Word of Note Before Reading this blog

This blog will EXCLUSIVELY feature stories with my characters from my Cityscape series. As such, ALL the posts here will be LONG. If you don’t want to do a lot of reading, then skip this one, those who do read the stories posted here, I hope you enjoy them.

 

This will make it easier for people to come and read these stories rather than having to continuously hand out files.

 

All names, characters, and stories on this blog are property of Micah Watkins and may not be reused or distributed without my expressed written consent. Thank you.

Change (PG)[Some mild language]

“Change”

Amanda woke up the other day in a fresh new phase of life. She seems to change phases as much as she changes diapers and pacifiers. I remember going through some phases as a kid, but I remember them seeming more rational when I was doing it. But looking at it from a mother’s point of view, it just seems random.

Normally, I don’t have a problem with Amanda’s phases, but this one has me a little…well…sad, really. I woke her up for breakfast and to say goodbye to Talla as she headed of to work, and for the first time in her nearly six years on the planet, she ate her oatmeal without complaining. Talla was happy about that. Of course, it was Talla who had fixed her the bowl of oatmeal that morning.

Together, Amanda and I ate while Talla took her shower and got dressed. “Mommy, could you bath and dress me today?” Amanda asked of Talla as she returned to the kitchen.

“Doesn’t Mommy do that for you?” Talla asked, pointing to me as I cleared the dirty dishes from the table.

“But I want you to do it, today,” The little wolf pup insisted as she clutched her teddy bear. Immediately following her words, the little black Princess popped her free thumb back in her mouth as her emerald eyes looked longingly up at the grown up white wolf.

Talla glanced at her watch, her tail darting around in brief concern of being late for work. But, quickly her eyes, ears, and tail all singled that she didn’t care if she was late. Even her fur seemed to smooth itself out in peace. “Of course, I can bathe you and get you dressed, my little Princess,” she said and wiggled her fingers towards the pup, who took those fingers lightly in hand, being sure not to drop her beloved stuffed animal.

I always laughed at the sight of Amanda with her teddy bear as I had one very similar to hers when I was a kid. One of the last few things I had from my short life with my mother. Mine, of course, was pink and was now in a glass case in my room. Talla had questioned why I had a teddy bear in a display case, and I just gave her a frown and mentioned that my mother gave it to me. That was the last time she asked anything of it, although, I caught her staring at it a couple times.

As Talla lead Amanda off to get ready for the day ahead, I glanced around the large house, realizing that I suddenly had nothing to do. With a shrug I proceeded to get showered and dressed myself. I was thankful for the ability to take a little longer in the shower and even had a little time to brush my mane, which was now down to the middle of my back. Talla liked it long like that, but I never cared for it. However, being a mother, often meant I had to go without such luxuries as haircuts simply because I could never find the time.

Mom used to keep her hair about the same length as mine is. I caught my reflection in the mirror of the makeup table in our bedroom then. I noticed that in that lavender dress I wore that day, I looked a lot like my mother, despite my black fur and mane and my green eyes. That image caught me off guard, as did the memories of Mom wearing a similar dress as she sang along with Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” which was one of her favorite songs. It was because of my mother that I, myself, listened to the classic rock songs. But, I remember laughing and dancing on my mother’s bed as she sang and danced in front of me. I don’t even remember what Nicole was doing at that time, and I really, didn’t care.

She was always singing something. And I often danced with her. Mom liked to see us dance. Always brought a smile to her face. “God,” I muttered to myself. “I must have been three at that time…Wore the same dress she did, too.”

I was interrupted then by Talla and Amanda entering the master bedroom of the house. Talla instantly gave me a knowing look, laced with concern. I intended to give her a reassuring look, but I don’t think I succeeded, ’cause she gave me a confused glance before handing me my daughter. “Alright, Princess, I have got to go to work, okay?”

“No! I want you to stay home and play with me!” Amanda said, and I instantly remember saying that exact same thing to my mother a couple times, and knew what was about to come from my lover’s lips.

“Aw, I would love to stay and play with you, Amanda, but I don’t want to get…” Talla started.

“You know, I wish you would get fired,” I blurted out loud. I was true. I was always scared to death that I would get a call from the chief that Talla had been killed. Every time the phone rang, I was afraid to answer it. I had been told that was normal. Talla was my wife and I had every right to be concerned for her safety. “I have plenty of money in the bank. We could live solely off the interest.”

Talla gave me an argumentative stare. We had never had that discussion before, but she really didn’t want to have it at that moment. “Laura…” she started, her face snapping between confusion and hurt and anger. “…I have to go to work,” she finally said. “Amanda, you be a good girl for your Mommy, and I will see you when you got home.”

With a kiss to Amanda’s cheek which Amanda returned, Talla turned to leave the room and house, but paused a moment. “Laura, I love you,” the words seemed to be more of an apology. “With all my heart,” the last part was said both in truth and to say that we were going to have a long talk when she got home.

I wish I could say that Amanda was a good girl that entire day out of sheer obedience to Talla, but she decided that my authority meant nothing. The day started out fine, with her wanting to just color, which I never had a problem with. Normally, I would even color with her, but when I tried this time, I got a stern, “NO! I’m coloring!” from my little one.

“Hey, Amanda, you be nice,” I told her before leaving her at the table to draw.

I contented myself with reading a couple chapters in my Bible – I’m working my way through Isaiah, but it’s been really slow and I have often found myself having to go back a few chapters – then picking up a novel and reading that.

Every once and a while I would glance over at Amanda to make sure she was alright, and she would still be coloring. Eventually, however it grew time for lunch and her short nap she usually took. But, when I went over to have her put her things up for lunch, I noticed that she was really just scribbling, which caught my attention because she usually drew pictures. Not only that, but she was still using the same piece of paper she had started with.

“Alright, Amanda, it’s time for lunch,” I said.

“No, it’s not. I’m still coloring,” she replied matter-of-fact.

I laughed, thinking she was just joking. “It’s not?” I asked playfully.

“Nope,” she said.

“Yeah, it is,” I retorted, and tickled her ribs from behind.

She didn’t seem to like that. “DON’T!” she snapped with a tone that threatened my authority.

“Hey, don’t you use that tone with me. Now, put your stuff up so I can make you something for lunch,” I ordered, my smile gone.

“Excuse you. I am coloring here. And I am not done coloring until I say I am done coloring,” she told me.

I frowned at my daughter. I didn’t like being ordered around by her. “I’m going to count to three, Amanda, and if you don’t have your stuff put up by the time I’m done, you are going straight down for a nap without lunch,” I warned.

“Look!” she snapped. “I am coloring! This is my stuff and I will put it away when I am done with it!”

I wasn’t about to tolerate her raising her voice at me, so I quickly snatched away her crayons and paper and stuck them on top of the fridge where she couldn’t reach them. “HEY! THAT’S MY STUFF!” She shouted at me and gave me a kick to the shin.

“Oh, now you’re going to get your bottom spanked before you go down for a nap,” I told her and she her attitude instantly changed.

“Noooooooo!” she whined as I dragged her towards her room.

“Yeeeeeeees! You do not kick me, young lady. Plus, it would seem, I need to remind you that I am your mother and I am boss and you need to listen to me and do what I tell you,” I said as got to the bottom of the stairs.

Amanda fought me, not wanting to be hauled up to her room and spanked. I was strong, but even with my enhanced strength, it was a struggle, which only told me that she also had enhanced strength. As did the kick she gave me, which left a good sized bruise on my leg. Eventually, I grew tired of fighting her and gave her little rump a slap right there. She arched her back forward and I grabbed the scruff of her neck and dragged her up the steps, a trick I had learned from my cousin.

“I’m sorry, Mommy!” Amanda tried.

“It’s too late for sorry, now,” I told her as I sat myself in the aptly named “Spanking Chair” and dropped her over my knee.

Instantly, her hands went covered her padded behind to protect it from my raised hand. “Move your hands,” I ordered and the little wolf pup quickly removed her hands from my target.

I only gave her five spankings, but five was usually enough as I made them hard enough to drive my point home. When I let her up, there were tears on the edge of her eyes. “Who’s the boss?” I asked her.

“You are,” she said, an apologetic look in her green eyes.

“Who else?” I asked.

“Mommy,” she answered.

“And didn’t Mommy tell you to be a good girl for me?” I interrogated and she nodded. “Yeah, but you weren’t a very good girl, were you?” Amanda shook her head. “So, you are going to sit in your room until Mommy gets home, understood? And I want you to be good and not get into any trouble.”

“But I’m hungry,” she tried.

“And I tried to feed you, but you insisted that you were coloring. Now, it’s time for your nap,” I said as I slipped off her little shoes and slipped her beneath the covers of her bed.

I gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Amanda,” I told her with a loving smile.

“I love you too, Momma,” she said, sleep working it’s way into her voice and eyes.

***

And she slept all afternoon. It was only when Talla walked through the door that she finally shot awake and came rushing down the stairs, shouting, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”

“There’s my little Princess!” Talla exclaimed as Amanda leaped into her waiting arms. “And how was your day?”

“Mommy was mean to me,” Amanda said.

“Oh she was, was she?” Talla asked and Amanda nodded, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes that insisted to cling to her. “Why was Mommy mean to you?”

“I don’t know,” Amanda said and Talla and I laughed.

“She thought she was the boss of me, today. Tried to get her to put up her crayons and stuff for lunch and she insisted that she was coloring and she wasn’t ready for lunch to the point where she raised her voice at me. And when I took her things away, she gave me this bruise,” I explained and lifted me dress enough to let Talla see the swollen and purple area on my shin.

“Hey, Amanda, I thought I told you to be a good girl for Mommy. It doesn’t seem like you were being very good,” Talla said and Amanda just shrugged, sleep still calling to her.

“I think she’s more interested in you, Talla, my love,” I commented.

