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  The other leshies made some kind of noise that I didn’t recognize, but he responded, “My name is Jakku, Chosen.”

  Smiling, I bowed my head to him, “Thank you for that courtesy. Call me Max, please.” He nodded and I went on, “Jakku, you probably already know that I have lots of people following me. We don’t want to intrude on the forest, but we will need to use it for living arrangements, weapons, and such. Our boundaries will move into the trees surrounding our home. Not knowing what we are allowed to do, we don’t want to cause issues with the ecosystem. We will use the quarry and mine for most of our buildings, even the earth with the help of our mages, but I need you to show us what part of the forest we can use for these items that we don’t have on hand, especially the wood for bows.’

  Reap, Herc, and Sigmus were silent, not helping in any way at that moment.

  The Leshy nodded and responded, “Yes, Max, we knew of the army of races you brought with you. What are your plans regarding the construction?”

  I replied, “My goal is to fortify the area, so that anyone that needs help can get behind those walls and feel safe. I am going to start building an army of races, as you put it. We need to go out and free those who are in slavery, help those in need.”

  They nodded and Jakku spoke out, “We will need to discuss this for a few minutes.”

  I bowed my head and walked over to a tree and sat down to wait. Herc and Reap padded after me.

  ‘Well, how long do you think it will take?’

  Herc answered, ‘Not sure, but we don’t really want to know the consequences if we use the wrong area.’

  Sigmus chuckled. ‘Yeah, even though you’re the chosen one, they still have rules and make the best decisions for the forest.’

  ‘I understand that. I’m not here to make things difficult for them or us.’

  An hour later I was summoned and went over to speak with the Leshies.

  “We have come to a decision for you. I need you to measure out how far the boundaries will move, so we can get the forest spirits and other creatures situated in other areas of the forest. Some will stay and wait till you’re done, but most will leave. You will be able to use the timber that is marked within your boundary, after that we will guide you and your followers to a specific spot. It isn’t far from the quarry and mine, so it won’t hinder any projects that need to be completed. Thank you for speaking with us on this matter, is there anything else that needs our attention?”

  “No sir, we will take our leave and get to it. Thank you for looking after my home.”

  They bowed and left. I watched them leave and spoke to my bonds, ‘They didn’t ask for anything.’

  Sigmus advised, ‘Because they know you need to get stronger and have followers. We just need to make sure we don’t offend them in any way. Our hunters will need to go all over the forest and into other areas for meat.’

  ‘I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go back.’

  ***

  My duo followed me and sometime later, we found our way back to the camp. Gordon and the others were waiting for me.

  “Get everyone up and ready to go.”

  They barked some orders, and everyone moved to clean up so we could leave.

  The Inner Circle stood there.

  “What’s up?”

  Tia asked, “Did you speak to them?”

  I nodded. Frank chuckled, “I can see right now that life around you will be very interesting.”

  The others nodded but didn’t comment. Soph smiled, “You’re not going to tell us what they said?”

  Grinning, I replied, “Not yet. We need to get situated and get those waiting involved as well.”

  They nodded and when the camp was ready, we marched out towards our home.

  Chapter 4

  The days went by with no sign of Max. The members of the Drago clan were in a rut, their faces and attitude showed their concern for their leader. Not knowing where he was or what was happening was beginning to take a toll on them. Even Zeus knew something was off; the big bastard was crankier than usual.

  It was morning and everyone was eating breakfast, discussing what needed to be done.

  “The gardens are coming along real nice, Cass. The veggies are ripe and ready to be picked. Soon, we’ll be able to harvest the herbs as well,” Sasha advised with a smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

  Cass nodded. “That sounds great. I would like to get some of those pinto beans picked and shelled so we can cook them for supper. The leftover venison will go nicely with them.”

  Pelleus hesitantly asked, “You think the boss will be back today?”

  There was silence for a couple minutes before Val answered, “Not sure guys, but he wouldn’t want us moping around.”

  Leena sniffled and wiped her eyes. “We know, but it’s hard ya know? ...Dammit, I’m crying again. This pregnancy shit is for the birds, my emotions are all out of sorts.”

  The others laughed and agreed. The six pregnant women were somewhat moody and eating more, some were having weird cravings too. Like pickled okra, cheese on everything, and their meat, rare. When the kitchen was cleaned up, the workers went to their assignments for the day.

  Pelleus and Elwin went to repair some fence damage and a few places on the barn that need to be fixed as well. The two beast mages went to their charges while the others went straight to the gardens. The male elves finished up within a couple hours and went around inspecting the cabin for any repairs needed, finding a few, they started fixing them as well. After the chores were done, Lashane and Shaila took the three equines out to let them exercise.

  Lunch came and went, and it was getting later on in the day. The ladies were out chatting about nothing important and the males were discussing different projects when Zeus snorted and started kicking his stall. The two Morgans neighed and started in as well. Lashane and Shaila tried to settle them down but they were getting worse. The others came over to see what was going on.

  “Girls, why are they acting like that?” Sasha asked with concern.

  Lashane replied, “Something is coming, something big.”

  Cass asked, “What does that mean?”

