Back to Work and What ails her

       Ebony got back to sleep and awoke to her alarm, which was a rare occurrence. That meant she needed to get up and get herself going. She was running late. Then she remembered she wasn’t in the tower alone. There were three others about. Dang it. Three men who were probably still asleep, too.

       When she peaked into their room that the three were sleeping in, she found only Benedict asleep. It was now nine in the morning, late for her starting the day.

       He must have been asleep for only two or three hours. He needed more than that. So she left him sleeping and, once she was dressed for the day, Ebony went to the tower.

       Once she opened the trap door quietly as she dreaded interrupting another intimate moment. The smell of breakfast cooking hit her like a physical barrier.

       “Morning. I was just coming to get you for breakfast. You’ve got perfect timing.” Franco smiled down at her. Peter was at the table setting out breakfast. It seemed all so normal. Peter was smiling also, and Ebony couldn’t help but smile back at the men.

       Once they were all sitting at the table and were eating, Franco asked. “Who’s searching for the poachers and who’s watching the tower?”

       “Peter’s here minding the food and such. Benedict’s sleeping. I’m stuck with paperwork and reporting all this. That leaves you to mind the tower. I think we won’t get to searching for them until after lunch. I’ll have to take Benedict with me. You can take a break and Peter can take over watching the tower. I’ll take the shift after dinner. Now don’t forget there’s a supply drop coming in after lunch. I expect both of you to pick it up and bring it here. It’s a lot if the new manifest is correct. Food, more first aid, your belongings, and some new equipment. But why they didn’t have the three of you bring it in? I don’t know. Air dropping electronics is a risky bet.” For that matter, she still couldn’t figure out why Alan hadn’t said anything about the new hires or sent her in with some supplies. It would have been more cost effective.

       “We’ll keep that in mind when we’re bringing it here and unpacking it. If we have time, we’ll test the items to ensure they’re working before you send the reports.” Franco assured her. “How about we clear the brush between here and there when you’re minding the tower? I think I saw some superb firewood. Get a jump on the winter supply.”

       “Sounds good. I’m not sure exactly how much we’ll need now that we have the cabin opened, too. I’d assume more than double of what I’ve been using. But I’ll check the records for that today.”

        They went about their jobs in relative quiet. Peter turned on the communications radio and they listened in case any reports came through, as usual. There were none.

       Ebony realized it was lunchtime because Benedict made his appearance, and the smells of Peter’s cooking permeated her thoughts, making her stomach growl.

        Lunch was simple as there wasn’t as much selection and the stock was for one and not four people.

       “Benedict, we’re heading out to see if we can find more information about these poachers. Franco and Peter are staying here to accept the supply drop and man the tower. I want to see if your findings are in a different location and if they can shed more information.”

       “Fine. Not a problem. I can easily find the location again. But it will take the better part of the afternoon to get there on two feet. But I’d feel better if we did that because we should carry weapons, just in case, we encounter them.”

       “Agreed. I think we all should have a weapon on us at all times. The last thing we need is the poachers getting a jump on us.”

       They finished eating and went about preparing for their work. Ebony feared that the poachers might discover where their airdrops landed and attempt to steal their supplies. So they would arm everyone for their safety.

       Benedict and Ebony soon left the station to investigate further. Every few years, some illegal outfit thought it smart to send poachers after furs and other valuable things hidden on the land that they could easily haul out. It was disgusting, as they didn’t think of sustainability or future cultivation. The last group was actually stealing birch bark. They’d killed a lot of trees, taking the bark off the trees. It would take decades for the tree population to recover in the area.

       “Look, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you at dinner. But I’m worried you will run into something that’s out of you league. I’m sure you know how dangerous some of these cowards are.” Benedict was trying to see reason with Ebony, but she wasn’t sure what he was trying to prove.

       “Oh, I think you knew exactly what you were saying, and it wasn’t concerned for my safety. You need to control. Here’s the thing: I’m not part of your bonded pack. My safety isn’t your concern and I’m the senior forest ranger here. I’d kindly appreciate it if you didn’t sabotage my authority.” Ebony was at a point where she was getting sick of him pushing his luck. Trying his boundaries or whatever it was he was doing. This stepping over the line and then apologizing for it was too much like gas lighting for her liking.

       Benedict suddenly turned around. His face looked stormy with an anger that surprised her.

       “You may not be a member of my bonded pack right now. You may have seniority right now. But you will never tell me how I feel. Let me give you a little demonstration on how uninterested I am in your well-being.” Next thing Ebony knew she could feel the hard bark of a tree against her back, Benedict plastered against her front and his face coming down in a possessive kiss. She was pinned there, and he held her head still as he made bloody well sure she knew he was interested in a lot more than her safety.