“Yeah,” Talla said with a sigh after a moment to think about that. “Well, I’m sure it’s just a phase.”

I gave Talla a kiss while rubbing my hands against her sides. “We missed you,” I said.

***

Talla tucked Amanda back into bed. We were a little worried at the amount of time she spent sleeping, but our pediatrician insisted that there wasn’t anything to worry about.

Once she was asleep, Talla wandering into the kitchen where I was busy fixing dinner. “So, what is this about you not wanting me to work?” she asked.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to work,” I replied. “It’s that I don’t want you to work for SWAT.”

“Oh, so you’re concerned about me, are ya?” Talla asked with a smile and a loving kiss.

“You’re my wife, Talla. I don’t want you to get hurt,” I said and sighed, not wanting to stir the spaghetti anymore. “And I know that you used to be a superhero and protect the city and you’ve been a SWAT sniper for ages…and I thought I would be fine with it at first, but I just…I scared. Every time that door swings open, I hold my breath because I’m afraid that it’s going to be your boss or Eric or someone telling me that something went wrong and…I’ve already lost my mother and my ex-fiance, Talla, I don’t know if I could handle loosing you.”

I sat myself in a chair, crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed my right shoulder with my left hand. My tail sat perfectly still behind me and my ears sat at half mast as if they wanted to hear what Talla had to say, but were afraid of her words at the same time.

Talla just wandered over and sat on my lap. She gave me a very passionate and very long kiss. “God, Talla, most of the things I do and love are out of some subconscious memory of my mother. Hell, I even caught my remembering how she used to dance and sing to classic rock songs while I danced on her bed. I mean, the music I listen to, my favorite color, my…damn hair…I even call cigarettes cancer canes because they remind me of when my mother used to buy me peppermint sticks as a kid.

“My counselor says I have all sorts of trauma issues because I watched her die and because she was so close to me. If something were to happen to you, who knows how I would manifest that pain. I mean, it took me two full years to cry out the pain of my mother’s death…” Talla broke my emotional rambling with a deep kiss.

“It’s going to be alright, Laura. I’m not going anywhere, alright?” the white wolf said, the gentle swooshing of her tail across my leg doing it’s best to comfort me as well.

“No, Talla. It’s not alright,” I said and wrapped my black hands around her face. “I want you here. Where I know you’re safe. You have no idea how much I regret not taking you in the moment I saw you. Everything I’ve done since that night we first officially met has been to protect you. All I have ever wanted since then is for you to be safe and sound and out of harms way. I do NOT like you running off and playing hero everyday. I never liked you being a superhero, and it breaks my heart every time you step out that door to face people that would just love to rip you away from me forever. I do NOT want you to be a sniper anymore.” Talla’s blue eyes read my emerald ones the entire time, concern and heartache written across them.

One of the maids had taken over making dinner by then, which allowed me to plant another kiss on Talla’s lips and carry her over to the couch. I may have virtually unlimited strength, but I was never as strong as I made myself out to be. That was just an act. Amanda was the only thing that kept me from rushing to my room and crying my eyes out every morning while Talla risked her life.

“The chief…” she started in after a while.

“The chief can come here and personally kiss my ass. You are my wife. I didn’t put the very ring my mother was supposed to wear on your finger so I could watch ’till death do you part’ play before my eyes everyday,” I broke in bluntly as I wrapped her in my arms.

Amanda wondered down the steps then. “Mommy, I had a bad dream,” she said and crawled onto my lap.

Without a word, I helped Amanda onto my lap, and wrapped my daughter and my wife in my arms. “We need you here, Talla,” I whispered. “I love you more than life itself, and I will do whatever it takes to get you to stay home. And I don’t care if I you end up hating me and leaving me. I will just watch over you and protect you, anyway. At least I will know you’re safe. Because…” and I turned Talla’s face so I could look her in the eyes. “I love you, Mrs. Talla Anne Graives.”

“I love you, too, Mrs. Laura Marileen Graives,” Talla said.

She was unsure of what to do, though. Granted she went into work the next day and told her boss that she was going to be using up all the sick leave she had, which was about three months worth. When her boss asked her why, she told him that she was having a family issue that would compromise the quality of her work.

To drive my point home to her, I refused to have sex with her until I was sure she was safe. I never really felt comfortable making love to her while she was in harm’s way, anyway. That, though, told her that I was desperately serious, and that my fears were real. I exposed just how emotionally fragile I was to her in the weeks that followed, and I know it scared her.

She was unusually quiet for a while. That just told me that she didn’t know what to tell me. Eventually, though, as a birthday present to me, she turned in her resignation and even handed her beloved sniper rifle and 19th century pistol over to Cindy Cole, who had put together a museum dedicated to the Brethren. I was overjoyed. It was the best present I could have asked for.

As to Amanda’s “I love Talla” phase, it lasted for a while, and I was fine with it as long as Amanda also did what I told her to. I knew that no matter how much she clung to Talla’s side, whenever she was scared or got hurt, she would always come crying to me. I was her mother, and she was my Princess and that would never change.

Laura the Beast (G) (Warning: emotional)

“Laura the Beast”

I suppose I should feel sorry for all the grieve I caused my cousin growing up, but she never understood why I acted out the way I did. I knew why. I always knew why. But no one cared to ask me why. Wish they would have ’cause I wanted to talk to someone about it. I wanted a shoulder to cry into, but for the longest time, that wasn’t something anyone was willing to give me. Not until I was my seventh birthday began to rear it’s head.

Whitney put up with nearly two full years of the reign of Laura the Beast. But after a while, she had enough. Looking back on it, now, I can say that every time I did something bad or broke something or acted out in some way, I was desperately hoping that someone would sit me down and ask me why the hell I was being such a brat.

By that time, Whitney had married Taylor Bane and had given birth to Sasha. Her attention was hungry for her own family, but Aunt Heather and Uncle Joseph were still far to busy with their respective jobs to watch me, and my other cousins were simply too young or too scared of me. If my memory serves me correctly, Maxwell was still in the hospital with a broken arm from his encounter with me. That should give you an idea of just how bad I was.

Aunt Heather…she would always come home towards the end of the wars and find me nose first in a corner, my ass sore from a series of spankings that Whitney was growing tired of giving and which were becoming harder and harder with each series. The older wolf would just frown at me most days. Sometimes though, she would pick me up and just hold me. She didn’t have to ask why I was such a brat, she already knew. As did Uncle Joseph, who could stand to look at me in the eyes, for they never held any bit of hatred, but caged my sorrow and pain like a beast in a zoo.

Heather lost her sister and niece just as I lost my sister and mother. She understood my pain and knew it never went away. She of all people taught me that it was okay to cry, though I never shed a tear in those two years after my loss. I don’t know why I didn’t. I guess my counselor would argue that I had some odd urge to be a grown up; that I had to “be the woman of the house” and wanted to show everyone how tough I was. Maybe that’s part of the reason.

I remember catching Aunt Heather wiping away tears most nights. It wasn’t ever mentioned out loud, but I always suspected that she often stopped by the graves of my mother and sister to give them the report on all the horrible things I was doing. It was only later that she informed me that she never said a word when she looked at those graves, but just shed a lot of tears.

Anyways, I remember it was an extremely hot day in Earth when Whitney’s patients with me finally broke. Of course, it didn’t help that I attacked Sasha for no real good reason. Sasha was always Whitney’s little angel.

From what I can recall, it was pouring outside, and Whitney wouldn’t let either of us go out. “No, you’ll just track mud through the house, and I don’t want my mom to yell at me for it,” she said.

Whitney was understandably nervous whenever I got close to Sasha. With the wolf fox mix being only two, she was the center of attention. Now, as far back as I can remember, I loved to draw and build things. This is why Aunt Heather kept a healthy supply of paper, crayons, colored pencils and legos around. That day, Whitney gave her daughter some of my paper and crayons to play with, which I was furious about.

As soon as I saw what she had, I marched over to Sasha and pushed her, shouting, “These are MINE! DON’T TOUCH THEM!”

“Laura! Leave Sasha alone!” Whitney ordered as she sat on a nearby couch and watched us intently.

“But she has my stuff!” I spat. “I don’t want her touching my stuff.”

As I said that, the little pup reached up and stole back a couple of crayons, which got her a slap across her arm. Sasha has never been one to cry just to cry, and even the sting of my slap didn’t draw tears.

“Don’t hit her! You have plenty of other crayons and things. Why don’t you go play with your legos,” Whitney suggested, and I could tell, even then that her stress levels were elevated just because I was near her daughter.

Having a reputation for injuring any child I came across meant I didn’t have very many friends, and the ones I did have, I never got to see because everyone was afraid I what I would do. But, I didn’t care about friends at that time. My two greatest friends of all time abandoned me to the harshness of life and I was afraid that if they could leave so suddenly, so could my other friends, and I didn’t want to experience that again.

I tried to fight Sasha for my stuff again, but Whitney snatched me up and plopped me down a good twenty feet away from Sasha. Quickly, my gray-furred cousin went into my room and grabbed my bucket of building blocks and set it down before me. “Play with these and leave Sasha alone or I blister your butt and lock you in your room, understood?”

Reluctantly, I conceded and began to build a city using my blocks. I remember Taylor never liked coming over while Whitney was babysitting, because she would always have her eyes and attention locked on me to make sure I wasn’t getting into any trouble. However, that day, Taylor did decide to show up, which proved to be a blessing.

Sasha eventually grew tired of my paper and crayons and decided that she wanted to play with my legos. She wandered over and pushed herself into my little city, completely destroying it. Not happy about that, I shoved her to the ground and punched her a couple times as hard as I could before I brought my claws across her back a couple times. That got her screaming in pain. “DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF!” I screamed over her. “STUPID IDIOT! I wish you were never born!”

