Blind Faith by Brannan Black

The waiting room smelled of warmed fake leather, worn carpet and antiseptic. Some heat radiated off the windows. I bet it was nice outside. Being cooped up here sucked, major sucked.

A loud bang rattled a glass window.

“Eeek!” I nearly fell off the stiff seat of the waiting room couch I jumped so hard.

“Sorry, Mei, didn’t mean to startle you.” Derek flopped down on the couch next to me with a frustrated huff. I pulled him to lay his head on my lap and ran my fingers through his silky hair, gentle little strokes designed to sooth. He let out a deep sigh and let go of a small amount of the tension thrumming through his body. I ran soft, teasing caresses over the tight line of his jaw, smooth since he’d just shaved. He settled a bit more.

The sound of Jay’s pacing echoed around the otherwise too quiet waiting room. My boys did not take inactivity well. Especially not forced inactivity. And until the women of this refugee compound said otherwise, here we had to stay. Actually, they had to stay; I could leave any time. I think that irritated them even more, that I could come and go at will while they would be shot for poking their noses out the door.

“Jay, sit your ass down. You’re making me crazy!” Derek snarled. All the tension he’d let go returned with friends. It radiated off him like sparks of electricity.

Jay’s frustration came out in a deep growl. “Sorry Derek, I just hate sitting still.”

Derek growled back, a deep dangerous sound that vibrated from deep inside. His head jerked up from my lap.

I offered soothing strokes through the tangle of his long hair and a gentle tug. “Shh, Derek. It’s OK. It’ll work out.” I hoped to distract them from their restlessness. No such luck. My guys were more about action than words. It made me realize just how much time we’d spent rolling around in bed or asleep those first few days. After that, they roamed near the shelter while I enjoyed the fresh air. Were all wolfmen this active by nature? “Have you had any more thoughts on how to help them increase their security?”

“How am I supposed to do that when we’re caged up in here?” The tight clip of his words expressed his agitation quite clearly.

Gently, I tugged at his hair, urging him to lie back down. “I know, lovers. Waiting is never easy, but we don’t have a lot of choices at the moment.”

I heard rustling and then Jay sank down against the front of the couch. He flopped back against me and I stroked his head. “Jay? What happened to your dreads?” A short wiry brush replaced the tangled mat that turned into nature’s own dreadlocks.

He leaned into my touch, a soft sigh escaping his lips. “Derek helped me with it this morning. Do you like it?” He sounded hesitant.

I ran my fingers all over his head searching through tight curls no more than a quarter inch long. “Yes, mate, I do. Nice to card my fingers through your hair.”

We stayed like that for a while, me stroking them. Contentment filled me, something I never thought I’d feel again. And love. God how I loved my wolfmen!

Derek shifted in my lap, leaning over to nuzzle Jay’s neck. Jay turned, kissing the inside of my wrist. With my hand on his cheek, he leaned into kiss Derek. Strong jaw muscles danced under my hand as their kiss swiftly moved from sensual to heated. Tingles flowed up my arm, lighting sparks all along my skin.

Hot, moist lips kissed my hand, my wrist. Derek sucked my thumb into his mouth. Ahh, that felt amazing! A zing of passion zipped down to my pussy.

Jay nibbled down my arm until he kissed Derek with my thumb sucked from one mouth to another. My breath caught. Heat flushed my body.

I ran my now wet thumb down Jay’s throat as my other hand tugged and stroked in Derek’s silken locks.

They went back to kissing each other, encouraging me to “watch” them with my hands. Soft sexy rumbles purred through their bodies and right to my sex like great big vibrators.

Derek rolled over so his face was buried between my legs. “Mmmm, Mei smells hot!”

Having a man’s face sniffing my crotch shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was. The little growly groans had my panties wet in no time. Next thing I knew, Jay was on the couch with me, laving hot kisses on whatever wasn’t covered in cloth. His big strong hands cupped my breasts, tweaking my nipples with his thumb.

I sucked in a deep breath, desire radiating out from his touch. Derek had pulled his head out of the way and skilled fingers rubbed over my mons. God, I was burning up!

And then it stopped. Completely stopped. Irritated growls issued from both guys.

“What?”

“Got an audience.”

My brows shot up. “What?” I’m embarrassed to say my voice broke into a high-pitched squeal. “Someone’s in here?”

“No, looking in the windows,” Jay snarled, rising.

