Short Stories and poems

Kreestice Feast

Kreestice Feast
Tis the time for a Holiday Feast. (Originally made for the Winter Holidays, but I didn't want to wait until November to post it.)

Kreestice is a time of giving. Good little vampires and werewolves, as well as young human pets and slaves, not to mention immature livestock, are given presents – vampires and werewolves getting the items they want, pets and slaves getting nice things, and the young livestock getting practical items, like new clothes. Older vampires and werewolves gave each other nice things, older pets and slaves were given sexual toys along with items useful for their tasks. As for livestock, there was a chance that they might end up as the centerpiece of a Kreestice Feast, where they got ate/drained by the werewolves and vampires that bought them. Of course, Free Domesticated humans were glad to be alive after the holiday.

Then, there were the Ferals, who could care less about the holiday. They saw it as the excuse a lot of werewolves and vampires gave as the reason as to why they hunted on or around those days in December. Unless one lived on the property of a Bone Carrier, or in a remote, or Protected area, it was a time for Ferals to be on a higher level of alertness than normal. Then again, any holiday that involved feasting was a time of High Alert for a Feral. Of course, not every hunter got a Feral – plenty never saw one. Others were embarrassed, some were beaten, or otherwise injured. Then, there were those that ended up dead.

Tobias Wrangler was a Feral who could care less about the holiday season. He knew what the holidays were like. He’d collected the teeth of plenty of would-be-hunters, some he’d even killed if they didn’t get the message. Tobias wasn’t prey. He was a Hunter, a Warrior, a Predator in his own right. He was a Herd Leader, not only by Blood, but by Deed.

He rode a horse, reins in his left hand, a walking-club in his right. To those watching, he resembled something from the Plains, instead of the Northeast. Then again, trade with the Plains herds ever since the early-mid 1700’s, and the occasional theft from vampires and werewolves ever since the reintroduction of the animal – according to historical evidence – meant that plenty of Feral humans across the country had access to horses – although those who lived in wooded areas used them more for transportation than raiding. Then again, it wasn’t wise to perform massive raids upon vampires and werewolves these days – many had some sort of security system that made loud raids foolish. Security cameras could capture images, images of faces and such that could be shared with other vampires and werewolves, and next thing a raider would know, they could end up on a List, a List that said, “Capture Tag Not Needed.” A lucky raider might simply be killed, or eaten, or drained to death. An unlucky one, especially one with a high blood-and-meat grade, like A+ or higher, would find themselves as Livestock that was used for breeding purposes, especially those that were graded Prime Grade.

Tobias soon paused before a set of gates. He then looked behind him, at the pack horse tied to the one he rode. Or, rather, he looked at the one slung over it, like a deer carcass. He then looked at the other members of his herd, each riding a horse, each leading a pack animal tied to theirs, and each of those, like his, had a prisoner, or, in a number of cases, an actual corpse. The prisoner, a male, whimpered at him. Tobias would have felt some pity for him, but they had the blood of innocents on their hands, if what he’d heard from the other herds was true, to say nothing about the Feral Human Herds of America website, which ranked them, and other members of their group, under not only a Highly Dangerous category, but had listed them as Capture Tag Not Needed.

He got off his horse, walked over to the prisoner, and removed their gag. “Well, here’s your last view of being on this side of those gates. Now, I know the Wolfes, as well as their kin, and they don’t normally eat humans, but they do make exceptions for those that harm their friends, family, not to mention tourists that spend money to spend time in the Nature Park, where they can have their fun. Now, I don’t care for the sorts of fun these tourists like doing with – mock draining, belly baths, having sex, fun hunts – but some of my herd members do enjoy such things and, more importantly, this is my territory and thus, so long as they follow the rules, they are under my protection.”

“Listen, we were just looking for food,” the leader said. “Hunting has been terrible lately.”

Tobias nodded. “Yes, it’s been a bad Winter. Haven’t seen much sign of deer myself. However, my herd, and others I know of, had a decent year, and made sure to preserve plenty to get us through, with some extra for the occasional guest – we could have done some trading. You had some nice items – could have made a deal to swap some for food. Looks like my herd gets to keep them, or send them to the families of those you killed, letting them know that their kinfolk – be they werewolf, vampire, or human – had been avenged.” He pulled out a smartphone. “You know, I was never one for this social media crap – I value my privacy – but every youngster in my herd seems to have made one of those Snapbook page things, as do many others in other herds, including those you raided.” He opened the phone up to a page, one that showed the prisoner, and other members of their group, attacking a pair of werewolves, and their human pet.

