Love, Lust and Lycanthropy

Tybalt approaches Jacob with his weapon of choice, three bladed silver claws each over a foot long, they are tied to his wrists with leather straps his fingers wrapped around the handles,

“I challenge you Jacob, for the position of third in line to be Alpha,” Tybalt says with a low growl,

“Don\'t waste any time, do you Tybalt? I accept your challenge, do you wish for it to be to the death?”

“First blood,” Tybalt commands licking one of the silver claws, Jacob scoffs,

“Third in line cannot be won by first blood, this is not a simple fight over dominance only by death or first to submit, you should know that before trying to challenge someone,” Jacob stares down at Tybalt with contempt,

“Fine then first to submit,” Tybalt spits at Jacobs feet,

“I take it by your dress you choose to remain human for the battle,” Tybalt nods at Jacob, “I shall be in wolf form,”

“Always predictable Jacob,” Tybalt walks towards the clearing used for challenges, it is a circle of exposed dirt the diameter of half a football field that has been stained with blood over the years. Sakura steps up to Jacob, she places her hand on his shoulder,

“He is a good fighter Jacob, don’t underestimate him,” Jacob takes her hand in his and looks her in the eye,

“I don\'t underestimate any opponent, not even you, but he is foolish, he has not killed in the ring, he has relied on his agility alone to only draw first blood, you know that it takes more than just a quick hand to be a true werewolf,”

“Yes but I fear for you Jacob, there’s talk that you being with that human has weakened your judgment and your body,” Jacob hugs Sakura,

“I’m not the first to fall in love with a human, if I appear any different it’s because I have found love and I will do all I can to see her again, even kill Tybalt,”

“You speak as if this fight is to the death,” she says curling into his warmth,

“Accidents happen in a fight for a higher pack position; I don’t trust Tybalt to not take advantage of that fact,” Jacob closes his arms around her pulling her close,

“True, Tybalt would be well off if you were dead, but the pack would weaken without you,”

“Is that flattery or praise? You must remember you are above me in the pack, I should bow my head to you,”

“You know as well as I do that if it came between us who would win, I simply act the way I should to someone who is more powerful than me,”

“Not in the eyes of the pack, I can’t protect you forever, if there is a loss of confidence in you, by the pack laws anyone can bypass me and challenge you,”

“Then I should step up my training,” Sakura says pulling away from Jacob, “Would you allow your better to hold your clothing for you while you change?” she says with a smirk,

“It would be an honor,” Jacob quickly slips out of his clothes and hands them to Sakura,

“I’ve missed that wonderful body of yours,” she says eyeing him up and down, Jacob turns and pulls the elastic from his hair the pony tail disappears and his hair flows down his back curling around his entire body, he hands the tiny elastic to Sakura she twists it around her finger and walks with him to the clearing most of the pack has amassed around the circle, the audience consists of combinations of different forms, humans, wolf-men/women and full wolves.

Jacob takes his position in the circle and begins his transformation for all to see, in just under a minute he has gone from human to full wolf, there are cheers and howls throughout the pack, Jacob responds with his own low howl, he is one of the largest in the pack in full wolf form most only rise to four feet when in full wolf form, Tybalt glares at Jacob,

“I have challenged you Jacob, and you have accepted by means of first to submit, I will see you on your belly before me,” Tybalt boasts, Jeremy, steps to the ring,

“The fight shall begin once I give the word,” Jeremy raises his arm, and steps to the outer part of the ring, “Begin” he brings his arm down in a quick flash,

Tybalt charges at Jacob his claws glinting in the moonlight Jacob holds his ground, moving into a defensive stance, Tybalt draws his arm back to make his first slash against Jacob, in a blur of movement Jacob bounds at Tybalt his jaws tear the flesh of the extended arm, Tybalt wails and slashes Jacobs side with the other arm, Jacob brings a front leg up and knocks Tybalt away, both of them drip a constant flow of blood to the ground, there is another series of howls and cheers from the pack, Tybalt swipes at Jacob with his ruined arm but comes short, the fur on Jacob’s side has become matted with blood, Jacob circles around Tybalt teeth bared growling at him, Tybalt rushes at Jacob again he goes for Jacob’s face this time hoping to blind him but slices only air as Jacob takes a leap backward and quickly throws himself at Tybalt, his jaws close around Tybalt’s throat digging deep into the flesh blood pumps into Jacob’s mouth, his large paw pushes Tybalt’s good arm to the ground Jacob’s claws bite into the flesh, Tybalt brings his ruined arm up to slice at Jacob but is stopped when Jacob tightens his jaws around Tybalt’s neck, Tybalt goes limp and waits for Jacob to release him, Jacob releases his jaws and quickly steps back, Tybalt chokes trying to get air into his lungs his fingers pull at the leather straps on his wrists, Jacob stays in a defensive stance but can see that the fight is over, blood runs in a river down Tybalt’s chest, his bones already reshaping under his skin, he has to shift or he’ll die, once he does the fight is over, you have to stay in what ever form you chose at the start of the fight, once you shift you’ve lost.