I barely got the last part out before Whitney grabbed and dragged me into my very pink room. Her patients was at a breaking point. Which is understandable as Sasha had to get stitches and her scars still haven’t gone away. I can’t look at them, for remembrance of that day would rush back full of guilt.

Whitney sat me in a chair at a pink drawing table. “Laura Marileen Graives, you sit right here in this chair and you can either draw or whatever, but I do not want you to move from this spot until Mom gets home. If you do, I swear to God himself that I will put you over my knee and literally spank you until you can’t sit. And then you will go to bed without any lunch or dinner or snacks, is that understood?”

I didn’t get a chance to respond, which always meant that she didn’t care if I understood or not, she was intent on keeping her promise. “What do you care what I do?” I called after her. “You don’t even care about me! All you care about is your stupid husband and your stupid daughter! You wouldn’t even care if I killed myself!”

My cousin paused at that last part. She didn’t want me to think that way, but she also didn’t know what to say to it. Taylor gave her a kiss on the cheek while he held their crying daughter in one arm and chatted with the 911 operator with the other hand.

The silence that she gave me just made me angrier. I slammed the door to my room as hard as I could and turned on my little pink CD player that instantly belted out the Def Leppard album that I had in it. I turned up my music as loud as I could. Getting no response from my cousin, I took the chair I was suppose to be sitting in and proceeded to destroy my drawing table and put some serious holes in the walls of my room.

Finally, Whitney swung the door open and caught the chair as I tried to swing it at her, my strength all but gone, tears finally close to pouring down my cheeks. That was temporarily halted when Whitney tossed the chair aside and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. Quickly she sat on the edge of my bed and put me over her knee. After lifting up the skirt I had on and pull down my underwear, she proceeded to keep her promise and made sure that my hide was so sore I couldn’t sit. After dressing me again, she laid me on my bed. “I hate you!” I spat.

“What am I going to do with you, Laura? I can’t keep spanking you. That doesn’t seem to be working. Nothing works on you. You are just determined to be a little monster, and I am sick and tired of having to fight with you all the time,” Whitney said.

“Why don’t you just kill me and then I would be out of your life,” I replied, wanting more to be with my mother and sister than relieve her stress.

“Oh my word, Laura. I don’t want you to die. You’re my little cousin. I love you, but I don’t know….I don’t know what to do. What do you want from me?”

That was close enough to the question I was looking for all those years. I couldn’t fight the tears anymore and as I said, “I want my Mommy!” the tears flooded from me in a torrent that had spent two years building steam.

Whitney picked me up and held me while I just cried into her shoulder. “I know you miss your mother and sister, Laura. I know. I miss her too, we all do,” she told me.

I repeated. “I want my mommy,” over and over in hopes that the shoulder I was crying into would somehow turn into my mother’s. But she was really gone.

When Aunt Heather came through the door, she glanced at Sasha, but couldn’t ignore my crying and soon took me from Whitney. She cried with me. As did Whitney. Everyone cried that day. Even Taylor and Uncle Joseph. But no one cried more than I did. I wept until I fell asleep. And when I woke up, I cried some more.

For many nights after that I would often wake up in the middle of the night, crying, and Aunt Heather would instantly rush in and cry with me. There were even nights when I woke up in the middle of the night already on Aunt Heather’s lap.

That wasn’t the complete end to Laura the Beast, but I wasn’t nearly as nasty after that. Aunt Heather even threw me a birthday party and invited some of my friends. I still remember my sixth birthday party ended with me crying into Cindy’s shoulder. Cynthia Torane was my closest friend, and like a sister to me. That is what got me crying that time.

It took another year for my outburst of crying to subside to the point where everyone could get a full night’s sleep. It felt good to cry. Still does. I don’t cry as much anymore, and it is only when remembering my mother that my tears seek the open air. I would always miss my mother. Always. She was the greatest friend I have ever known, despite only knowing her for five short years. Those are still some of the happiest years of my life.

School (G)

“School”

Amanda Graives breathed slowly as she did her morning exercises with her mother. It had been a ritual for the two wolves since Amanda was four. At seven, Amanda already knew quite a lot of martial arts and enjoyed this time with her mother. This day was a little different though, as her grandfather was also stretching with them. He had volunteered to teach both of the ladies some wrestling moves. But, that would have to wait, as one of Laura’s human maids came down the stairs and stood at the entrance to the dojo. “Excuse me, Miss Laura, but it time for Miss Amanda to go to school,” announced the redhead.

Laura and Thomas both stopped in their exercises at this news, but little Amanda did not. She was much more interested in her martial arts training than in going to school for the first time. “Thank you, Sarah. Are her school clothes and supplies laid out?” Laura asked the maid.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve double checked the list of supplies and I think you will be quite pleased with the outfit I picked out,” Sarah answered with a slight bow.

“Good. Thank you, Sarah. You may go back to your duties,” the tall black she-wolf replied. Once the maid bowed again and headed up the stairs, Laura turned to her daughter. “Well, Amanda, let’s get you dressed and off to school.”

“But I want to learn how to wrestle,” protested the little black wolf.

Thomas laughed a little at that. “After school and homework, I promise I will teach you some wrestling.”

Laura moved towards the stairs. “Come on, Amanda, let’s go.”

Reluctantly, and with the biggest pout she could muster, Amanda crossed her arms over her little chest and followed her mother up the stairs. Her pout stayed cemented on her face while Laura changed her out of her martial arts uniform and into a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt. Laura was pleased with how her daughter looked in her outfit and was impressed with the good job her maid had done in picking it out.

Picking up Amanda’s pink backpack, Laura took her daughter’s hand and walked her out to the waiting limousine. The adult canine paused and huffed at the luxury vehicle. She would have to talk to her maids when she got back, as she didn’t want her daughter to arrive to her first day of school in such style. The driver – an attractive young leopard – kindly opened the back door for Amanda and Laura who both reluctantly got in. “Driver, who ordered this limo?”

The cat seemed confused by the question. “Why, Mistress Wienhardt, Ma’am.”

Laura gave a frown and a sigh. “All right. We’re going to be late if we don’t get going,” she said.

With a nod, the driver shut the passenger door before running around to the driver’s door and jumping in the limo.

***

Amanda wore her pout all the way to school. “You know, Amanda, if you keep that up, you’re face is going to get stuck like that,” Laura commented with a smile.

“Good!” the little wolf replied with a huff.

Laura smiled at her daughter a moment before picking the girl from her seat and placing her on her lap. The once famous superhero gave her only child a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you, baby,” she said as she wrapped the little pup in her arms and held her close.

Finally, the pout was erased and a big warm smile took it’s place as Amanda returned the embrace. “I love you, too, Mama.”

***

The limo eased to a stop in front of the Brian T. Johnston Elementary School. The name of the school meant nothing to Amanda, but everything to Laura. A deep frown creased Laura’s face when she read the name of her dead lover who was also Amanda’s father. Ironic that Brian’s daughter would be attending a school bearing his name, but he would never get to see his daughter attend it. There was a wish on Laura’s heart that she knew would never come true.

Shaking off the memories of her dead lover, Laura walked her daughter through the front doors of the school. With a quick stop at the front desk, the two headed towards Amanda’s kindergarten class. Just outside the door, Laura knelt down and gave her daughter a quick hug and kiss. “Now, be a good girl and no fighting. If I get a call from the teacher that says you’ve been fighting, your grandfather won’t be teaching you any wrestling moves for a week, understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the pup replied.

“Good girl. Now, go on. I’ll be by to pick you up after school is out,” Laura said and kissed her daughter’s cheek one last time before handing her the pink backpack and ushering her into the classroom.

***

As soon as the little black wolf stepped into the classroom, she knew it was going to be rough going for her. Looking around, she noticed that not only was she the only wolf in the room, but the only canine, as well. Not only that, but her deep black fur made her stand out even further amongst her lighter colored classmates. Even the grey stripes in her mane were darker than the other creatures. On top of all that, at seven, Amanda was the oldest kid in class.

The sudden silence upon her entrance made the pup even more uneasy. Slowly she moved over to the crowd of students sitting on the floor in front of their teacher and took a seat towards the front. Setting her backpack on the floor in front of her, Amanda held it tightly, as if it would keep her safe from all the prying eyes around her.

“Well, hello, there. And what is your name?” the teacher asked, taking a clipboard from her desk.

“A-Amanda Graives,” the lone wolf replied.

“Ah. Good. Now, every one’s here. So, how old are you, Amanda?” the tabby cat said.

“Seven.” Amanda was still fully aware of that everyone was looking at her. Her sensitive ears even picked some chatter amongst the other students.

The teacher asked the other students to introduce themselves, and, obediently, they did. Amanda took careful note to recognize faces and names with voices. This was a technique her mother had taught her a couple years ago. “It is important to not only know what you enemy looks like, but how they sound. That way, you can pick them out in the darkness of nights,” Laura had said.

One of the kids in the room was a male lion named Kale. He sat directly behind Amanda and as the teacher began to read a book to the kindergartners, the little cub started to toy with Amanda’s gray-striped mane. This bugged the wolf greatly, and it took all her strength not to use her martial arts training on him. “Miss Loni, Kale is playing with my mane,” complained the pup.

“Kale, leave Amanda alone,” the teacher ordered with a stern tone.

“Why? Wolves don’t deserve to have manes,” the boy commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

The big tabby didn’t appreciate the comment and she shot the cub a scolding look. “Do you want to go sit in timeout until your parents come and pick you up, mister?”

“No,” the lion replied with a groan.

“Then behave yourself and leave Amanda alone,” said the teacher.