“We weren’t near here when that happened, and we didn’t do anything serious to them anyways,” the prisoner said.

“You’re right, and normally I couldn’t care less if you just beat up a random werewolf couple and their human pet-son, especially since all you did was rough the pet-son up a bit, and broke the male werewolf’s arm, and the leg of the female,” said Tobias. “However, you made two mistakes; the first one being the fact that the werewolves are Bone Carriers, and their symbols were openly displayed – only a special kind of fool attacks a Bone Carrier, or even a Tooth Wearer!”

“And what’s the other one?” the prisoner asked.

Tobias chuckled. “That human pet-son is Philippe Softpaw, and whatever else I might personally think of him, he did help to save my daughter’s life. That means, regardless of what I think of him being a pet to a bunch of fleabags, I am honor-bound to see him as a member of my herd, and if that means making sure that his owner-parents are alright, then I need to make sure of that!”

“That still doesn’t give you the right to have us killed,” the prisoner said. “Nor justify your attack on us.”

“I hope that the Wolfes clean the mud out of your ears before cooking you, as you are murderers – not killers, murderers,” said Tobias. “You have blood on your hands, that of vampires and werewolves that were Not out hunting, ones who were wearing the symbols of Tooth Bearer and Bone Carrier openly – you wore their teeth, and religious symbols, as if they were worthy trophies, as well as attacking and murdering Ferals that were traveling peacefully to conduct trade between one herd or another, including mine and those I’m on speaking terms with, and again wearing their teeth as if they were worthy trophies.”

“Just let us go, and we’ll never come to this area again,” the prisoner said.

“If you merely attacked in desperation, or killed in self-defense, I could probably be persuaded to just chop off your hand, and gouge out your eye, before letting you and the rest of your pack go, but, you, and the rest draped over the backs of my herd’s pack animals, all have priors – exiled for various crimes when you had tried to join honest herds, there’s footage of you attacking, and even killing, others – werewolf, vampire, and human,” said Tobias. “As it is, the decision wasn’t mine alone. I contacted the various leaders of the herds you’d attacked, along with a Garlic and Silver agent I trust. The conclusion is simple – the leaders all agree, you are to be put to death. As for the agent, they said to drop you off at a reputable werewolf or vampire, who can collect the bounty on your heads, said bounty will be given to us in the form of goods and materials.”

“You can’t do this,” the prisoner said. “They’ll eat us.”

“Should of thought of that before committing murder.” Tobias replaced the gag. He then looked at the gate entrance, which was open by now. A female werewolf stood there.

“Tobias,” she said. “Thought that you were just bringing some deer and wild boar.”

“Mild change of plans, Hanna,” said Tobias. “I bring to you, and the rest of the Wolfes, twelve bound and gagged prisoners, who are on the ‘No Capture Tags Needed’ List, as well as the Very Dangerous List. I also have a few corpses that were also on those lists.”

Hanna came over. “These the ones that attacked the Softpaws?”

“The very ones,” said Tobias. “I’d decapitate and dismember them myself, but then I thought, ‘It’s Kreestice, and you haven’t really gotten the Wolfe family anything,’ so I decided to hand this lot over to you, so that you can collect the reward upon their heads, as well as have something special for the feast you’re working on.”

“That and you know that the reward would be turned into things your herd needs, like food and medicine,” said Hanna. “Do you want to watch justice be done?”

Tobias grinned. “Of course,” he said. “Make sure to wash them good before you prep them for cooking. This one clearly has mud in their ears, as they can’t hear too good.”

Hanna chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She looked at the prisoners, who had all been brought forward. “Now, don’t any of you worry – my family has prepared plenty of live humans, and none have died during preparation or while cooking. Of course, once you’ve slipped past the gums, well, I guess that depends on if it was just for Fun, or for Keeps.” She then licked the leader’s face. “Hmmm. This one’s Prime grade – perfect.”

The prisoners all whimpered. Then, they were all forced into the prep room by a joint group of Wrangler herd members, and Wolfe family members, who graded each of them. Showers were turned on, and the prisoners were forced into the spraying water.