“Oh my God! Guys, we can’t get naked where the whole compound can watch!”

“That must be why Frank and a couple women are glaring at us.”

Derek growled louder. “He may be glaring but the bastard’s getting turned on. No way can he have a taste of our pretty!”

I must have looked as mortified as I felt.

“It’s OK, Mei. We’ll get rid of them.”

“No! Don’t go outside.”

“Closing the blinds and locking the door.” Jay’s voice rumbled from across the room.

I sighed. The mood had taken a definite downturn for me. Derek’s hot and now naked body pressed me into the couch. Obviously hadn’t affected him at all, judging by the very hard cock thrusting against my side. Warm lips brushed soft kisses on my cheeks, sending sensual shivers over my skin.

I inhaled the warm, musky scent of his skin, pulling him into a deep kiss. His taste burst on my tongue as he swept his inside. Jay’s sexy moan filled the air in front of us.

“Shit, you two are so hot!” Over the pounding of my heart, I heard a zipper drawing down. Jay moaned again. My lips twitched up. I bet he had his big hard cock in hand. I pushed forward. Derek’s hand guided me until Jay’s cock, slick with precum touched my lips.

“Mmm, so good! I love your taste, Jay!” I sucked him deep, his all male odor a total aphrodisiac. My pussy ached and slicked, eager for him to fill it. I held Jay with one hand, licking and sucking up and down his length. Growling moans shuddered through his body.

“Yeah, suck him Mei.” Derek made quick work of my clothes. His fingers stroked over my pussy.

“Ahhh! Yessss!” Felt so good! I rocked on his fingers, desperate to get them inside me.

“Here, move just a bit.” We shuffled until I was on my knees on the floor, Jay sitting with me sucking his cock and Derek — Thank heavens! yes! — was sliding that hot hard rod of his into my empty pussy! I moaned around Jay’s cock and he sucked a breath, legs tight as drums under my hands.

Derek moaned, growled deep and started thrusting. Oh, oh, that felt so… Ahhh! One hand held my hips. The other dipped under to tease my clit.

Jay’s hands tangled in my hair, his hips flexing and quivering with the effort not to choke me. His body stiffened and he howled as hot jiz flooded my mouth, running down his shaft faster than I could swallow.

Derek’s fingers tweaked my clit, his cock swelled inside me and together we tumbled over the precipice into ecstasy.

Aftershocks still pinged around sensitive nerves as they shifted my boneless body onto the couch and, somehow, between them. Not quite laying, the couch wasn’t near wide enough, but sort of draped over and around each other. With satisfied sighs, my wolfmen relaxed for the first time all day.

A loud commotion interrupted our post coital bliss. My wolfmen jumped up so fast I tumbled to the floor. Fear spiked through my heart. I rose, reaching, but they’d made their silent way beyond my grasp. “What’s up?”

Derek’s firm voice came from near the door. He sounded more than a little amused. “Their ATV got stuck in some sand so they had to walk back from the pasture, and some cows are missing. Fence is down where it crossed the creek.”

Jay snorted. “They’re arguing over using horses or another ATV to pull the first one out.” His tone made it clear he thought little of either option.

Which gave me an idea. I stepped cautiously toward the door, hoping no one had moved the coffee table… again. A firm hand closed on my wrist, pulling me toward him. Which one? Long fingers, blunt tips, and long arms considering how many steps I took to his side. Jay. He tucked me under his arm.

Turning toward Derek’s voice, I shared my idea. “You’ve seen their ATV’s? Think you could get it unstuck?”

Derek snickered. “We could toss it to the bank for them.”

I chuckled. “How about just pulling it out so they can use it?”

I felt Jay’s shrug. Derek’s tone held all the confidence of youth. “No problem.”

I stepped free from Jay and reached for the door. “Just stay inside a minute.” Stepping outside I turned toward the loudest voices in the yard. “Excuse me, ladies.” Despite my raised voice they didn’t stop arguing until Derek’s growl echoed around the yard.

“What?” Angie’s angry voice tossed back.

“We could get your little toy unstuck without all this fuss.” Could Derek have sounded more condescending? No, not really.

“Oh really? Just wade out into the sand and mud and pluck it like a plum?” Angie’s voice held an equal amount of derision.

“Yup.”

“Considering we’ve got strays to find before something eats them, you have my permission to try.” Dr. Sylvia’s word was law, although that didn’t stop some from protesting loudly.

Derek kissed my cheek and whispered against my ear, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon.”