Reluctantly, the lion stopped messing with Amanda’s mane. But as the teacher continued, two of the human children started started whispering to each other. The little pup knew the talk was about her. Soon, her trained ears began to pick up other chatter about her, and none of it was good. In defiance, and a little emotional pain, Amanda put her backpack on, and crossed her legs. Slipping her hands in opposite sleeves, she closed her eyes and listened intently to the teacher as she read. Taking deep breaths, the little wolf pushed all of the other voices out of her mind and focused on the only voice that seemed to care.

As she listened, she started to notice some more subtle things. The door to the playground wasn’t fully sealed and slight breeze was whistling around the edges. Amanda noticed how it began to flow around the other students in the room; how their breath caused it to swirl and dance. Every movement they made was clear to her. Their individual scents revealing a lot of their secrets. The lion behind her was still in diapers, and it seemed some of his crankiness was due to the fact he needed changed. He wasn’t the only one in diapers though. At least one of the human children and a leopard who had been relatively quiet also had on the plastic pants.

One of the humans started to sneak through the crowd. She reached for Amanda’s mane, but at the last second, the wolf pup tilted her head out of the way and leaned back, causing the child to loose her balance and fall forward over Amanda’s shoulder. The little blonde girl rolled into a seated position, confused and dazed.

The commotion caught the attention of the teacher. The cat, however, only saw the human child sitting in front of Amanda, who hadn’t stopped her trance. “You kids need to settle down. I’m almost done with this story. After that we’ll go outside and you can play until your parents get here,” announced the cat who waited a moment for the blonde to return to her place in the gaggle of children before resuming her reading.

No one messed with Amanda for the rest of the story, although, the wolf pup could tell that her little stunt didn’t go unnoticed. A lot of the other children were angry because of it. But, at that moment she didn’t care. She wasn’t there to please them, and if they didn’t want to be friends with her, then that was perfectly fine with her. Although, it would probably make the school year easier.

***

Finally, the children were escorted outside to the playground. Being a child, Amanda was excited about being able to run and climb on all the equipment, and she instantly set out to concur everything, starting with the monkey bars. From there she made her way up to the top of the tower of wood and was about to slide down the pole, when Kale suddenly appeared behind her and shoved her off the tower. This did catch her off guard, but luckily, Amanda inherited her parents’ enhanced reflexes and strength, and she easily maneuvered her body around and landed perfectly on her feet, only slightly bending at the knees and facing the lion cub. “No one wants to play with a wolf!” he shouted, a little surprised that she landed without injury.

“No one wants to play with a lion who still uses his diaper as a toilet,” Amanda replied in a huff.

Kale’s face turned beat red with embarrassment and rage at the comment as all the other kids laughed. “Yeah, well, you’re a girl!” the lion tried and everyone laughed at the pathetic insult. This only made the boy march off the playground in tears.

Miss Loni gave Amanda a scolding look, but didn’t say anything to her. “He’s right, you know?” the blonde girl from before said as she stood a few feet from Amanda. “No one wants to play with a stupid little wolf.”

At this Amanda glanced around the playground and noticed that no one was even looking at her. The thought that this strange creature might be right started to break through the wolf’s toughness. Was it just because she was so different? Could that really make her such an outcast? Without a word, Amanda climbed up to the highest point in the playground and sat down to ponder that thought.

As she sat there some of the other kids started to throw rocks at her, which she simply let hit her. Those kids were soon caught and yelled at by the teacher who gave the lone wolf a sad look and a heavy sigh.

***

Amanda sat on her perch for several minutes, perfectly content to stay there until her mother came. She did not notice the fuming Kale eyeing her with contempt, his eyes red from crying. She was much to focused on watching the road for her mother’s truck. Finally, she saw the red pickup pull up the street, and sat up in excitement, her tail wagging to show her joy. Seeing his opportunity, Kale walked right up to Amanda and shoved her off her perch. Not knowing what was happening, Amanda’s reflexes didn’t kick in, and she crashed to the ground hard, and she could have sworn she heard a crack somewhere.

Not satisfied that he had done enough to the poor black wolf pup, the lion jumped down from the playground equipment and gave the wolf a swift kick to the stomach, causing her to loose her breath. “Kale Jonathan Andrews!” came the voice of the teacher who instantly marched over to where Amanda was trying desperately to get air back into her lungs. “You get inside the classroom and put your nose into a corner and don’t come out until your parents get here.”

Still fuming, the lion did as he was told as Miss Loni rolled the injured wolf onto her back. Once air finally returned to Amanda’s body, she almost instantly started to cry, her eyes scanning for her mother. The cat tried to pick up the black wolf, but she squirmed free and moved towards the fence at the edge of the playground.

Upon seeing her mother walking towards the playground, Amanda tried to climb over the fence, but a sharp pain in her arm caused her to fall back to the ground in agony. Her crying briefly turned to screams as both adults quickly ran to the child’s aid. “What happened here?” Laura asked as she gently picked up her daughter, who was clasping her arm tightly.

“One of the other students shoved her off the playground equipment and kicked her in the stomach. Don’t worry, he’s going to get suspended,” Miss Loni explained.

“Good. Now, we probably should get that arm checked out. Luckily, I was just coming back from lunch with my doctor friend,” said the taller black wolf.

Miss Loni glanced towards the pickup in time to see a gray wolf with a black mane get out. This new wolf was dressed in a business suit that looked very expensive. Seeing the concern in the face of her friend, this newcomer ran up to the group to see what the problem was. “What’s wrong?” asked the doctor.

“Amanda’s been hurt,” Laura explained. “I think her arm is broken.”

The older wolf gently took a hold of Amanda’s arm to examine it. She started to roll it over, but stopped when the pup buried her face in her mother’s breast to keep from screaming in pain. “Yeah, it’s broken, all right. Let’s get her to the hospital.”

***

Amanda only stayed in the hospital long enough to get her arm put a cast. When the doctor guided her from the room, she found her mother finishing up a face to face conversation with her teacher. “Well, you don’t have to worry about Kale for a while. I suspect he’ll end up being held back with all the school he’ll be missing,” Miss Loni said.

“That’s good. Maybe it that will give Amanda some room to make a couple friends,” Laura replied and smiled at her daughter.

“Isn’t Eric and Cindy’s son in that class?” the doctor asked.

“Eric and Cindy Cole?” the tabby cat questioned and the gray wolf nodded as Laura picked up her daughter.

“Well, their son is on my roster, but he wasn’t able to attend yesterday. Seems his family was on a bit of a vacation. He should be there tomorrow, though,” the teacher said.

“Hear that, Amanda? You should have someone you actually know to play with tomorrow,” Laura told her daughter who simply nodded and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. Laura laughed. “Well, it looks like this little one is ready for a nap. Which would be my cue to head home.”

“Alright, Miss Graives. Take care.” Miss Loni waved.

“See you tomorrow. And thanks again, Whitney. I owe you one,” Laura called back as she headed towards the exit with her daughter in her arms.

“You owe me several, Laura,” the doctor said with a hint of irritation that made Laura laugh. “But, this one is on me. Anything for my little second cousin.”

Laura smiled at Whitney’s affection for her daughter as she pushed open the doors of the hospital. The doctor treated Amanda as if she were her niece, even volunteering to babysit whenever Laura needed it. She was grateful for that support. Nothing put Laura at ease more than knowing there were so many people around that wanted the best for her and her daughter. It was a dream come true.

When Amanda got hurt, however, it scared Laura more than she cared to admit. Now, as she gently buckled her daughter into the car seat in Laura’s personal vehicle, being sure not to wake the now sleeping pup, she couldn’t help but give her daughter a loving kiss on the forehead and thank God that she only had a broken arm. “Watch over my little girl, Father. She’s the only one I got, and I’ve fought long and hard to make this land safe for her. Keep her safe for me,” was her prayer as she entered the driver’s seat of her truck. That was the prayer Laura prayed every day and night from that point on. All she wanted was for her daughter to be safe. To Laura Graives, Amanda was more important to her than life itself.

The End.

Sunday Morning Mayhem (G)

“Sunday Morning Mayhem”

Talla wasn’t all that pleased with my job as a Sunday school teacher at a local church, but she understood the reasoning. It actually was her idea that I take my five-year-old daughter, Amanda, mentioning that her and I should be spending more time together, since I am her biological mother. However, Amanda didn’t seem to care for Sunday school all that much. She was always getting into things she wasn’t supposed to and disobeying the rules. I think however, she was just scared of not making any friends and most of the kids in that class were human, which she didn’t care for all that much. Our maid, Sarah was the only human she trusted.

For some reason I have yet to figure out, the room the Sunday school class was in had four candles in it, and one of these candles had matches near it. What’s worse was that long drapes hung from the window. I at first didn’t really think anything of it. No one really did, but, Amanda eventually showed us why it’s not a wise idea to keep such things within a child’s reach.

***

That day was a rough day for me anyway. As I was getting Amanda myself ready, trying hard to let Talla sleep as she had worked very late the previous night. I was halfway through my shower when I heard a loud crash come from the living room. With a sigh, I prayed that Sarah would be able to handle it in a quiet manner. But when I heard Sarah screech at the top of her lungs, I puffed another disappointed sigh between my lips, and quickly rinsed the suds from my fur.

Once, dry enough, I threw on a pink pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt and wandered out to the living room. There, I was greeted with the sight of Amanda sitting in only a pair of underwear on the couch, watching TV while Sarah struggled with trying to stop her hand from bleeding all over the floor, while the other three maids cleaned up the mess of Amanda’s oatmeal and her bowl from the kitchen floor. I frowned at the sight. Before I could ask what was going on, Whitney knocked on my door a couple times, herself fully dressed for church.

After letting my cousin in, I quickly shut off the TV and went to grab Amanda to get her ready for church. “DON’T TURN OFF MY TV!” She shouted.

“Hey!” I spat quietly, but firmly. “You do not yell at me, and you need to keep your little voice down because your Momma is sleeping. Now, I am going to get you ready for church and you are going to apologize to Sarah for biting her.”