Tobias sat in a chair in another room, and watched through a window. Hanna sat next to him.

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

“I think that this group of fools will be better as fertilizer,” said Tobias.

“I don’t blame you there,” said Hanna. “I know of werewolves and vampires better off as trophy heads.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Tobias asked.

“Oh, the dead ones we’re going to prepare for the meat room, and have later on, say in a few months,” said Hanna. “As for these fools, well, mom plans to do thing in the Traditional Manner – stuff the stomachs and anuses of all, and the wombs of the females.”

“You tend to do that anyways,” said Tobias.

Hanna chuckled. “Yes. However, it’s the stuffing that’s special – pork, beef, chicken, tuna, lamb – easily twenty to thirty pounds of chopped meat each, along with the blood sauce. Yummy, yum, yum. Then there’s all the other things. As it is, the Softpaws themselves have requested a human apiece, and they hardly ever eat human flesh.”

“Well, this lot would be an exception to their no-humans-as-food rule, one you are supposed to follow,” said Tobias.

“I do follow it,” said Hanna. “I just have more opportunities to enjoy Exceptions.”

Tobias rolled his eyes. “Right,” he said. “You just like going after Extremely Dangerous Ferals that are on the No Capture Tags Needed list.”

“It’s allowed by the rules of my faith,” said Hanna. “Besides, removing such Ferals makes things safer for the average Feral in the long run.”

“I still know of one Extremely Dangerous Feral you couldn’t beat,” said Tobias.

“That was different, and you know it,” said Hanna.

Tobias grinned. “I still remember the look on your face when I yanked your tooth.” He fingered his necklace, specifically, one particular tooth.

He then watched as a few of the Wolfes got out devices for collecting genetic material. He looked at Hanna. “Seriously?”

“Some of them are Prime Grade,” said Hanna. “Easily a million dollars per ounce.”

“Thought that you weren’t in the livestock business,” said Tobias.

“The owners of Pets and Slaves might want their humans to have valuable offspring,” said Hanna. She chuckled. “Don’t worry though – most of these clients will be Bone Carriers.” She looked at the prisoners and corpses. “Thought this group had some more members.”

“Some seem to have been captives, and others claimed to have been forced into it – them ones we’ll keep an eye on for a few months before we decide on if we’re letting them go, or if they will be part of that meal you’ll be having around then,” said Tobias. “Then, there’s a few pregnant females – the offspring are innocent, even if their mothers are future fertilizer. We’ll wait until they give birth before sending them to you, especially the more dangerous ones. As for the children, that will depend.”

“Well, if yours or another herd doesn’t want them, they wouldn’t the first feral children that were dropped off at some werewolf or vampire home as a baby,” said Hanna. “Never did find out about Jeffrey’s true origins.”

“Don’t really matter too much, save for the part where he helped to save my then-pregnant cousin and her then yet-to-be-born baby,” said Tobias. “Owe him for that.”

“Your aunt didn’t want my mother to help your cousin or her unborn offspring,” said Hanna. “Granted, I understand why.”

“No Feral in their right mind trusts a bloodsucker or a fleabag with a knife, especially around a pregnant female,” said Tobias. “After all, there are certain, recipes, shall we say, that involve the use of pregnant females.”

“I will let you know that I was never a fan of them, even before my conversion to being a Bone Carrier,” said Hanna. “And don’t get me started on recipes that use Veal meat – my family never got into that market to begin with, and after the things I’ve seen…… whatever else I might do that could piss you off, that will be one thing that I won’t do, even if I did decide to throw away my Bones.”

“I’m glad you wouldn’t do that,” said Tobias. “After all, most Ferals don’t stop at taking teeth if they find out that a werewolf or vampire has a thing for Veal.”

“I’ve collected plenty of remains to not ask what would happen in that case,” said Hanna.

“I’ve heard plenty of stories, and I’m glad to say that, while I’ve killed plenty in defense of my herd, I’ve never been angry enough to mutilate the corpse afterwards,” said Tobias. “Of course, if the fool triggers a spike trap and gets a stake through their skull, that’s their own fault.”

“Yes,” said Hanna.

