, all common races for Earth. He also noticed a few gnomes and halflings sprinkled in which was less normal. Even rarer were the kobolds, dryads and what he was pretty sure was a satyr or perhaps fawn, he wasn’t sure. There were a few others that he couldn’t quite make out with limited line of sight and the various smells of the other races.

“Before we get started today, I wanted to introduce you to a few people.” Jade gestured for Kurt and the girls to come up. “This is Kurt Rosk, owner of the land on which we are building your new homes.”

That caused an excited murmur to run through the crowd as many craned their necks to get a better look at him. He gave the friendliest wave and the least threating smile he could manage to the crowd.

Jade pressed on after they settled. “With him are his mates. We have Rindi on the left…” Rindi raised her hand in a shy wave. “…and Val on the right.” Of course Val gave a very genuine smile, looking amazing and friendly despite the earlier emotional distress. “I wanted to let you know who these people are and that you have nothing to worry about like you previously did.”

That sounded ominous and Kurt was about to ask Jade what was going on when Jade’s mind brushed his. “Come up here and tell them what you are, what you all are. This is only a small portion of the group that represent the more building focused part of them. They also have some representatives for the various groups.”

Stepping off the podium, Jade gestured for Kurt to take her place. Something he did grudgingly as he did not like being put on the spot. “Ahem. Hello everyone. I just wanted to say welcome and to introduce myself. I know not all of you are here, but I am hoping you can share what you learned when you see them again.

“As Jade said, my name is Kurt Rosk, and I am the owner of this territory. I live on the southwest side of the property with my family. What you might not know about us is that we are all half breeds or as we like to say hybrids.” Kurt paused as another ripple of murmurs went through the crowd.

He watched their expressions for a moment, seeing surprise and curiosity on many faces, some disbelief and skepticism on others but none of the revulsion he had come to expect. “While I look like a regular half elf, I am also a werewolf, leader of all the packs.” Kurt thought he was doing pretty good so far and kept pushing while he had their attention.

“This is Val, my first wife. She is a dark elf and kitsune as you can probably guess by her tails. Kristi, is my second wife, she is part dragon newt and part angel, but she had to step away for a moment. Then this is Rindi my… my-uhh, we’re still figuring that out.”

Good job Kurt, really stepped in it there. He thought to himself as he forged ahead. “Rindi is something new and different but it’s part Valkyrie and part felitaur. At least that’s what we think.”

Kurt paused and looked around the crowd who were all taking the opportunity to get an eye full of not only him but the girls. “Umm, any questions?”

As soon as the hands started going up, Kurt realized he made a mistake by not just cutting it off there. He ended up picking one of the halflings in the front row.

“What do you mean you are the leader of all the packs? I thought Jade was the boss.” She said, cupping her hands around her mouth to yell over the general hubbub. The question almost immediately silenced the group as they listened intently for the answer.

“Kurt is my alpha.” Jade replied calmly.

“But he said all the packs. Did he mean just these ones or like... all of them?” a goblin added as his hand shot into the air.

A glance from Jade made Kurt really regret even going beyond telling them he was the property owner. With a sigh, he stepped off the box and backed up a few steps before he shifted.

The crowd of people, some of whom had been whispering to each other, suddenly went very still as Kurt shifted. Their attention focused on him out of a morbid curiosity at the sound of his body breaking apart to reshape itself. Then they collectively took a step back and crouched as he suddenly loomed over them.

“As I said.” Jade began in a clear and harsh tone. “Kurt is not only my alpha, but he is the alpha of all werewolves. He is the Lupus Rex, this is his territory and we are his people.”

Kurt surveyed the group, only a few of the orcs daring to even meet his gaze, as was their culture. After making eye contact, they ducked their heads in a display of obedience. Seeing that was all the questions about him, he shifted back and returned to the podium.

“Anyway, that’s me. Any other questions?” He asked the crowd. When nobody raised a hand he huffed, annoyed at the turn of events. “Alright, well I will let you guys get back to it. I hope to see you all around and get to know you personally since I like to be friends with my neighbors. Also, feel free to come say high to me or the girls if you see us around. Introduce yourselves when you get the chance so we can get to know you and you get to know us.”