“No! She deserved it!” argued the little wolf.

With a sigh, I picked up my daughter who refused to move from her pouting position and carried her up the stairs to get her ready for church. Sarah gave me a apologetic look as I passed her. “No, Sarah, you did nothing wrong. There’s no reason for you to be apologetic for anything,” I told my head maid.

The blond human girl smiled at that. “Thank you, ma’am,” she replied.

I could feel my heart rate was probably higher than it should have been as I hauled my little trouble maker up the stairs. I set her in a chair as I pulled shifted through those her dresser for an outfit, complete with a fresh set of panties, as the ones she had on she had worn to bed.

It didn’t take much for me to slip her old underwear off and put a new pair on. And I slipped on my personal favorite pair blue jeans on her: they had a little heart on one of the back pockets and a bear on the other. She always looked adorable in them. As I went to pry her arms apart to put on her shirt, she gave me a lot of resistance. “Come on, Amanda, I need to get you ready for Sunday school,” I said.

“I don’t wanna go to Sunday school,” muttered the little girl.

“Well, you certainly aren’t going to stay here after you bit Sarah. Now, if you don’t want me to put you over my knee, I would suggest you stop giving me such a hard time and let me get you ready for Sunday school,” I replied and reluctantly, Amanda let me put a shirt on her.

I did my best not to resort to spanking her and by that point I had only spanked her once before. It was enough to teach her that when I threatened to spank her, she better do listen.

Talla stood in the doorway to Amanda’s room. “I can watch her if she’s too much for you,” my wife said as she attempted to scratch the sleep from her mane.

“No, you should still be asleep, Talla. But, if you’re going to stay up for a bit, you can make sure Sarah’s alright,” I said, and the white wolf glanced down the stairs, in confusion.

“What happened to Sarah?” she asked.

“She was being a bitch!” spat Amanda and instantly she covered her mouth.

“Amanda Elizabeth Graives! We do not use that kind of language in this house! I’m going to have to think up a new punishment for you, I think,” I said, despite wanting to spank her for just pushing her luck, I was trying to keep my blood pressure down.

Talla gave me a groggy smile. “You should take your heart medicine before you go, hun,” she said as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me in a warm hug.

With Amanda between us, I gave my beloved white lover a kiss on the lips. “I think you’re right.”

I already had a heart attack once, and Whitney had ordered me to do my best to relax, but I pointed out that I have a little girl running around the house. She gave me some aspirin and a couple other heart medications to prevent a heart attack.

***

The need for my medication became apparent when Whitney informed me she wanted Sarah to stay off her feet and rest her hand for a couple days. To make sure of this, Whitney took Sarah to the hospital where she would have her hand stitched up and be given some morphine to dull her pain.

Not being without my head maid wasn’t really want made my stress levels jump, it was the fact that my five year old is the one who put her out of commission for a while. Upon hearing the extent of Sarah’s injuries, I grounded Amanda for a full month and tact on two weeks for making a mess in the kitchen. Unfortunately, grounding her probably wasn’t going to be enough to cure her young rebellious stage.

The ride to church was quiet. I was trying desperately to think of a suitable punishment for Amanda, and Amanda sat in her car seat, and pouted while she watched the trees and buildings roll by. Finally, my mind formed a creative punishment. “You are going to take up some of Sarah’s chores, Amanda. We’re also going to go down to the hospital tomorrow and you are going to be Sarah’s little servant, is that understood?”

Amanda didn’t answer me. She just continued to pout. “I’m not kidding, Amanda. If you don’t do your chores and don’t obey Sarah, you will get spanked. I’m not going to sit by and let you cause all kinds of mayhem for everyone,” I said, and Amanda continued to be silent. I knew she didn’t like the idea of doing chores or waiting on Sarah, but I figured it was a suitable punishment for injuring the human so badly that it put her in the hospital.

***

In my haste to get Amanda out of the house, I completely forgot my pink acoustic guitar that I had strung up for my southpaw style. This meant I was stuck playing a right handed guitar. I could play right handed, but it was always hard for me, and I couldn’t play as well right handed as I could left handed. Because of this, I only played a couple of songs before the actual Sunday school teacher started her lesson.

I was merely an assistant. And I sat and watched over the children as the teacher taught. I had noticed Amanda glancing around the room as if she was looking for something she could use to get back at me with, however, I did not notice that her eyes fell on the matches by one of the candles. While the other kids got their snacks and the teacher and I had our little discussion – in which she noted that she liked my pink outfit – Amanda snuck over to the matches and quickly lit one and lit a candle.

The flame of the candle moving across the room towards one of the curtains caught my eye, but by the time I glanced over, Amanda had already placed the flame against the curtain. Without hesitation, I marched over and snatched the candle from Amanda’s hand and blew it out. I then took the pitcher of juice and splashed it over the flames, extinguishing them quickly. In one swift move, I scooped up Amanda who instantly began to squirm and wriggle in my arms. “Amanda Elizabeth Graives II, you best stop squirming or you’ll get more spankings then you’re going to get.”

Instantly Amanda stopped squirming and plopped her thumb in her mouth. Amanda loved to suck her thumb, and always did it when she was nervous, scared or happy. At that moment, I figured she was nervous and scared. She really didn’t like to get spanked.

As I turned to the teacher, she gave me a frown. “You going to take her home?” she asked.

“Yeah. Seems like she’s just wanting to get into trouble lately. And a Sunday school room is no place for such a child,” I commented.

***

When I set Amanda down to open the door of my truck, she started to run back towards the church. “AMANDA! You have two seconds to get back here or I will spank your little butt right here and I won’t stop until I reach fifty!” I spat.

Amanda stopped in her tracks and turned around with a questioning look on her face. “Oh, you think I’m joking?” I asked. “One…” that’s the highest I got before Amanda rushed back to the truck. I plopped her in her car seat and turned her little head so I could look her in the eyes. “Now, you sit here and shut up and behave yourself. If you ’cause any more trouble, I will pull this truck over and spank your butt until you can’t sit, is that understood?”

The black wolf pup nodded and the moment I let go of her chin, her thumb went into her mouth and stayed there the entire trip back to the house.

***

When I opened the door of my house and carried Amanda inside, I set her down and demanded she go to her room. I had intended to calm down a bit before I gave her the spankings I was fully intent on giving her but when she walked up to one of the other maids and stomped on her foot just because she could, I knew her punishment couldn’t wait. As I moved to her, the little pup quickly scurried up the stairs, but because of her little stature, she made it about halfway up the stairs before I grabbed her and hauled her into her room, shutting the door behind us. Without much hesitation, I sat in one of the two chairs in her room and placed her over my knee. The first slap against her five-year-old cheeks was enough to bring her to tears. “You do not start fires and you do not bit people and you do not hurt people just because you can! You do not make messes in the kitchen because you want cereal over oatmeal!” I said as I continued to spank her.

In my head I counted out 25 spankings before I her on her bed. “Now, you stay in bed until you can behave yourself. I mean it, too, Amanda. If you get into trouble again, I will give you more spankings. I’m tired of you being bad all the time!” I ordered and left the room with Amanda crying out her pain.

“I HATE YOU!” she screamed as I shut the door. She was mad at me, but that comes with being a parent. I didn’t feel at all sorry about spanking her. I knew it was the one punishment that she understood. I also knew she wouldn’t be going to church with me anymore, which meant whenever Talla had those late nights, I would be staying home.

Talla was a welcome sight after such a rough morning. The moment I shut Amanda’s door, Talla greeted me with a hug. Returning her embrace, I heaved a sigh to calm my nerves. “You alright, honey?” she asked.

“Yeah. Just glad I decided to retire, you know,” I commented and Talla laughed before placing a kiss on my lips.

My spouse guided me down the stairs and back to the couch. There she say me down next to her and wrapped her arms around me. I noticed she was wearing her light green dress that day. That was one of my favorites. It always made her look so beautiful. After a couple minutes of just holding me, Talla ran her hands through my black fur where my outfit didn’t cover it. “I know what will make you feel better, in more ways than one,” she commented and quickly went into the bathroom and grabbed her favorite hairbrush. With it she began to gently bush my man and the rest of my fur. That was something that needed to be done. Dealing with my daughter all day while Talla was off projecting the city meant that I didn’t really have a lot of time to brush the knots out of my fur. And the white wolf was just so gentle, it really put me at ease.

Even as the doorbell rang and one of the maids answered it, I didn’t really bother to glance up until the door was opened wide and another white canine entered our house. “Hey, Rayna,” I greeted as the fox – wolf halfbreed entered wearing a very lovely light blue dress that stretched down to her ankles. The smile she wore, however put me at ease.

“Aunt Laura, I figured you’d still be at church,” our guest greeted while Talla continued to brush me.

“And I would be, but Amanda almost burned down the church,” I replied. “And that was after she sent Sarah to the hospital to get stitches in her hand.”

“Wow! Sounds like someone was being a little hellion. But, I remember getting into plenty of trouble when I was her age,” Rayna said as she took a seat in the chair closest to the door.

“Yeah. I know I was a handful at that age. Of course, I had just watched my father kill my mother, but still. Poor Whitney,” I said dwelling on the few times my cousin had brought me across her knee. “So, what brings you over here?”

“I invited her for lunch and dinner,” Talla commented. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen her, and I figured it would be nice to have some company over. And next week I invited other superheros over for a barbecue. Rayna has agreed to babysit for that.”

I laughed at my wife, and quickly turned around and planted a kiss on her lips. “And what makes you think I’m fine with having all that company in my house?” I asked playfully.

“It doesn’t matter. You could use a little break from fighting with Amanda all week and I just happen to have the next couple weeks off,” Talla said, her blue eyes glowing with joy.

“Oh, really, does that mean I’m going to get some quality time with you?” I wondered.