I hugged him and then Jay. “I’m not worried. Have fun.” They both laughed and shortly sounds moved off. I stood there. Alone. So now what did I do with myself?

A slight scuffing sound. I cocked my head, listening. Footsteps.

“Mei, would you like to come up to the big house?” Lindsey spoke in front of me, tapped the back of her hand to mine to offer her assistance.

I smiled and took the offered arm. “Thanks Lindsey, I’d like that very much. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Well, time to do some laundry. We have a washer but we hang everything to dry. Think you could help with that?”

I smiled even more. “I can do a lot if you let me. I just need things to be in place so I can find them. And not trip over things.” Our path had suddenly deviated, telling me something lay in the way. I would never learn to get around here by myself if they couldn’t put things away. If only I still had my cane! I hated relying on others for something that should be so simple. “Lindsey, I need a cane so I can get around without needing a guide.”

“You think you could do that? Here? It’s not like we’ve got sidewalks.”

I chuckled as she guided me up the steps to the big house. “Don’t need sidewalks, just something to keep me from tripping over stuff left out, and time to learn the layout. I worked in an open office and rode the bus to and from.” Getting my parents to let me travel alone took more than one heated argument. Moving out solved that problem.

“Well, if that’s all you need.” Her words smiled with a gentle tease. Old wood and food smells wafted by. We’d reached the house.

Doing dishes while Lindsey and Megan worked around me gave me hope that I could find a place here. That my guys could contribute a lot was never in question. Not in my mind.

Lindsey and I had just come to the kitchen to help with lunch. The whine of an ATV approached the compound. “Hey, sounds like they’re back!” someone called.

We dropped what we were doing and headed out the door. Angry voices vied with sounds of success. I stopped in the door. The smell of gasoline and dust carried on the warm spring breeze.

“… chasing down the…”

“They just yanked it out like it was cardboard! I knew they were strong but…”

“They left alone? Yay! We can lock them out!”

I didn’t hear my guys’ deeper, growly voices nor could I make sense of the cacophony filling the yard. Apparently I wasn’t the only one.

“Quiet!” At seventy-two, Miss Ellie might be the oldest woman here, but her voice still held plenty of strength. “You’re worse than a bunch of hens all squawking at once!”

A few laughs met her statement but things did quiet down.

“Now, from the start.”

Angie gave her report like she was talking to a commanding officer. For all I knew, she could have been military. “Derek and Jay pulled the ATV free with minimal effort, even getting it across the creek so we could pursue the missing cows. A section of fence was down. Don’t know if it broke, the cows pushed it down or something tore a hole.” She paused for breath and new murmurs arose.

“Something like beasts?” a worried voice called.

“No. At least not according to Derek. He said he would smell them if it was. He didn’t smell any other predators. Well, a couple coyotes is all.”

A collective sigh went up.

“Wait, we only have that beast’s word for it. For all we know there could be a whole pack of his buddies out there just waiting!” The unfamiliar woman’s voice rose to a screech at the end.

Dr. Sylvia spoke so close she had to be on the porch with me. “Not very damn likely considering how adamant they were about avoiding other wolfmen. So how many cows got out? Any pregnant ones or small calves? The coyotes might be after them.”

“Hard to tell from the tracks but at least three cows and two calves. Derek said he smelled five distinct odors. He thought one of the cows might be close to giving birth.” She paused again to let the grumbles die down. “Glory and Crissy rode with Derek and Jay tracking.” Angie sniggered. “Never seen anyone so anxious to chase after cows on foot. I just hope they scare them in the right direction!”

That started the chickens clucking again. The gist revolved around whether my guys would help round the cows up, scare them into the next state or just eat them raw. I felt compelled to defend them. “They are not stupid, and for your information, they prefer their meat cooked, just like anyone else!”

“Filthy beasts can hunt. We’ve all seen how they ferret out hidden victims and then set on them like rabid dogs. We’ll never see those cows in one piece again. Gotta wonder what they plan for Glory and Crissy. Fucking mongrels.”

Frank’s snide retort sent my hackles rising. I just stood there so angry I couldn’t speak.

Dr. Sylvia had no such problem. “That’s enough, Frank. In case the rest of you missed it, they are staying for a while. Maybe longer. Despite how we’ve treated them, they’ve offered to help us beef up our defenses.”

“Yeah, just so they can have us all to themselves.”