By this point, the prisoners were done being washed. Now, they were starting to get seasoned. They were being forced into bathtubs filled with one marinade or another, depending upon a Wolfes’ preference, or that of a werewolf guest.

“By the way, the university has allowed me permission to bring in Guest Speakers,” said Hanna. “You up for helping to educate the next batch of human researchers, breeders and veterinarians, among others that are involved with humans?”

“What’s in it for my herd and I?” Tobias asked.

“There’s a perspective student, whose family runs a junkyard,” said Hanna. “There’s always those parts that are no good for resale, like crushed hoods, trunks, roofs and doors, but a Feral, with a bit of time and patience, could turn such parts into arrowheads, spearheads, knives, and other such things.”

She then showed Tobias a picture of the junkyard’s grounds.

“I see,” said Tobias. “You’re trading a sponsorship for us being allowed to salvage from the yard on occasion.”

“On Sundays,” said Hanna. “Here’s the location.”

Tobias nodded. “Alright. Any other such trades?”

“Another’s family runs a glassblowing factory – plenty of wasted glass, and a veterinary office, in case the clinic is too busy,” said Hanna. “You know how it goes.”

“Alright,” said Tobias. “I guess I can educate these hopeful researchers and the like. No funny business though – I don’t like those big buildings.”

Hanna chuckled. “Understood.”

It was at that moment that another female werewolf, about Hanna’s age, came into the room.

“Have you seen Philippe?” she asked.

“Probably with Jenny by now,” Tobias said, with a groan, standing as he realized what had happened. “That daughter of mine probably grabbed him the first chance she got and went towards an empty Guest room.”

“Why would she do that?” Mrs. Softpaw asked.

“Same reason you and your husband would find a private room, back when you were that age,” Hanna said, standing up with a grin.

“Oh, oh my,” said Mrs. Softpaw, with a nervous chuckle. “I’m not quite ready to be a grandmother.”

“And I think she’s a bit too young to be a mother, and while I might owe Philippe a chance to be her mate for saving her, I don’t know how other herd leaders would react if I just let my daughter pick a Pet as her Primary Mate, without one of their sons or nephews being given a fair chance to try to become her Mate,” said Tobias.

“So, what does that mean?” Mrs. Softpaw asked.

“Herd Politics basically says that I have to give other Herd Leaders’ sons and nephews a chance to prove themselves worthy to be Jenny’s mate,” said Tobias. “Traditionally, they must kill and bring in a deer to show that they are a provider, or kill and bring in a predatory animal like a bear or an enemy to show that they are a protector.”

“Do they need to kill something?” Mrs. Softpaws asked.

“Not always,” said Tobias. “Save the life of a Herd Leader, or a member of their family, especially at risk to one’s own self…… Well, one becomes family then. Even if Jenny didn’t want Pilippe as a mate, I’d have to give him some help if he needed it, like what happened after those fools attacked you. Couldn’t give you money for insurance or repairs, but there was a couple of deer, and at least one wild pig, that died of injuries in your backyard that you could legally claim and eat.”

Mrs. Softpaws chuckled at this. “I have to thank you for that.”

“Jenny wouldn’t have forgiven me if I’d done nothing, and fresh wild animals to help you and your husband to heal from your injuries was well within our means,” said Tobias. “That and finding recently deceased animals is easier to believe than finding a stash of valuable trinkets and cash in a hole in an old tree in your backyard.”

“Although those can be fairly common in some areas,” said Hanna.

“So, where are they at now?” Mrs. Softpaws asked.

“Something tells me that you still have cameras and microphones and such to the rooms,” said Tobias. “That, and you have access to them.”

“Might need them, in case a visitor tries to cause issues,” Hanna said, pulling out her smartphone. She pressed a few buttons. Then, her eyes widened. “Oh, my!” She looked at Tobias and Mrs. Softpaws. “Found them, but I don’t know if you will want to watch.”

“They’re having sex, right?” Tobias asked.

Hanna nodded. She looked at Tobias. “Jenny takes after you, in terms of dominance.”

Tobias chuckled. “Maybe a bit, but her mother can be rather forceful at times, and she knows more than a few ways to liven things up with ropes and restraints, not to mention this thing where she places a collar around my neck and…..” He trailed off, and looked at the two werewolves, realizing what he was saying. “I would strongly appreciate it if you didn’t mention that to anyone important, especially other Herd Leaders. I don’t need them laughing at me for allowing someone to, essentially, place a leash on me, as it were, even if said person is one of my mates.”

