Chapter 114

The group of six left the park through a service exit on the eastern side. Their group did not expand at all, as the new additions to Natalie's pack were acquainting themselves with everything in the Soulscape, as well as getting language lessons from the canines already in there. While they were able to speak in English, it was in a broken and difficult manner. The four wargs in particular paid extra attention to these lessons, as they desperately wanted to communicate with Natalie. They had many stories over what had happened since she had left, and they wanted to hear her experiences. They were completely enamoured with her, almost to a point of worship. Thankfully it was just at the point of deep admiration, otherwise Nat was unsure on how she would deal with it. Maia and Kali already started cracking jokes during gaps in their teaching of the new arrivals, saying how they were her two head priestesses and would lead her delegation in her glory. Despite these being clear jokes, Natalie could not help but worry that the four new wargs might actually found a religion around her.

Putting that out of mind for now, they walked up the embankment that led onto Memorial Drive. From there, the group moved north as they could and eventually took the ramp back down to Deerfoot Trail. Their goals in the city were finished, and there was nothing left that they wanted here. Thus, their plan was to leave the city as quickly and cleanly as possible. They took the turn off onto the Trans-Canada Highway, and proceeded to head east. It was the quickest way out of the city, and the width of the highway made it easy for them to see any monsters approach them. Unlike most other roads, this one had a number of vehicles stopped on the road. However, all of them were Large trucks with trailers being towed behind them. Overnight shippers, whos engines must have stopped working when the event hit, probably had their rides stuck here and were unable to make any deliveries. This was just a wild guess, but it was supported by the number of engine covers that were lifted, giving credence to the fact that none of them understood why their trucks stopped working.

They only made one stop on the way out of the city, but Natalie dreaded every moment of it. As they headed down the road, they passed by a gym that had franchises everywhere. Shannon had claimed that they needed to grab as much as they could for their future development. Reluctantly, Nat followed and helped store away all the non-electronic training gear that was there. They still left duplicates as always, but every item raised Nat's worries for the future. After all, every item that they grabbed would just be another tort... workout tool that would be used against her in her training that was coming up. However, the bright smile that was on Shannon's face was impossible to resist, so they thoroughly swept the building.

The rest of the journey that day was completely uneventful. They left the city, tired but relieved. They had gone into a city, barely had to deal with any monsters, and got a bunch of new companions for the days ahead. This was probably one of the best days they had gotten for a long time, exploration wise. After they passed a cemetery and a large RV storage lot, they finally made camp at a small farm property. Once again, no one was there, making camping in the yard easy and comfortable. By the time that they had finished setting up, the sun was already kissing the tops of the downtown buildings in the distance. Darkness fell fast, but a bonfire and a celebratory feast ensued for a few hours past that. The gorillas stayed sleeping, but all of the canines, as well as Natalie and Shannon partied and had a good night. The mothers of the pack even came out and joined in, though they were mostly stationary as they were dealing with their still weaning pups. Over all, it was a joyous and happy time for the entire group.

As it all winded down, and the moon started to rise high in the sky, most of the canines started to retire. The mothers and their pups went first, followed by most of the adults. The coyotes stayed out, but it was due to their role in all of this. Everyone had fought valiantly during the day, so now they had to protect them all through the night. At this point, all of the canines felt like one giant family. Bryden and Shadow competed in a bunch of stupid things as if they were brothers, Kali and Maia teased everyone equally as if they were older sisters to everyone, and so on. Everyone had their duties as a member of this family, but none of them begrudged each other or looked down upon one another because of what duties they took on. They treated each other as equals, working together to make the best of a situation.

Kali and Maia were the last two to enter the Soulscape. Nat was shocked at first, given how the two had a habit of sleeping with her every night. However, they both looked at Shannon right before they entered, and only did so once they received a nod from her. Looking around, Nat could not help but notice that unlike the previous times they had made camp, something was missing. There was only one tent. As her eyes widened and she turned to stare at her partner, Shannon walked up to her with a blush covering her cheeks. "So, um, if you are ready, I would like to sleep with you tonight. I think I... No, I am ready and tired of waiting. If, you know, that is okay with you." Shannon said, fidgeting with her hands as she looked down towards the ground. Seeing the embarrassment on Shannon's face and in her actions, Natalie's dominant side came out. Standing up, she walked over to her partner and slowly grasped the fidgeting hands with one hand using the other hand, she lifted Shannon's head up by the chin till they looked each other in the eyes. Instead of giving her answer in the form of words, Natalie lightly pecked her lover's lips with her own, before attempting to draw her head back. However, Shannon felt encouraged by the sudden intimacy, and pushed forward to make out more with Nat, causing both to fall through the open tent door and onto the mattress and pillows inside. Then, until they went to sleep, sounds resounded out from the tent, filled with contentment, passion, and lust.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Selvaria, Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Jacob, Onean, Neal, Sebastian, Ethan, Sir Hellington, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

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