        “You got up last night. What happened?” Franco said to Peter after Ebony and Benedict left the tower. He didn’t know what the others knew or didn’t know. There were enough issues already without adding to it.

       “I went to talk to Ebony.” Peter came back to the table with a couple of mugs of coffee and sat down after handing one to Franco.

       “How did it go?” Franco wasn’t sure what happened last night, and it’s been a wait until he felt the coast was clear to ask him about it.

       “She didn’t want to talk, and she was all stressed.” Peter shrugged as he looked into his coffee mug.

       “Let me guess, you worked your magic on her?” Franco knew Peter too well and how he hated seeing anyone stressed or anxious.

       “I didn’t screw her. But I got my hands on her and gave her a massage. By the way, her tits are real, and she’s got a fire burning for attention. Ebony needs a bond desperately. A little TLC would go a long way.” Peter gave his best advice when he spoke about what he saw in other people. He could spot a need in a person when even they didn’t know they struggled with.

       “So, what? A little one-on-one time with each of us?” Franco expected Peter to tell him he’d misunderstood and correct him. It surprised him when that’s exactly what Peter was trying to say.

       “Yeah, find a way to connect with her. Can you think of how she must have felt after being a lone out here by herself for the better part of five years? We’re supposed to be in a team and teams should only be out here for a season before there’s relief sent in.” Franco hadn’t thought about it, but it made sense when Peter mentioned it.

       “Yeah, I guess. She sees us as invaders, and she feels like an outsider.” Peter tried his best to explain what he meant because he hated arguing and miscommunication. Franco just waited for Peter to lose his shit on the others while they were fighting. He hadn’t though, not yet.

       “Then we’ll have to step this up and show her we are open to more with her.” Franco was trying to figure out ways to interact with her one-on-one. It would be something to think about as he did his job. If only they had some bad weather or something that kept them indoors. Or their generator didn’t work. They could make the best of things. Nah, if it became known the generator was tampered with, they’d look at them first and they needed it for the radio if the poachers became a real problem. This would take some finessing.

       “I hate this pussyfooting around. I’d prefer to just introduce her to the idea that we want to include her in everything.” Peter wasn’t as far from blowing as Franco’s first thought. He was getting impatient now. Which could be worse since he could go off and do something stupid. Franco needed to rein him in.

       “A little immersion theory pack style?” Gods, take the hint about what you sound like, Peter, please.

       “We might not mate with her right away. But a cozy night with all of us there. Dinner, a fire, cuddling. Maybe if she’s comfortable, we can show her how good it could feel to be with us. A few nights like that and she’d know how each of us like it and want her. Hopefully she’ll trust us and be more accepting of more.” Peter was desperate, just like Franco, for their bonded pack to be complete with a mate for them. They needed to settle down. It was a sticking point that they all needed to address.

       “You romantic sot, had me worried there for a moment. Did you talk to Benedict about this yet?” Franco was hoping it wouldn’t be an issue with Benedict. He was the most outgoing of them and their obvious leader. But he needed them to mellow out his brash nature sometimes.

       “Not yet. He’s acting strange, don’t you think? Snapping at Ebony like that.” Peter was concerned about that, and Franco couldn’t blame him. If they didn’t get him to simmer down, this could blow up in their faces.

       “I don’t think he expected her to be so dominant and independent. We need to get him to back down and try to get to know Ebony as a person. That would help him a lot more than butting heads with her all the time.” Franco knew they’d have to get him to relax and accept he would have a mate who would debate and question his authority from time to time.

       “More coffee before we start. Watch for the supply drop?” Peter asked, shaking himself back to reality and the job at hand.

       “Yeah, you know I never say no to your coffee.” Franco finished the last of his coffee and gave his mug to Peter. “You know we could give her the day off? We could use the poachers as an excuse for her to stay close. Then keep her busy in good ways.”

        “Now the question is, how do we define good ways?”

        “Or we could each go out on the job and make our interest in her known to her individually. You’re the romantic of this pack. You tell me what’s a good way to tell her we’re interested in her?”

       “Oh, I started already, and she’s quite receptive. I think I could have had her if I pressed a little more, but I want her to trust me more before I go down on her.”

        “Wow. So you’ve thought this all out. Exactly what you’re going to do and how.”

       “Hm… There’s room for adjustment to her feelings. But I will not lie to her or lead her on. Just get her used to me being close.” Peter handed Franco his coffee, leaned over the small table, and gave him an affectionate kiss. “You need to get to work. Stop driving yourself crazy. You’ve got enough people doing that for you.”

       “Tease. I should screw you before work.”

       “Go, I have dishes to do.”