Mrs. Softpaw gave a polite smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Hanna grinned, rather mischievously. “Oh, I won’t. After all, I need a Guest Speaker.”

Tobias looked at her. “If you do, you’ll find out that I’m still quick with the pliers, and I got a needle-point silver blade – just the thing to jab into a tooth socket.” He then sighed. “That’s being said, what’s going on between them?”

Hanna looked. “Well, other than Jenny being on top, they seem to be taking things slow – plenty of gentle kisses, the sort that actually mean something, and not that of lust or a breeding session with a stud.” She carefully showed the smartphone to Tobias and Mrs. Softpaws.

Human and werewolf both looked at the scene before them.

A gentle, even maternal, smile came to Mrs. Softpaw’s lips. “Whatever else I might have said about not wanting to be a grandmother yet, a part of me did wonder how to do things if he wanted to produce offspring. After all, it’s not like my husband and I had children of our own, one way or another, who could bring them along and perhaps allow him the chance to mate with the slaves or pets of their spouse, in order to allow his bloodline to continue. Also, hardly anyone is going to ask for genetic material from a D-Grade human. Even Bone Carriers tend to think a few times before allowing lesser grade lines to breed with their higher grade pets and slaves.”

Tobias scoffed. “Meat Grade means nothing to a Feral,” he said. “Better a D-Grade that knows that a plant is dangerous to eat than a Prime Grade that doesn’t. Still, we might want to do some things so that other Herd Leaders won’t just think that I’m letting a mere pet mate with my daughter, just because she finds him cute or something.”

“Still, I’m glad you’re not completely against my son potentially becoming the father of your daughter’s offspring,” said Mrs. Softpaws. She looked at Hanna. “I think we’d best let them have their privacy now.”

“You know, there is something I have been wanting to run,” Hanna said, closing the feed. “It might even solve part of your issue Tobias, with your permission, Mrs. Softpaws.”

Feral and werewolf looked at each other, before looking at her, both saying, almost at the same time, “What do you mean?”

“Can an Adult Human, one that was raised to be a Pet, Slave, or even Livestock, become a Feral, and how long it would take?”

Tobias raised an eyebrow. “I take it that you want Philippe to be your Test Subject.”

“Well, he has a foot in the door, as it were,” said Hanna. “You just admitted that you see him as part of the herd.”

Tobias nodded. “True, but I still see a few issues.”

“Least of which being that it isn’t legal to just have Philippe join a Feral herd, even one like the Wranglers,” said Mrs. Softpaws.

“Good thing we know a few Garlic and Silver agents,” said Hanna. “Like Rex Fenrir.”

“The one that owns my half-sister, of course,” said Tobias. “I wish that Katie would visit more often. I wonder what would happen to her if he got killed.”

“He has a niece and a nephew, who are about her age, that have become Garlic and Silver agents,” said Hanna. “The one even became a Bone Carrier.”

“Still, is it enough to make it legal?” Mrs. Softpaws asked.

“Possibly, if I, or, rather, the park, had joint ownership of Philippe,” said Hanna. “If nothing else, it does count as Human Enrichment, of one sort or another.” She then looked at the prisoners. “Quick question; when did you capture these folks and what have you been feeding them?”

Tobias chuckled. “That’s two questions actually, but we caught them a few days ago,” he said. “As for what we’ve been giving them, once we decided that the best way to deal with them was to make them part of your Kreestice Feast, we’ve been giving them that Colonoscopy-slash-Meal Prep stuff. You shouldn’t have to worry about eating shit.”

“How did you get the stuff for that?” Mrs. Softpaws asked.

“Traded some deer, and a few corpses, with the Clinic down the road,” said Tobias. “Apparently, the meat value of a couple of those raiders was worth not only the value of the medicine we used on the living ones, it covered the bill needed to treat my fighters that took injuries, as well as get us some free check-ups for the next couple of years.”

“Human meat costs a pretty penny, even those of lesser grades,” said Hanna. “Now, what do you two think of my proposal?”