After stepping off the box, Kurt and the girls walked away from the group. “Well, that was a fucking disaster.” He groaned, swiping his hands down his face.

“I don’t know about that.” Rindi objected, brushing her hand against his bumping it again in her latest habit. “I think it’s important to establish your authority early.”

“This isn’t exactly a pack situation where I have to show dominance as the alpha.”

“I didn’t say dominance.” Rindi corrected with another tap of her hand on his, like she was trying to get his attention. “I said authority. Now they all know who the boss actually is.”

Val looped her arm in his. “I just wonder why Jay sent all of them. Like, why this group of paras and not others?”

“It’s because they are either hybrids or their family are.” Justin’s voice rang out as he approached them, a couple of youths in his wake who peeked over his shoulders. “That’s what Jay had me doing the past few months. My pack was going around and rounding these people up.”

“Makes it sound like you were about to send them to a camp, and not one with campfires, singing and smores.” Kurt almost growled.

Justin hesitated at the warning tone but only for a moment. “Let me rephrase. Jay had us bailing them out of bad situations. Sire, a lot of these people were in danger from their own communities because they or a family member are hybrids.”

There he went. Justin had called him sire, like Jade and the other natural born wolves. That one change completely shifted Kurt’s perspective and how he saw the former mercenary. “Then I am happy he did and they are in a safe place. Who are your friends?”

The two youths behind Justin flinched and tried to duck behind him but he stepped aside. “Sire, these are a couple of the new residents. Layla and Evan, kitsune twins if you can believe it. They wanted to meet Val and pay their respects to both of you.”

Both the kitsune were of the red variety as Kurt could see from their ears and tails. Evan was a darker coloration, more actual red compared to his sister’s bright orange. The kids also had bright blond hair and fair skin, which he thought was a little odd for the usual racial demographic of kitsune. The even stranger thing about them was the way their fox features were shaped.

Each of them had the fox ears replacing human ones like any kitsune but they shape was very off. Where Val’s ears were the traditional cupped triangle shape, the kids had much longer and more slender ears. It was then that Kurt noticed their tails were also thinner and longer, though still vulpine in nature despite looking more like a cat’s.

“H-h-he…Hi.” Layla stuttered with a shy wave.

“Umm, greetings, sire.” Evan’s voice had a tremble but not as much as his sister.

Kurt held out a hand to shake. “Only the wolves call me sire.” Though he really wished they didn’t. “Y’all can just call me Kurt.” The moment he touched the younger man, he realized that both of them were similar to Val. Half elf and half kitsune but high elf, not dark elf like his mate.

“M-master Kurt.” Layla said as she took his hand and tried to bow with it.

Before he could say anything about the formality, Val bounded up and landed next to Kurt. “Hiya. I’m Val.”

“Mistress Val.” Evan looked star struck as she grabbed his hand and shook.

“It’s very nice to meet you.” She gave them her happy smile, with squinty eyes and a held tilt. “It’s also nice to meet people with a similar heritage to me, though not dark elf.” Her tails lashed behind her in excitement, something the twins picked up on.

Layla gasped and started swatting her brother’s arm while pointing at Val. “Ev-Ev-EV! I told you I saw two!” Her words were like a hoarse shout that she was trying to keep as a whisper.

“Oh my stars.” He ignored his sister’s assault on his biceps as Val flaunted her tails. “That’s- How?”

“Well, it’s a long story but it turns out that Inari is really nice.” Val teased with a bombshell of a revelation.

Evan looked star struck as his mouth worked but no words came out and his sister took over. “Please tell us? Pleaspleaseplease, mistress Val?”

Kurt chuckled to himself. “Aright Val, I’m gonna leave to go check on Kristi while you talk with your new fan club.”

“OOOH I call president!” Layla shouted. “Ev can be treasurer.”

Ignoring the desperate look in Val’s eyes as the kids closed in on her, Kurt and Rindi started walking back to the front of the property. He didn’t have to look very hard to guess where Kristi had gone, there were only a couple logical choices for her.

“Hey, can you wait here?” Kurt stopped at the end of the parking area. “I think I should talk to her alone.”

“Of course.” Rindi bobbed her head and went off to sit on one of the benches near the barn.