“If Amanda will let us. I also want to get out and do some activities as a family. And that includes Rayna, since she is your foster daughter. I even talked Whitney into letting Sasha join us,” the white wolf said with a smile.

I gave her another kiss. “Sounds like fun. It’ll be good for Sasha to get out of the house,” I said, and noticed that Amanda had stopped crying.

Talla and I had put a baby monitor in Amanda’s room when she was only three-years-old. We had designed it so Amanda could just press a button and talk to us if she need. The monitor was fed to two other monitors. One in our bedroom that was constantly on, and one in the living room that only came on when Amanda pushed the button on her end. “Momma,” came her little voice through the speaker that sat on the coffee table.

Smiling, I leaned over and picked up the device and pressed the button to talk back to her. “Yes, Amanda?”

“Can you come tuck me in?” Amanda asked.

Smiling at the request, I answered, “Of course, I can, honey.” It then occurred to me that perhaps Amanda just wasn’t getting enough sleep. I often woke her up whenever I got up, which was pretty early sometimes. I guess that would be something to talk to Talla about, as well as my counselor.

***

Amanda slept for a while. It wasn’t until close to dinner time when she wandered out of her room and down the stairs. The conversation Rayna, Talla and I were having stopped as soon as the door to her room opened. My little clone wandered over, her thumb placed firmly in her mouth, and proceeded to crawl up on my lap, and snuggle into my fur. I wrapped her in my arms and held her a moment. “You going to be a good girl, now?” I asked, and she nodded and waved at Rayna while still sucking her thumb. Rayna waved back with a smile. “Alright. I bet your hungry, though, let’s say we get you something to eat, shall we?”

I tried to stand and carry my little one to the kitchen to fix her some food, but she didn’t want to leave my lap. I was about to say something to her when Talla gave me a kiss on the cheek and stood. “I can fix her something. She seems content right there on her mother’s lap anyway,” she said softly.

“Thanks, Talla, I appreciate that,” I replied.

“Of course. I’m your wife, Laura, and as such, Amanda is my daughter, too. Now, what does our little Princess want?” Only with that question, did Amanda briefly remove her thumb from her mouth.

“A peanut and butter sandwich, please,” the little pup said.

“Alright, sweety, one peanut and butter sandwich coming up,” Talla said.

“Thank you, Momma,” Amanda said through her thumb.

I stopped one of the maids as I held my daughter. “Sheila, could you do me a big favor and bring me Amanda’s diaper bag.”

“Of course, ma’am,” the redhead said with a smile and instantly wandered off to grab the bag. Although Amanda had been potty trained a year prior, we occasionally still put her in a diaper, like when we were going to be out in public for a while or when she was spending the night with one of her friends.

When Sheila returned with the bag, I thanked her and fished out a pacifier from one of the pouches. Without a word, Amanda removed her thumb and accepted the rubber device. I much preferred her to suck on a pacifier than her finger. Mostly because it she had a tendency to hairballs if she sucked on her thumb too much. Those are not fun to clean up. I was thankful that Amanda was just as happy to suck on a pacifier as she was to suck on her thumb and often choice a pacifier over her thumb if there was one around for her.

Talla soon returned with a plate that had sandwich cut in triangles and a bottle of breast milk. “You’re still lactating, Aunt Laura?” Rayna asked.

“Yeah. This should be the last of it though. She doesn’t breastfeed anymore, but she’ll drink my milk from a bottle still. Granted, she prefers juice right now, but Talla and I are trying to get rid of the milk,” I explained.

“That’s odd. She’s learned everything else so fast, it’s a little surprising to think that she isn’t weened yet,” the young canine said.

“Yeah, but Amanda loves her Momma,” Talla said with a smile as she took a seat next to Amanda and me. removing the pacifier, the white wolf began to feed Amanda her lunch.

“That she does,” I said and gave Talla a brief kiss.

Rayna had cook Talla and I dinner, as we were busy with Amanda. Despite all the trouble and irritation Amanda caused me, when I had moments like that, where she nestled against me and was just the sweetest little girl in the world, I was reminded that I wouldn’t give her up for anything. Not even Talla. She was my little Princess and she would always be my little Princess.

A Mother’s Mother’s Day (G) (will edit)

“A Mother’s Mother’s Day”

My mother was always my best friend. She taught me so much. And even when I got in trouble or tried to burn down the church, in the end, she always wrapped me in her arms and held me tight. But, I guess, there was one thing that really stuck in my mind about my mother. Every Mother’s Day she had a tradition that she started when I was three years old, at least, that’s when I remember it starting.

It was a day that she would let me sleep in, I remember that. She and my other momma would talk amongst themselves quietly. I remember peaking out on them a couple eyes and it every mother’s day she would always have this sparkle to her emerald eyes like she was three-year-old as well and her Mommy was about to take her out for ice cream or something. Talla would always take the day off on Mother’s Day, as she was my mother, as well. And Rayna would pop in every year, as well.

And I would remember waking up and wandering out to the kitchen where my mothers and my sister were having their talk and the instant Mom saw me, her face would light up. Especially that first time. “Why, hello there, my little Princess. And what would you like for breakfast today?”

“Ceral,” I muttered in my little baby voice.

“Alright. what kind of cereal would you like? This one?” She would ask as she went through the cereals while I sucked on a pacifier. I would shake my head until she reached the sugariest cereal that she had. “Of course you want this one. You are getting low on sweetness, and need a refill, right?” Mom would say and I would nod with a smile.

Momma Talla and Rayna would laugh as Mom poured my cereal for me and put some milk on it. She would then feed me, making all sorts of noises and things. “You’re silly, Aunt Laura,” Rayna said once.

“She’s a mother,” Momma Talla replied.

“Speaking of, Rayna, you know my tradition. It’s mother’s day, you should call me ‘Mom,’” Mom would say.

Rayna smiled broadly. “Yes, Mom.”

Although, Rayna wasn’t my sister by blood, but I always though of her as my big sister. And I always loved being babysat by her.

After breakfast, Mom would change my diaper and wash me and change me into my day clothes. Then she would put a coat on me if she thought I needed it. She would then turn to Rayna and Momma Talla and say, “You two going to come with us?”

“Where are you going?” Rayna usually asked.

“We’re going to visit her grandma,” Momma would say.

I remember that first time, Rayna and Talla agreed, but usually it was just Mom and I, although Rayna would often catch up to us later. But, I remember Mom always cried as she stood in front of her mother’s grave. “Hey, Mom. I brought my little one with me,” she would tell the gravestone. “Figure she should spend some time with you.” It was about thin that the tears started to flow, and Mom wouldn’t do anything to stop them.

“Don’t cry, Mommy,” I would say and wrap my little arms around her neck.

Mom would just laugh as say, “It’s alright to cry sometimes. Especially, when you miss someone.”

And that was how we spent every Mother’s Day. Even as I grew, we would always journey to Grandma’s grave site. Rayna even started visiting the grave of her biological mother, walking with us to and from the house. Talla stopped going after a while, saying that she didn’t like to see Momma cry like that. And I told her, that it was okay to cry sometimes, but she insisted that seeing Momma cry made her cry.

I only remember one year when Mom didn’t come to the cemetery. And that was the year that she “died.” It was my first year visiting Grandma’s grave alone, although, Rayna went with me, herself a mother by then. That itself, was a blessing and one that Mom was thrilled to hear. I remember the day when Rayna announced she was pregnant.

I just wished I could have understood Mom when I had my son. But, even so, I still kept the tradition of visiting the cemetery that now had both my mother’s gravestones next to them. And just behind them were the grave sites of my Aunt Whitney and her husband and daughter. I remember that Whitney never visited the cemetery after her daughter was killed. That loss had been so unbearable for her, that she shut down every business she owned and practically locked her self in her home.

Now, though, Whitney was together with her daughter and the unborn grandchild that Sasha had been carrying. And now, it was a joy to visit the cemetery on Mother’s Day and see everyone gathered around my Grandma and her grave. Although, everyone was in their feral form at that point, save me, Rayna and our kids, I could almost see the smiles on their faces when I approached with my brand new baby boy.

Rayna wandered a little further past the large crowd to pay tribute to her own mother, while I knelt down and showed everyone the newest member of the Graive lineage. He was a black wolf with emerald eyes, just like my mother, and just like his mother. Instantly, Laura, my mother, approached me in curiosity as everyone watched. “Hey, Mom. This is my new little Prince. His name is Jackson Daniel Graives.”

Mom gave me a questioning look at the sound of the family name, and I laughed. “Oh, my husband is a very big fan of yours and he insisted that we keep the name ‘Graives,’” I explained and that put her at ease.

I noticed Talla sitting on the edge of the crowd. Laura turned her head to her wife and there must have been words exchanged between them ’cause Talla suddenly moved up and took a closer look at the little wolf in my arms. “Yeah, isn’t he precious?” I asked. “Happy Mother’s Day, Moms.”

And I never stopped the tradition that my mother started. I’m also pleased to say, that when Jackson found himself a girl, they started to partake in the tradition as well. Unfortunately, he would be the last two legged member of the family. His wife gave birth to traditional, feral wolf pups. Eden was returning everything to it’s natural state. But that is fine with me. I have my son and I can visit my mother anytime I want. My mother. The woman who raised me and taught me so much. Both my mother’s did, but it was my birth mother that I truly bonded with and who I always ran to when I was scared or hurt or just wanted someone to hold me.

Monsters (R for language)

”Monsters”

Amanda’s birthday was a day away, and I couldn’t tell who was more excited, me or her. She would be turning four-years-old. Talla and I had gone shopping a couple weeks prior and took care of all the arrangements and presents for our little Princess. Yet, on the eve of such a exciting event, with a couple feet of snow covering everything outside our door, Amanda and I sat at the kitchen table and drew. She always loved to draw and she was getting very good at it.