Tobias looked at Mrs. Softpaws. He then looked back at Hanna. “I’m going to say this – Philippe needs to agree to do it. Likewise, if it does prove too much for him, he is to return to his home. Jenny would kill me if something seriously bad happened to him.”

Mrs. Softpaws chuckled. “Good to know that your daughter cares about him enough to do such a thing.” She looked at Hanna. “I’ll need to talk to my husband about this, along with Philippe.”

“Not a problem,” said Hanna. She then looked at the prisoners. “Well, they look about ready for the next step – The Stuffing.”

The prisoners were then taken to a set of tables, where a number of bowls filled with meat stuffing were waiting, with plenty more coming to them.

“Since they attacked your family, I think that it would only be fair if you and your husband had the first pick,” Hanna said, looking at Mrs. Softpaws.

“Are you sure about that?” Mrs. Softpaws asked. “I don’t have much experience with picking out human meat.”

Hanna chuckled. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “Still, short of a blood test, one of the best ways to tell is to lick them.”

“And where should I lick them?” Mrs. Softpaws asked.

“Licking their face is a basic way to a general flavor profile,” said Hanna. “But, given that they have been marinating, I would recommend, basically, sucking off the males, and eating out the females.”

Mrs. Softpaws’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Hanna grinned. “Yep,” she said. She then chuckled. “But, we’ve already sorted them by meat grade.” She pointed at the leader. “The one that led them is Prime Grade, in case you’re interested.”

Mrs. Softpaws looked that the leader, who was in the process of having chopped meat shoved up his anus, his eyes bulging in shock and/or pain as tears came to them. “Yes. I think I can manage him.” She licked her lips. “I normally don’t say something like this, but, I hope that he tastes delicious.”

Tobias chuckled. “Likewise, I normally wouldn’t say something like this, but, I hope he does.”

As if hearing their words, the leader of the prisoners looked in their general direction, a look of pleading in their eyes, as more chopped meat was stuffed into them.

“Shouldn’t have attacked my herd,” said Tobias, just as the leader’s gag was removed – a scream that was about to come was muffled by chopped meat being force-fed to him. “Enjoy your last Kreestice, what’s left of it.”



After a while, the would-be-raiders were placed in ovens to cook. While a dead human would be in one to cook for a few hours, live ones were not, as plenty of werewolves enjoyed them still alive, and capable of movement. Thirty minutes was the usual time. Thankfully, plenty of other things were already ready, or almost ready.

Twenty minutes later, Tobias and Mrs. Softpaws were walking down the barn hallways.

“I am glad that you are allowing Philippe time with your daughter,” said Mrs. Softpaws. “It’s hard to find someone willing to allow a D-Grade human to mate with a line of such quality as your own.”

“I’d rather not talk of my family in such a way,” said Tobias. “I know what my own meat grade is, and I will let you know that meat grade means nothing out there – better a herd is led by a D-Grade that knows what plants are poisonous, than a Prime Grade that doesn’t.”

“True, but it’s more than just that,” said Mrs. Softpaws. “Philippe doesn’t have many friends, even among other human pets or slaves owned by my and my husband’s families. The fact that he has found someone who sees him as a friend, and more, well, you have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“I still say she’s too young to try to become a mother just yet,” said Tobias.

“And I don’t want to be a grandmother just yet myself,” said Mrs. Softpaws. “But, neither of us is rushing to stop them.”

“Not really,” said Tobias. “Speaking of which, do you think we’ve dallied long enough for them to pretend that nothing happened?”

Mrs. Softpaws chuckled. “Be glad your daughter isn’t trying to mate with a male werewolf. Trust me – that takes a while.”

Tobias chuckled. “I hope that you haven’t forgotten about my sister.”

“Oh, her,” said Mrs. Softpaws. “Can’t forget her for what she did to save my Philippe.”

Tobias smiled. “She got some Battle Teeth that day.”

“By the way, and I hope this doesn’t bother you too much, but I want to know your personal feelings on Belly Baths, and not just that you don’t like them,” said Mrs. Softpaws. “I have seen the way that you look at those that seem to like them – your emotions seem to be more guarded than most, as if you don’t know how to feel about them.”

Tobias looked at her. “Honestly, I suspect that, physically, my body would enjoy them, much like it does when my mate does her thing with ropes and restraints to me. Probably because of my father’s father’s livestock lineage. However, mentally, I wouldn’t like it, especially if someone I didn’t trust tried to do that to me. It’s like sex – you wouldn’t want someone to force you to do it with them.”

