Chapter 115

AN: So I have now been officially terminated from my work. that means that I should have more time to write, but also that Patreon is now my only source of money. Regardless, this is an issue on me, you all just need to do what you can to make through these difficult times in the best shape you can. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Natalie awoke as the sun rose, the light brightening her face from the entrance to the tent. Grumpy by the increasing brightness, she tried to move her head out of the path of the light. However, she stopped short as she felt something warm and firm come into her hands instead of the blankets. Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to make sense of this odd feeling she had never felt before. As she looked upon the contents of her hands, the previous night's memories flooded back to her. She could feel a blush rising to her cheeks, while leaving her hands exactly where they were. On Shannon's back.

Her back felt strong and firm, while still being warm and comfortable. Looking down was hard, as Shannon's head was nestled in the small area between Natalie's shoulder and neck. Due to the proximity, every time Nat breathed, some of her lover's red hair came upwards, tickling the bottom of her nose. Unable to resist the temptation, she started feeling Shannon's back all over again, working her way down it. It did not take long for Nat to reach the lower half of her sleeping companion, and as her hands ran over mass of muscle, she gave a tender yet loving squeeze. This seemed to do the trick for the sleepy Shannon, as a moan escaped her lips, before nestling harder into Natalie. "Morning love." Nat said, moving one had up to run her fingers through the luscious red locks. A soft grunt came up in response, and they just spent the next ten minutes just lying there, cuddled up as the sun crested over the horizon.

After spending enough time enjoying the moment, Nat turned her vision inwards to the Soulscape. If her math was right, today should be Seeka's due date, but it was hard to tell. When she took a look at the future mother, her belly was still swelling to large proportions, but it did not appear that the water had broken yet. The pregnancy could run longer or shorter for a variety of reasons, and there was no need to rush it. The new pups would come out when they were ready. Satisfied that Seeka was alright for the time being, she took a look at the other pups. Their fur was all coming in evenly, and there was clear evidence that they had started walking around. Scraps of regurgitated meat lay around each of the sets of pups, showing clearly that the weaning off of milk had started all around. It would probably still be another week or two for the newborns to be completely off of their mother's milk, but that was just an average. Realistically, they could be ready in as soon as four days.

There was one thing that worried Nat about these newborn pups, and that was behavioural traits. Normally, the second and third month were all behavioural stuff, such as how to interact with others, how to approach situations, but most importantly their bite inhibition. This was their time to learn how hard they could bite or nip safely, and with the accelerated growth that was being seen by the Soulscape, there was a chance that it would be completely passed by. It was something to ask the mothers if they were dealing with this properly, but that could wait till they all woke up. She did not want to try to teach others while they were half asleep.

Returning her vision back to the outside world, she was glad that she could choose which senses went back and forth. The entire time, Shannon's plentiful assets pressed against her stomach. As much as she wanted to continue to enjoy this feeling, she needed to get up. While attempting to remove her lover's grasp, she found that it was just as hard to escape, if not harder, than it was to break free from Kali and Maia's sleeping embrace. It took fifteen minutes of gentle caressing and whispering sweet nothings in Shannon's ear before the grasp finally weakened. Making use of the opening, Nat quickly got up and out of bed. Looking back down, she noticed that Shannon grasped at thin air for a while, before finally managing to get a hold of Natalie's pillow, which soon was given the same treatment as Natalie was earlier.

After getting on the same clothes as the day before, Nat walked outside and sat with the ever-watchful coyotes. However, what was there surprised her, as Copper was sitting there keeping an eye out with one of his pups nestled in between his front legs. Noting that she may have to start a count of puppies each morning, she sat down between him and Edwin, scratching the top of both of their heads. They were the biggest sucks out of the whole pack, and always loved to get petted. Though, that position may get usurped now that the wargs from the zoo had joined in. That discovery had answered quite a few questions that Nat had. The larger and stronger animals were not just spawned in like the monsters were. Instead, the wave seemed to have mutated select portions of each species, making them different while still similar. All the sudden, the mental image of a three-foot-tall chihuahua popped into her mind, and Nat could barely repress the giggle that almost came out.

After a while, the group all started to wake up. Thanks to the new additions, Nat's energy capacity seemed to have gone up again, as she was fully able to shift not just Kali, but Maia as well as they came out of the Soulscape. She still felt drained after it, but it was as clear of a sign of growth as any. The new wolves did not come and join Nat right away, still wary of the new person nearby. She could tell that they had only bonded with her because of the four wargs. Nonetheless, she planned to treat them as members of the family and get along with them well. To that end, she had Sol and Bryden show all of the new arrivals the features of the Soulscape, especially the summoning of prey to hunt. Within the next half hour, hunts were going on all over her Soulscape, from waterside to deep in the wooded areas. The only place they kept it away from was the farmland that they had worked together to till and plant. While they were doing that, Shannon had gotten up and came out, likewise dressed in the clothes of yesterday. While they ate breakfast, Nat decided that she had to ask for clarity, "So, what's the plan now?"

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Selvaria, Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Jacob, Onean, Neal, Sebastian, Ethan, Sir Hellington, Adam, 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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