The little black wolf sucked on her pacifier while coloring the picture she just drew. Next to her, I colored my own drawing, my old art skills coming into play. I was getting very good at drawing things with crayons. But skill didn’t matter when I was with my daughter. Sometimes I just scribbled something on a piece of paper, not really caring what I was drawing and Amanda would always look at it and say, “That is very good. Just be sure to stay between the lines,” which would cause me to laugh.

Sarah sat on the couch in the living and watched some TV, her daily round of chores done for the day. The other maids had gone off to the local bar for some much needed beer and time away from the house. It was always great to know that they enjoyed their time spent with me and my daughter, but I also knew that not all of them cared for babysitting. And I know Amanda can be a handful sometimes, which is why I usually took care of her myself.

As the two of us wolves sat at the table in matching pink outfits – something Talla had done for Amanda, as my pink shirt and jeans were my favorite and I often wore the outfit. Sarah said it we were adorable the moment she saw us in the matching outfits – the house quickly descended into silence. Talla would be home any moment. A moment which Amanda and I equally enjoyed. It was nice to have her home, and it meant that the work to set up for the party tomorrow could begin.

I had told all of the maids that they didn’t have to work the next day, and all but Sarah and Sheila took the opportunity to visit family and spend away from work. I didn’t feel right about making a huge mess that they would just have to clean up. I was perfectly capable of cleaning up after my little one.

A familiar smell caught my nostrils, and I glanced over at Amanda, who just colored away as if nothing was wrong. After a moment she removed the pacifier from her mouth before turning to me and whispering in my ear, “I need changed.”

That was something I had instilled in her from an early age: responsibility. Granted, Amanda wasn’t a perfect child, and she had been caught lying a couple times already, but it was rare that she did lie and she always alerted Talla or me or Sarah or someone when she need changed.

“Alright, come on,” I said as stood to my feet and extended my hand towards her. Amanda slipped the pacifier back in her mouth before hopping down from her chair and taking my head. I lead her into the downstairs bathroom that was the main changing station.

From beneath the sink I pulled out a bag of diapers and some baby wipes. “Do you want to be changed in here or in the living room?” I asked.

Amanda just pointed towards the living room and whipped at her right eye. She would be going down for a nap after dinner. She usually slept through the night when she went down for her evening nap, which gave Talla and I some time to ourselves.

Grabbing a changing blanket I lead her out to the living room where I spread out the blanket in front of the couch. Amanda looked over at Sarah on the couch and waved a little hand at her. Sarah smiled and waved in return as I unbuttoned Amanda’s pants and slide them down to her ankles. “Woo, all that oatmeal sure makes your poop stink more,” I commented as the wave of stink hit my trained nose.

As I looked my daughter in her eyes, I could tell she was tired. We had played “Princess Amanda” that day. It was her favorite game and I always played her rescuer while Sarah would play the dragon that threatened to eat her. If Sarah was busy, though, I would often play both dragon and rescuer. That game always took a lot out of both of us, and I could feel my own eyes getting heavy.

I removed the almost excessively full diaper from around the three-year-old’s waist and quickly waded it up and laid it off to the side. Sarah, without prompting stood and took it to the garbage. “Thank you, Sarah,” I said.

“You’re welcome, Miss Laura,” the human woman said. She always called me that, even when I told her not to, she would still insist on calling me Miss.

“Wouldn’t it be Misses, now?” I asked her and she thought about it for a moment.

“Why yes, it would. Sorry, Misses Laura. I forget sometimes. Where I grow up, it isn’t customary for women to marry each other,” the maid said as I cleaned up Amanda, making sure to sprinkle a little baby powder on her bum.

“It’s not all that customary here, either. But people don’t whine about it as much,” I replied.

As soon as I finished that statement, the front door swung open and Talla stepped through it. “MOMMA!” Amanda said, removing her pacifier from her mouth.

The little one tried to run to greet her mother, but I stopped her. “Hey, wait a minute, you’re not dressed yet, Amanda.”

It was only then did I glance over and notice Talla was also wearing the same pink outfit as Amanda and me. Though, her jeans seemed to be a bit tighter than mine, and the outfit looked much better on her. “Hey, Laura and Amanda, how are my two favorite ladies, today?”

“We’re good, thanks. How are you, Talla?” I asked as I quickly put a new diaper on Amanda and pulled her pants back up. With a quick snap of her jeans, I let her go and she instantly ran over to Talla, with her thumb firmly between her lips.

“I am great, thanks,” Talla said as she picked Amanda up. The little black wolf pup wrapped her arms around her white mother’s neck. Turning to Sarah, Talla said, “And how are you, Miss Sarah?”

“I’m wonderful, thank you. Enjoying some off time,” the human said with a smile.

“That’s good,” Talla said before turning to me. “What’s for dinner?”

“I’m going to barbeque some steaks,” I replied and moved towards the kitchen.

“In two feet of snow?” Talla asked with a laugh. “You are the only person I know of that uses her grill year round and actually uses it more in the winter.”

“There’s nothing like a nice hot steak grilled in the cool air of winter,” I replied.

Suddenly, Amanda stirred on Talla’s shoulder, and the white canine put her down. Instantly, Amanda began to gather up her crayons and things. “You all done drawing, huh?” Talla asked.

“Yeah. It was fun, but we need to get the kitchen ready for dinner,” Amanda replied, drawing a laugh from Talla and I.

I had taken some steaks from the freezer that morning and by then, they had thawed and were waiting to be tossed on the BBQ. Sliding open the sliding glass door, I wandered out onto the large patio that over looked large stretch of beach that I owned with the house. On the patio was a large pool with a couple diving boards and a newly installed slide for Amanda, some lawn chairs, a picnic table and a large grill that was actually part of the house. Still in my bare feet, I wandered out and brushed the snow off the grill before pressing the lighter for the grill that used peanut oil instead of propane. Mine was the largest peanut oil powered grill in the known universe and my fireplace also used the plant based oil.

Using peanut oil for cooking and heating was recent invention, but an idea that had started a few years ago. It cut down on the emissions from house simply because it didn’t take that much oil to cook anything or heat a home. Keeping the lid closed, I let the BBQ warm up a bit while I went back inside to begin making my famous mix of herbs and sauces.

Before Talla was a part of my life, I would make a very spicy sauce that my cousin used to love. But, once I met Talla and became pregnant, I couldn’t make it spicy any more. I tried it once, and it was hot enough to make Amanda cry. Talla enjoyed it, but I had to pause in the middle of mine to clean Amanda up and give her some milk and find something else for her to eat.

Not wanting a repeat of that night, I made sure to just make the sauce flavorful and not as spicy. As I entered the house and rolled up my sleeves, I turned to my spouse. “So, how was work?” I asked as I washed my hands.

“It was alright. The Chief wanted me to work late today and consider coming in tomorrow, but I told him, ‘No. My daughter’s birthday is tomorrow and my wife wouldn’t be all that happy if I missed it because I choose my boss’s wants over her own,’” Talla replied.

I smiled and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Yeah, I would be pissed if you did that. I would have to be the Mistress for a week, I think,” I commented.

“Oh, I hate it when you’re the Mistress, too. You always tease and take way too long,” Talla replied as poured some of the juices from the meat into a sauce pain on the stove and began adding my ingredients.

From a room down a short corridor under the upper floor, Amanda screamed and came bolting over to me and wrapping her little arms around my leg. “There’s a monster in my toy box,” she announced.

“A monster?” I asked, trying to concentrate on my cooking and my daughter at the same time.

“Yeah,” Amanda agreed and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

“Well, why don’t you go with Mommy and show her where the monster is so she can scare it away, for you,” I said and Talla extended her hand to the little pup who took it without a word.

I watched as Talla lead Amanda down the hall to her play room that housed all her toys and games and things. It also housed a TV with a couple game systems, a pool table, and a small stage where a full set of instruments sat. “Where’s the monster?” I heard Talla ask.

“In there,” Amanda answered and could make out the familiar rustling of Amanda’s toy box being opened up and Talla rummaging through the toys.

Eventually, Talla chirped in surprise. “Oh, well would you look at that. You have a crab in your toy box. Is that the monster you were talking about, sweety?” Talla asked.

“Yeah,” said Amanda through her thumb. I listened as Talla reached into the toy box and lifted out the crustacean. My ears were sensitive enough to pick out the slight clicking of it’s claws and shuffling of it’s jaws and feelers as it expressed it’s distaste of being removed from it’s home.

“And he’s a good sized crab too. I bet he’d taste good as dinner sometime,” Talla commented and I laughed to myself as I stirred my sauce mixture.

Talla came back into the kitchen with the crab in hand. After giving me a quick kiss on the lips she said, “What do you think, Momma: should we keep it and eat it, or show we let it go?”

Looking at the thing, I noticed it’s size and replied. “Oh, throw it in the freezer, I was planning on having a seafood feast this weekend and inviting people over. He’ll make a great addition to the menu.”

Talla did so as Amanda wrapped herself around my leg again. The freezer being outside on the opposite side of the door from the grill. It housed a bunch of fish and clams and other seafood I had purchased for an early Christmas Party I was planning.

***

Halfway through supper, Amanda fell asleep while sitting on Talla’s lap. My spouse smiled at me and carried the little one to her room where she was changed into a fresh diaper and pajamas and then put in bed. Talla mentioned that Amanda only woke once while she was being changed and she just looked up at her white furred mother as if she were about to say something but she was too content to suck on her thumb and she quickly went back to sleep.

I was relieved that Talla replaced Amanda’s thumb with a clean pacifier before tucking her into bed and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “She’s so cute,” Talla said as she returned to the table to finish her meal.

“Yup, she sure is,” I replied with a smile. Talla leaned over and planted a firm and seductive kiss on my lips. “What are you doing?” I asked with a laugh.