  Shaila responded since her sister was trying to console the equines, “They are telling us that we’re about to have visitors.”

  They all said in unison, “What!?”

  Cass commanded, “All right, get your gear. We’ll meet here in five minutes.”

  Everyone nodded and went to armor up, then met up by the barn, waiting for whoever was coming. It didn’t take long before they started hearing rumbling coming from the north.

  “What the hell is it?” Leena asked with fear, trying not to show it.

  The others shook their heads, not knowing what was going on. As the sound came closer, Zeus got more and more agitated.

  “It sounds like an army is approaching,” Val hissed in a low voice.

  “Whatever it is, they’re almost here,” Cass stated the obvious.

  Zeus kicked the gate that held him in. It flew back and the girls around yelped while ducking to make sure it didn’t hit them. He came out of the barn, ears perking up and listening. After making a decision, the stallion trotted toward the unknown sound coming their way and stopped on the outskirts of the forest.

  The ladies were worried he was going to get injured but didn’t go over and try to coerce him to return. They could hear footsteps, like people marching. No one said anything for a few minutes. They just watched and waited. Zeus snorted and stomped the ground, moments later the intruders came into view. Orcs were leading an invading army. Everyone’s first reaction was to groan then they became angry, they weren’t going to cower. This was their home.

  Cass spoke with authority, “Everyone get to your assigned positions.”

  They split up and did as commanded, waiting as the army came closer. They didn’t know how it would work out, anything they had discussed in the past weeks about defending this place wouldn’t affect the army marching tow
ards them, but they decided to hold their ground and not get intimidated. Cass and Val were about to holler out the command to let loose the first volley of arrows. That’s when they looked behind the orcs and couldn’t believe their eyes at the mixture of races. Even the elves gasped and glanced at each other, trying to decipher what was happening.

  “What the hell is going on?” Sasha asked, rubbing her eyes, thinking it must be an illusion.

  “Who is leading such a motley army?” Cass wondered as she looked around at the chaos headed their way.

  When the orcs were a hundred yards away, they stopped, then parted for a group to walk through. At that moment, Zeus trotted over and moved anyone in his way to get in the middle of the crowd. People yelped and laughed at the big brute. He was neighing and stomping his hoofs as he was being petted.

  The Drago clan didn’t know what was going on and why Zeus was in the middle of it.

  After a few moments, the horse moved and walked with the group coming towards them. The party consisted of a mixture of females and males of different races. The man in the middle was massive, had to be seven feet tall with broad shoulders and muscular. His hair was bright orange, but what set him apart were those walking beside him, Reaper and Hercules.

  “Holy shit! It’s Max. What the fuck happened to him?” Val asked with wide eyes focused on her mate.

  “I don’t know, but my word, he is sexy,” Cass purred as she looked upon her man.

  Val nodded and the elves came over to join the two weres, watching the scene in disbelief.

  “Damn, look how big he is!” Elwin exclaimed in awe.

  “His animal definitely wants his presence known,” Pelleus said with amazement in his voice.

  “I can’t believe what I'm seeing,” Sasha commented as she scanned the area. “Different races together in one place and no one is fighting.”

  “Where did all these people come from?” Shaila asked.

  “He must’ve found another prison. That’s the only thing that makes any sense,” Cass said, and the others agreed.

  “LOOK! Elves of different clans! I wonder if there are any here from our old clan, Sasha.” Lashane gleefully pointed out their kin.

  Sasha responded with a hesitant smile. “Not sure, honey. We will just have to find out what’s going on first.”

  They continued to watch in silence until their gazes fell on two beautiful women walking close to him.

  Leena said in a calm voice, “And who are those ladies? And why are they so close to Max?”

  The ladies shrugged but didn’t say anything else. Waiting for the procession to stop.

  ***

  My group stopped about thirty yards out, but I kept on walking. Cass couldn’t take it anymore. She sprinted, and at the last moment jumped up into my arms. She rained kisses all over me, and I happily returned them.

  “Cass, I’ve missed you!”

  “Max, my love, I have missed you dearly,” she gasped as we continued to trade hugs and kisses.

  My other ladies came over to hug and kiss me as well. Cass looked around at all the people.

  “Max, honey, why are all these people here?”

  I laughed and said, “That’s a complicated story. One we will go over when we have time. Long story, cut short though? They are joining us here.”

  The ladies were dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. Cass and Val turned to the ladies walking towards them, sizing them up. A high elf, the other must be a shifter, and they had smiles on their faces.

  “Tia, Soph, this is my Cass, Val, Sasha, Leena, Shaila, and Lashane. Girls, this is Soph and Tia. I’m assuming you’ll have much to talk about.”

  Cass was about to reply but was interrupted.

  “Alpha, we will start setting up camp around your lands and prepare those kills we made,” Sean stated.

  The girls were confused. Alpha? When did that happen?

  “That sounds great, Sean. Tell Gurak to set a perimeter. I’ll be along shortly.”

  He bowed and left. I looked at the ladies surrounding me and shrugged.

  “Don’t shrug at us, explain!” Cass bellowed.

  “You can start by telling us how the hell you got so damn tall, and why your eyes changed color,” Val suggested.