“I guess I can understand that general feeling,” said Mrs. Softpaws.

“However, if it was someone that I trust, maybe I’d try it,” said Tobias.

The two stopped by a certain door. Tobias looked at it. He knew the room – his father had spent fifteen years caged in it, sleeping in it, eating in it, even mating in it. But, most importantly, he planned the Grand Escape in it. Tobias knocked on the door.

That was when there was some movement, the sound of scrambling, and worried whispers.

“Don’t come in yet!” exclaimed Philippe.

“The place is a bit of a mess!” Jenny exclaimed.

Feral and werewolf looked at each other with a knowing grin.

“You got to the count of ten to open this door,” said Tobias. “One! Two! Uh, what’s after two?”

“Three,” said Mrs. Softpaws, as she then tried to muffle a chuckle.

“Yeah! Three! Uh…”

“Four.”

“Four! Um, Five!”

“Yep.”

“Uh, let’s see –”

“Father, you’re a terrible liar!” Jenny shouted. “You Know how to Count to Ten!”

Tobias chuckled. “Don’t keep us waiting too long,” he said. “Those assholes are about to come out of the oven, and Philippe’s mother called Dibs on the lead asshole. Figured you might want to see him go down her throat, if nothing else. Me and Mrs. Softpaws will be heading to the dining room now. Get ready.”

Mrs. Softpaws chuckled as the Feral started walking, she walking in step with him. “If nothing else, it should give those two time enough to get dressed and pretend that nothing happened between them.”

“Just make sure that your husband doesn’t start sniffing them when he catches Philippe’s scent on my Jenny, or the reverse,” said Tobias.

“I’ll make sure of it,” said Mrs. Softpaws.



Five minutes later, Jenny and Philippe were in the dining room, dressed and looking like nothing had happened between them.

“I’m glad you two made it,” said Tobias. “The main dish is about to come out.”

“Like we said, the room was messy,” said Jenny.

Tobias chuckled. “I can imagine.”

Appetizers were soon placed on the table, and the Grace was said. Hanna talked about her students. Tobias talked about some of the things affecting other herds. Other Wolfes and guests were talking about various things.

After a few more minutes, the timers on the ovens went off. The former raiders were brought out, and placed on platters, the leader being placed in front of Mrs. Softpaws.

“Mmmm,” the werewolf said, as she sniffed the air. “He smells….. Delicious.” She then grabbed his arms and, starting head-first, started swallowing him, the other werewolves with a former raider doing the same with theirs.

Tobias chuckled as he watched the process. “Well, guess all I can say is, Bottoms up.”

A moment later, the raiders were all inside of a werewolf’s stomach. Some tried to squirm, but all that did was pleasure the ones that ate them.

After the meal, everyone gathered in the living room to watch the game.

“There’s something about watching a bunch of guys chase after something that gets the blood flowing and the heart thumping,” said Mr. Softpaws. “Normally, I don’t even like this Hunt game.”

“I have it on good authority that all the humans being hunted were on the ‘No Capture Tag Needed’ list, along with the ‘Very Dangerous’ one,” said Tobias. “Makes things more interesting.”

“Were you involved in that?” Hanna asked.

“No, I was not involved with these ones but I know the herds that helped capture them,” said Tobias, as one Hunter managed to grab a heavily tattooed human, and swallow them. “Well, nice to know he won’t trouble any more campers and travelers.”

“Sounds like they could have been friends with our current meal,” said Mrs. Softpaws.

“Probably were,” said Tobias. “A lot of us Ferals decided to clear out the more dangerous packs – might make things easier in the future – plenty of these Outlawed packs have been delivered to various places, all tied up and such. Sends a statement really.”

“What’s that?” Hanna asked.

“That us Ferals can get our act together and do something big,” said Tobias. “Hopefully folks don’t think it means that we’re planning to start an uprising, because while we could, and would make things very difficult, most just want peace and quiet.”

The crowd in the stadium went wild as another human was caught by a Hunter, this one being on another team.

“One to one so far,” said Mrs. Softpaws.

Tobias chuckled as he watched. “Well, Merry Kreestice, herdmates. Merry Kreestice.”