“Well, Amanda is going to be asleep for a while. And it has been a while since you and I got to play some more adult games. Maybe, if we finish eating, you and I can have a little fun,” the younger wolf said.

I laughed and gave her another kiss. “I would love to play with you, my dear. Let me finish my steak, though.”

Sarah was seating at the other end of the table and she just laughed at us. “Don’t worry about the dishes, I will clean up,” she said. “You two just enjoy each other.”

***

It was always hard to keep our clothes on until we got to the bedroom, and Talla’s flood of kisses didn’t help things. Every was like a spark to a forest fire, igniting lust and passion and desire. I felt her hands unzip my jeans and were moments away from unbuttoning them when Amanda started to scream and cry in her room just down the hall from ours.

Talla let out a little whimper and sigh. She hated being interrupted like that, but she also loved Amanda as if she really was her own daughter, and both of us didn’t like the sound of her crying.

Quickly, Talla zipped me back up and gave me a loving kiss on the lips before we both ventured into the Princess’s chambers. She was fully awake, tears burning paths through her fur. “Amanda, it’s okay, honey, your Mommies are here,” I said as I sat on the edge of her bed and lifted her onto my lap. Amanda just buried her face in my stomach and muffled her screaming and crying.

I watched Talla’s tail snap back and forth with concern, her stormy blue eyes looking like a hurricane was raging in them which told me her concern was full of fear and that she was trying to hold off tears of her own. Seeing her that close to crying over Amanda’s sorrow, put me on the brink of tears myself and made me long to hold my wife and lover in my arms until I was certain she was fine.

After an eternity of five minutes, Amanda’s calmed down. “I…had…a…bad…dream…” she announced between sniffles and quick intakes of much needed air.

“Oh no!” Talla said before I could speak. “What happened in your dream?”

Talla got on her knees before me and the little pup on my lap. “I dreamed that a big monster came and kidnapped you and Mommy and…” Amanda paused here as her screaming spurt threatened to rush back. “…and he killed you and I was all alone!” Amanda’s tears returned with renewed vigor.

Feeling bad for having upset our daughter, Talla quickly and gently, picked up Amanda from my lap and put leaned her head against her shoulder. “There, there, baby, it’s alright. We’re still alive. It’ll take more than a monster to kill your Mom and I. Besides, your big sister would come and take care of you if anything ever happened to us.”

Amanda calmed down at that as Talla carried her from her bedroom with me close behind her. Quickly, the white wolf turned on our CD player and “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin began to waft through the speakers. “I want Sister,” Amanda muttered but wrapped her little arms around Talla.

“You’ll get to see your sister in the morning. She’ll be by early to help us get ready for your birthday party,” Talla said.

Silently, I wrapped may arms around my wife and pressed in tight, making sure to keep Amanda between us, her little head soon nestled against both our breasts. I leaned down and gave Amanda a kiss on the top of her head and planted one on Talla’s cheek.

Amanda was quiet as the three of us danced to the music. Midway through the song, the little pup crossed over to my hands and Talla wrapped her arms around my waist while we danced. For the first time in a long while, I cradled my daughter in my arms and watched as she slipped her thumb in her mouth and nestled against my body before letting her eyes slowly close is sleep. For the first time in a while, I smiled down at my baby. It felt like I was a new mother again. Talla hated that period ’cause she often got the back burner as I was eager to learn all the new skills of motherhood. But, now, as I got that look on my face again, I turned to Talla and was greeted with a big smile on her face and the sea in her eyes was completely calm, as was her tail. All this was sign that she was proud of me. It was the look she gave me as we stood at the alter, myself in a long, fancy wedding gown, and her in a gown that wasn’t so fancy.

The kiss I gave her that night was fully of love. And she savored it before resting her head on my chest. I shift, so I could hold my daughter in one arm, while I wrapped my other arm around my mate.

***

Although, I had been with Talla as she made most of the arrangements for the birthday party, I did not know that she had talked Rayna into dressing up as a clown. After helping us put up some decorations, the white fox wolf left to apparently put on her costume. I wish she had worn her Winter Witch costume and not one of a clown.

Xavier Cole was the son of the President of Earth and his wife. Eric and Cindy Cole had been our friends for ages, now, and Xavier got along great with Amanda, and he became one of her closest friends. He was also the first of Amanda’s friends to arrive. Being a year younger than Amanda meant that he couldn’t do some of the things that Amanda could, but they still managed to find things to play together.

The only other friend Amanda had that was her age was actually the daughter of one of our neighbors. Ashley Tolin was a little tiger cub and the same age as Amanda, which was a blessing.

As they and a couple other guests arrived, and the kitchen table filled with more and more presents, everything was going great. That is until there was another knock at the door. The second I opened it, Rayna barged in with her face painted white, a red smile adorned her lips and a colorful wig sat on top of her head. She wore a red poke-a-dotted outfit.

With horror, my eyes and head instantly shot to Amanda, who instantly put her ears back and drooped her tail. The two felines smiled and clapped at the clown as they had seen one before. I personally hated clowns with a passion and didn’t want my daughter exposed to them. The sight of my foster daughter in a clown uniform sliced deep into my patients nerve.

I thought, for a moment I would have another long talk with my cousin about her parenting skills, and yell at her ’cause she knew how I felt about clowns, but when I saw the smile on Talla’s face, the nerve was severed.

With my hands propped firmly against my hips, I watched as Rayna took about two steps towards Amanda before the little black pup screamed and started crying her eyes out. Rayna tried to calm the little one, but seeing a monster remove part of it’s head and face just made the now four-year-old cry harder and dash to the safety of my legs. “Rayna Tilly Novoli, get out of my house, and do NOT come back until your are changed out of that costume. I never want to see you dressed as a clown EVER again, is that understood, young lady?” I shouted.

“Yes, Mother,” Rayna said and quickly darted out of the house before I had a change to inflict a more severe punishment on her rump.

Talla stood and approached me, but I just scooped up my daughter and carted her off up to her room, tossing my spouse a deep frown that was will with anger and disappointment.

“Laura!” the white wolf called after me as she quickly followed me, leaving the other six adults in the house to watch over the other two kids.

“I’m not going to fight with you in front of Amanda and the other kids, Talla, I will talk to you after I get her settled down,” I said and I knew that cut Talla deep. She hated fighting with me and it always ended with her in tears.

***

Talla waited outside Amanda’s room the entire time it took me to calm her down. Unfortunately, all the crying had tuckered the little pup out, and I gently carried her out to the other kids. “Saint Catherine, would you mind taking the kids and putting them down for a nap in the game room?” I asked the much older snow leopard.

“Of course,” the living saint replied and quickly took Amanda from me and gently lead the other kids down the hall.

“If I were the rest of you, I’d talk quietly amongst yourself while I have a little talk with my wife,” I replied and quickly snatched up Talla’s hand and dragged her up the stairs and into our bed room.

Talla let her self be tossed towards the bed and I couldn’t help but give her ass a hard and condemning slap. “What the fuck, Talla? When were you going to inform me that you talked MY daughter in to dressing up as a fucking clown to scare the shit out of my other daughter who we both just spent the night calming down after she experienced an encounter with a monster in her toy box and dreamed of a monster killing us?” I snapped, doing my best to keep my voice low enough so it didn’t escape the confines of our bedroom.

“Laura, I’m sor…” Talla began, rubbing her sore bottom.

“SORRY!? Weren’t you the one that bitched at me for buying a truck without your consent? And now you go and hire a damn clown…no you turn my adopted daughter into a fucking clown without so much as a fucking warning!? Sorry is NOT going to cut it, Talla!” I spat.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, it’s just a clown,” the white wolf tried, I wanted to do the motherly thing and turn her ass a healthy shade of red.

“I HATE clowns!” I shouted probably a little too loudly.

“Oh,” Talla muttered, her ears laying flat against her head and her tail slipping through her legs. She knew she was in a lot of trouble.

I paced the floor in front of our bed silently, which only made Talla whimper in fear. “You do not know how badly I just want to spank you, right now,” I said with a slight laugh, finding it hard to stay mad at her when I loved her so much and with her in such a submissive and apologetic state.

“Well, I hate getting spanked about as much as you hate clowns, but, I suppose since, I got Rayna to play a clown, it would be fair if I let you spank me, but do we have to do it now?” she said, standing to her feet and wrapping her arms around my neck.

I looked down into her eyes and there was a lot of lust and sexual desire behind them. “You are a very bad girl, you know. The funny thing is, Whitney thinks you’re a good influence on me. Little does she know the things that go on in this bedroom,” I commented, my smile growing brighter as my hands slid down to her hips.

Talla laughed and we exchanged a kiss. “I am sorry for scaring Amanda. I didn’t know you hated clowns.”

“Well, the thing that REALLY pisses me off is that Rayna DOES know I hate clowns. She’s going to get at least a lecture from me later,” I replied, heaving a stress filled sigh.

“So, what’s my punishment going to be?” Talla asked after another kiss.

“Oh, you ARE going to get spanked. And I’m going to be in charge of sex for a month. And, before you say anything, dear, it’s a month, because I had to go through countless lectures from you about buying things without checking with you first and then you went and pulled that same shit on me,” I said.

“Enough with the cussing, Laura,” Talla said with an irritated look.

“Sorry. I think, though, I will put you over my knee, now,” I said with a smile.

Before she had time to argue I sat on the large bed and yanked her across my skirt covered lap.

***

That night, after a brief talk with Rayna, she volunteered to let Amanda spend a month with her as punishment. Rayna didn’t really mind though, as it was only in the evenings after dinner. Amanda was overjoyed to be spending so much time with her big sister.

Because, Amanda was away in the evenings, I was able to enforce Talla’s punishment, and I made sure to prolong her sexual agony to great extents.

That was Amanda’s first experience with nightmares and monsters. One that she wouldn’t forget, and neither will Talla and I.