I laughed. “And what do you think they want with you?” Was I really feeling that secure in my place with them? Yes, yes I was. Or they would have bailed on me already.

“I keep wondering the same thing, only about you.” I didn’t recognize that nasty nasal whine. “You must be one hell of a fuck.”

“Now, Mary, no need to be mean.” Was Frank really defending me? Wow. Were pigs flying overhead? “It’s not Mei’s fault she’s been at the mercy of those beasts.”

“Can we act like adults here?” Miss Ellie chastised Frank and the woman.

Dr. Sylvia ignored them and continued. “The council agrees with me on this. We need better defenses, because sooner or later, others will find us. These aren’t the mindless beasts we once thought they were. They’re smart. We need to be smarter.”

“So we’re going to give them carte blanche in the hopes they can keep us safe? How is that any better?”

I took a step, reaching for the railing. “The difference is they don’t want to hurt you or control you. We just want a home and, like you, safety.”

“This is a good test of how helpful they can be. And we aren’t going to give them the run of the place.” Dr. Sylvia’s voice sounded apologetic. “At least not yet.”

“We agreed they’d be watched. I’ve set up posts to keep an eye on them at all times. Discrete surveillance just for everyone’s peace of mind.” I liked the calm, firm voice of that woman. Someone it sounded like I needed to meet.

“And are we to stay at the clinic?” I couldn’t see us living there forever any more than in the big house with everyone.

Megan, Miss Ellie’s daughter spoke from beside me. “What about Daniel’s apartment? Not getting a lot of use right now.”

“And it’s isolated from the rest of the housing. It’s perfect.” Lindsey sounded rather enthusiastic about it. Agreement outweighed the few who just wanted us gone.

Dr. Sylvia sighed. “Well, I guess until he comes home, but then we’ll have to figure something else out. Just don’t mess up his stuff.”

Did she really think Daniel was leaving Mace to come back here? I didn’t know them but from what I’d heard, they were a solid couple. I didn’t think he’d leave Mace any more than I would leave Derek and Jay.

“Great, that’s settled. Mei, would you like to check out the apartment?” Lindsey bubbled.

“Sure.”

Lindsey offered her hand. She gave me a general idea of the layout of the yard and then let me count steps. I really needed a cane. Twice she had to keep me from stumbling over the rough ground.

“Oh, I forgot, there are stairs. It’s on the second floor over his workshop. Is that a problem?”

“Not once I learn them.” I grasped the handrail and after a few steps got the rhythm of the rise and run, counting each step.

A second door stood to the left at the top of the steps. It wasn’t locked. Lindsey gave me a tour, giving me time to orient and count steps to each area. A large living space opened into kitchen to the right of the door, and a breakfast bar separated the two. A short hall led to the only bedroom and bath. Simple, but perfect for us.

Daniel even had a king size bed that felt really sturdy, if a bit high off the floor. That might give me problems, at first. I felt confident I could adjust.

“Feel free to use his TV, DVDs and stuff, but leave the computer alone.”

“Hmm. I have no idea if the guys like TV. Any music?”

She showed me how to use the DVD player to get music on the surround sound. Daniel had a sweet setup. Living here, I could almost forget most of the world lay in ruins.

She also started showing me where everything in the kitchen was. Laughing, I interrupted her lessons. “Too much! I can’t remember it all at once.”

“Sorry,” Lindsey chuckled. “I’d be happy to come back another time.”

“Thanks but it will take a while. I suspect Derek and Jay can help. Oh, what about the soap, shampoo and stuff?” Those things were like gold since we couldn’t get more.

“We’re making our own now so feel free. It’s not as good as some of the old stuff but not bad.”

I’d wondered where the soaps and shampoos we’d used at the clinic came from. Had to say I was very impressed with this group’s survival abilities.

Later I joined the women in the big house helping to prepare dinner. Lindsey told me that normally, only those living in the house and a few others ate there. Having new folks brought out a much larger crowd. The evening was mild so they opened the doors to the back patio. The extra space helped keep the din to a tolerable level though still much, much louder than I was used to.

Something small brushed my legs.

“Kids! Watch where you’re going! You nearly tripped Mei.”

A chorus of small voices apologized as they ran off. I followed the sound of their giggling and happy young voices, moving away and then closer again. I couldn’t help the big smile that stretched muscles that hadn’t seen a lot of use over the last few years. All around were the sounds of life and laughter. Sounds I thought I’d never hear again.