“The fight is ended. Jacob remains as third in line for my throne,” Jeremy yells to the pack over the murmurs, cheers and shouts, Jacob shifts back to his human form the cuts Tybalt has given him closed but are far from healed, Sakura and Marcus rush to his side,

“Damn Jacob that was awesome you sure taught him a thing about what it means to be a werewolf huh?” Marcus exclaims awestruck

“Yes, very impressive, but he did get some choice blows,” Sakura critiques,

“I wanted to show him that first blood and a fight to the death are two very different things, I wanted him to stare death in the face and know that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him,” Jacob says to both of them, his hands run along the wounds, “Looks like I’ll need to rest if I want these healed,”

“Hey you want us to join you?” Marcus says knowing that being near other pack members speeds up healing,

“If you like,” he says, the three of them go to the cave and lay together in the large alcove reserved for Jacob, Sakura slips out of the loose t-shirt and pink skirt, she presses her naked flesh to his, Marcus follows suit, laying on the other side of Jacob,

“Would you like a fourth?” Ivy says standing above the three of them, she has slipped out of her dress; Marcus makes room for her without asking Jacob,

“As you wish Lupa,” Jacob says,

“Yeah the more the merrier,” Marcus chimes, Ivy slips in between Marcus and Jacob, the four of them make a warm pile of bodies as Jacob falls asleep even over all the voices filling the large cave,

Jacob awakens with the rising of the sun; his hand seeks the wounds on his side happy to find that they have disappeared, Jacob looks over the other werewolves to find that more had joined him in his sleep some stayed just near and weren\'t part of the pile, mostly newer or weaker wolves, there are so many around him he couldn’t possibly walk out without stepping on someone. Jacob’s slight movements have awoken Sakura and Ivy,

“Morning,” Ivy says stretching, Marcus’s arm is wrapped around her chest a large grin along his face, she grabs his arm and pulls it off her, “So, feel better Jacob?” she runs her hand along his side, feeling that the cuts are gone,

“A lot better,” he says with a smile,

“Mmm, I haven\'t slept that well in a long time,” Sakura says pressing herself to his back \"I almost don\'t want it to end,” she licks the nape of Jacobs neck, his body tenses, “S-sorry” she spits out, “I forgot,”

“You seem to have a selective memory Sakura,” Jacob gets up and forgets subtlety, in a massive leap he clears the wolves and lands with a loud slap, the sound awakens a few of the others near his feet Jacob strides out of the cave leaving everyone behind him.

Ivy rushes after Jacob she grabs his arm and spins him to face her, “Just what is bothering you? I know you\'re dating a human and all but that’s no excuse for snubbing the closeness of the pack,”

“You\'re right it’s not but my mind is just elsewhere,” he tries to turn away but she grabs his other arm tightly,

“And just where is your mind these days?” she says nuzzling his chest,

“Too many places at once, I think I might need a break,” Ivy chuckles at the comment,

“From being a werewolf? That might be a lot harder than you think” she smirks,

“From everything,” he says, Ivy lets go of him,

“What’s really bothering you Jacob? I know there’s more,” she says cupping his face, she looks at his eyes with a very motherly gaze,

“Sphinx,” he says that one word and it makes Ivy recoil,

“Let me guess, Karen went back?” she presses her arms over her chest, Jacob nods; Ivy makes a frustrated growl,

“I never thought either of you would ever even consider for a second to go back to her, all the shit she did to you both…” she trails off and rubs her arms as if she were cold, Jacob turns her face up to his,

“You didn’t fail with her, I couldn’t even talk her out of it, unfortunately I\'m more to blame, she thought she could just come back into my arms after all of it, I think that she needs to be loved in a way I can’t anymore, so she went to someone she thought she could,” Ivy wraps her arms around Jacob’s back,

“It’s not your fault, I know how you stopped being in love with her after being with Sphinx, I know that you still love her and I know how much it hurts you that you can’t go back to being in love with her, I went through a similar thing with my husband when he left me after I became a werewolf, he just left me once I was different he said I wasn’t the woman he married,”

“How does that make me feel any better?” Jacob says trying to pull away,

“It’s not supposed to but people do change and so do our feelings, it can be a painful transition but there\'s nothing we can do about it but accept it and move on, Karen just chose a bad way to do it,” Ivy tightens her arms around Jacob keeping him there, “I still have feelings for my ex-husband but there\'s not a hell of a lot I can do about it, I love Jeffery and I hope nothing ever changes that, I also hope that you will be just as happy with your new girlfriend,”

“Sandra,” Jacob breathes; a warm smile spreads across Ivy’s face,

“That’s a pretty name, I bet it’s a perfect reflection of her own beauty, I\'m sure I\'d enjoy meeting her someday,” she says with a bright smile, Jacob hugs her. She has acted as if she was his mother since the day they met, he had suspected that it was because she lost her own child when she was made into a werewolf, she never speaks of it, only once did she let it slip when they were talking.

“So would I,” Jacob says and hugs her, “But you might get to meet her in two days,” at first Ivy is confused but it soon hits her,

“Oh my god you didn’t,” she fears Jacob has done the worst,

“Maybe, but it’s not what you think, let me explain,” Ivy bites her tongue to keep from yelling at him, “Sandra and I were having sex and I was partially changed, I could feel it, I kept it back but I wasn\'t fully human, in the heat of the moment she bit me, I think she might have caught it from me that way,” Jacob turns away from Ivy, she hugs him from behind,

“I don\'t know what to tell you, I\'ve never heard of anyone catching it that way, but I\'ve never heard of anyone not catching either, your situation is…unique,”

“Yeah that’s my problem, so there’s nothing to do except wait?”

“Well if it weren\'t so close to the full moon I\'d say have her take a blood test, it can be detected in the blood stream after a period of five days, but we only have two before we know if she’ll change,”

“I should go and check on her, see if she’s all right,” Ivy kisses Jacob on the cheek.