  “Ladies, you have plenty to discuss. Tia and Soph will tell you of the adventures that we’ve had this past week.” I looked over to them and said, “You will need to discuss the relationship you want. These are the ones you must convince and with that said, I’ll go and help with the perimeter. Elwin, Pelleus, come with me. I need to introduce you to some people.”

  I walked off before anything else could be said. The two male elves followed, and we left the women behind to do whatever it is they had to do.

  ***

  Cass suspiciously scanned over the two newcomers. She had an idea what kind of relationship these ladies wanted.

  “Hello, that introduction from Max was informal. I’m Cassie and this is…” She went down the line, introducing everyone.

  The elf smiled and replied, “Well met, I am Tiatha.”

  Sasha spoke out. “You look familiar to me. Have we met before?”

  Tia narrowed her eyes before shrugging, “Not that I remember.”

  Leena gave her opinion, “I agree, Mother. She definitely looks familiar.”

  The wood elves nodded their agreement and glanced at each other, but none of them could place the high elf. Cass and Val didn’t know who she was, so they dropped it.

  “I’m Sophia, it’s nice to meet you all,” the shifter said as she stared with her intelligent eyes roaming over the other women.

  “Hmm… okay, let’s go somewhere more comfortable,” Cass suggested.

  They walked towards the cabin. When they got there, they ate snacks, while they all said something about themselves, trying not to be awkward.

  “All right, tell us what we missed this past week. Don’t leave any details out,” Val said.

  Sophia started first and told them about her adventures, and then Tia told her side of the story. They also told how Max helped rescue the captives and dismantled the Crimson Nightstalker pack. Sophia also advised about the meeting they had concerning the Inner Circle, the elementals, and when Sigmus decided to make his presence known. Soph and Tia shuddered at that memory. Tia told the group about having to stay out of the forest until the Leshies were notified.

  “It’s hard to get my mind around that. The Leshies don’t meet with anyone unless they are damaging the forest for whatever reason. Even then, they have someone else do their dirty work,” Tia said.

  Sasha responded to that, “We’ve had the same concerns, but they’ve looked out for us and the forest conceals us. They know that Max is unique and want to keep him safe as much as they can.”

  “What did they discuss this time?” Leena asked.

  Soph answered, “We don’t know, he wouldn’t tell us until we were all together. I’m assuming it will be tonight when we have our meeting.”

  When story time was over, the eight were all in their own little worlds, thinking about the events of the past week.

  Finally, Cass spoke up, “Let’s cut to the chase. We know you’re here for Max, I’m assuming he told you we decide if you can join the sister wives’ club.”

  They nodded and she continued, “What can you bring to the table for our family?”

  Tia spoke first, “I am good at infiltration, fighting with blades or hand to hand, and stealth.”

  They nodded and looked at Sophia.

  “I’m a werewolf, and fighting is pretty much a given,” Sophia replied smugly.

  “Sophia, why did you give Max your pack?” Val asked, puzzled how an alpha could just let her pack go and not challenge for leadership.

  “Well, I don’t know if you’ve seen him fight, but he is ruthless, lethal, and downright brutal when something or someone is placing others in harm’s way. Don’t get me wrong, he is kind, loving, and just an all-around gentleman.”


  Tia interrupted, “Let’s not forget sexy!”

  All eight of them sighed in unison and laughed together at their girly desires. “Anyway, I have never had a desire for a mate in my two hundred years of living, but when my wolf saw him, both of us knew we needed him in our lives.”

  Val knew exactly what she was talking about, her lioness purred every time he was around, and just wanted him to wrap his strong arms around her. Val nodded to the she-wolf and glanced over to Cass and Sasha to see what they thought of the answers. Cass nodded slowly and Sasha smiled at the ladies vying for entrance into their family. They kept talking for the rest of the afternoon, wondering what the future would hold.

  ***

  After I introduced Elwin and Pelleus to Gordon and the others, they went off to show them around the area. I followed a path out to the perimeter of my lands, finding sentries already on duty. They work fast. I walked up to find orcs and nodded to them but kept scanning the surroundings noticing others in the distance. I found Sean talking to some others, so I went to see what was being done.

  “Sean, how’s it going? Need help?”

  He shook his head and replied, “No Alpha, we’re just discussing security and living arrangements.”

  “Okay, I need a headcount. We’re going to need to sit down and find out what kind of workers we have. Get those who have been in council and meet me by my barn in thirty minutes.”

  “Yes, Alpha. I will gather them after finishing here,” Sean responded.

  I nodded and walked toward my forge. Going inside, my main agenda was to get the fire going. Once it was started, I pushed a cart towards the barn to get some ingots of steel and iron. Walking through the wards, it still felt like needles jabbing me all over my body. I was still amazed what was left inside and hurried over to get what was needed. I put all the ingots in the cart with the tools needed, and pushed it to the forge.

  Unloading everything, I placed them where they were needed and made sure the airflow wasn’t clogged, then left the forge for the time being. It was going to take some time for the fire to get hot, so I went back outside, and saw some dwarves coming my way. Three males stopped in front of me and gestured to the forge.