Kurt continued to his car alone, finding it running and seeing Kristi in the back seats. He climbed in to sit beside her, startling her a little as the door opened.

“I don- oh. H-hey.” Kristi began answering before she realized who it was. “I ah, I’m sorry.”

Grabbing her hand and dragging her across the bench, Kurt pulled her close, putting his arms around her. “Don’t be sorry. Val was being a brat.” He whispered.

Melting into him, Kristi shook her head, rocking both of them. “No, she wasn’t. She just doesn’t… she… ugh. I don’t know, Kurt. She means well but just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“But you didn’t answer her before.” Kurt pointed out. “All you did was tell her that it wasn’t the right time or that you had to think about it.”

Feeling her hunch up and wrap her arms around him all the tighter, Kurt continued. “This was the first time you gave her a real reason besides just deflecting. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good reason, but you should have tried to tell us sooner.”

“Do- mmng – do you hate me?” She choked on her words and mumbled the last of them into his shoulder.

“Hey- Shhh.” He began rocking her. “Of course not.”

When Kristi let out a choked cry, muffled by his shoulder, Kurt opened himself up to her. “Kristi, I love you more than I can put into words, so I try to show you with my actions every day. I know we all have our fears that sometimes go hand in hand with our dreams. Val knows too, after the incident with her family, how could she not.

“What I think you need to hear is that you are loved unconditionally. I loved you when we thought you couldn’t give us children. I love you now when you don’t want to rush into it.” he was running his hands up and down her back, feeling the scales under her shirt.

“I want to be with you forever, unconditionally and without reservation. I would love to have children with you, and I know Val wants that for you too. But I also know that right now isn’t the best time and I agree with your decision to wait.

“Val needs to remember that just because you can potentially have kids, doesn’t mean you have to right now. It’s one of the quirks of her… um, excitable personality.” He felt Kristi snort a laugh, a wet spot forming from where her face pressed into his shoulder.

Kristi pulled away, wiping her eyes. Kurt leaned in, putting a hand on her cheek and giving her a kiss with as much love as he could put into it, completely ignoring the tears and runny nose. She kissed him back, not letting go of him and keeping her hands on his sides.

When they broke the kiss and put their foreheads together, they just sat in silence for a few moments as they both calmed down. Kristi was the first to talk. “I’m scared.” When Kurt didn’t respond, she continued after a deep breath. “I just… I don’t want to get my hopes up only for it to all fall apart. Just with… all this.” She tilted her head down, indicating her body.

Kurt thought he understood. “All the changes your body went through and how you can change things in that weird space you mentioned?” when she nodded, he pulled her in close again. “Oh, babe. I know, I know.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah.” He thought about everything he had gone through over the past several months and couldn’t imagine having his ‘full-time’ body changed like she had. “But I can promise you something.”

“What’s that?” Her voice was still thick with emotion.

“Whenever you are ready, we will take that step together. I swear we will be there for you regardless of the outcome.” He kept rocking her gently as he rubbed her back. “All of us will be there.”

“Thanks hon.” Kirtis sniffled.

“Feel better?”

She nodded. “A little.”

They sat for a minute longer as they both dried their eyes and got their emotions regulated again. “You know what I just realized about Val?” Kristi asked after she decided it was time to return and they climbed out of the car.

“Hmm?” Kurt turned to face her. “What?”

“That little shit isn’t jumping at the chance either.” Kristi huffed, her color returning as quickly as her temper rose. “How is she on my back about this when she isn’t on her back for you?”

Kurt nearly choked on his spit at the comparison and spluttered as Kristi’s indignant expression split with a smile. “But seriously, thank you for coming to me and – and reassuring me. I love you.” She took his hand as they turned to walk back to where Rindi was waiting.

“Love you too, Kristi.” He smiled at her. “Now, I think the kobolds were looking to meet you before they got started. And, as it turns out, Val has a fan club made from a couple kitsune-elf kids.”

“Great, just what she needs with that big head of hers.” Kristi rolled her eyes then looked to where Rindi was sitting on a bench in the shade. “Speaking of big things we need… Come on Rindi, get that beautiful behind over here. We got people to meet.”