Raised By Wolves update

Kitty took Betsy’s purple hair and pulled her face up to her own. “You see what a slut you are?”

“Yes, I do, I do,” Betsy moaned. Her body shook with passion, with suffering, mingled together until she couldn’t sort out one from the other. “Thank you for whipping me, mistress. Thank you so much.”

Kitty pulled Betsy’s head back a little more. “I guess that means you’ve earned the treat I promised you.” She let go of her hair and walked away a few steps, picking up the collar she’d shown Betsy before. Kitty held it out to the ninja. “Does it fit now?”

Betsy didn’t scoff this time. She put the collar on, tightening it to a snug fit that still allowed her to breathe, but would remind her of its presence constantly. Her hands trembled as she then clipped a leash onto the ring of the collar. Kitty picked up the lead and walked with her out of the bedroom, to begin her new life.

***

One year later.

“All right, girls. Let’s quiet down! There’ll be plenty of time to gossip later. Your Older Sister needs to talk now!” Kitty Pryde had her hands on her hips, speaking in her firmest voice to bring the twenty teenage and adolescent female students under control. 

The babble of conversation and girlish giggling continued without even the briskest pause. Kitty took the bright chrome whistle from around her neck and blew through it, sending an ear-splitting shriek through the air.

“I said quiet down,” she told them afterwards, moving her authoritative gaze from face to face, her brow furrowed in firm resolve. 

Most of the girls in the group were between twelve and eighteen, but none of them were as old as her. And although she was barely an X-Man, there was still enough of an age difference for her to command respect from them—she hoped. When she narrowed her eyes and knitted her eyebrows together, they knew she meant business.

“If there’s one thing you need to learn this summer, it’s that when one of your Older Sisters tells you to do something, you do it. This isn’t a normal summer camp. You’re not normal campers. You’re mutants and all of you either chose or had no choice but to stay here at Xavier’s between semesters. You may not like that, but for most of you, this is the safest place you can be. And to keep you safe, you’ll have to follow instructions, no questions asked. Does everyone get that?”

Most of the girls nodded briskly, their faces showing the awed respect that Kitty had been hoping to get with her declaration, even traces of fear. Well, good. As much as they tried to put the students at ease, there was no telling when there might be an attack, and if it came to that, their lives could depending on following orders. Even horseplay with mutant powers could be dangerous. They didn’t know any better, but they had to obey her just like a child had to obey a parent telling them not to run with scissors.

For many of them, though, this ‘summer camp’ in the woods beyond the mansion was bringing into sharp relief that they were away from home, that their old lives were over, or that they truly had nowhere else to go. A few looked like they were on the verge of tears. One of the older teens, though, seemed to prefer aggression to crying.

“What if you give us a stupid instruction?” she asked.

“And who asked me that?” Kitty demanded, turning her head quickly to find the girl’s voice. She felt herself stiffen when she saw her. It was one of Emma’s class, sure to be a problem child. Staring into her rich brown eyes, Kitty was quite certain of it. “Monet. Didn’t you cause enough trouble this morning?”

“I wouldn’t call it trouble. I was asking questions. If answering those questions is so difficult that it constitutes trouble for you, maybe you’re not fit to chaperone us.”

Kitty grinded her teeth, close to losing her temper with the little snob. “What was your question again? Something about having to walk on your weak little legs all the way to camp?”

She was letting herself get drawn into an am-not, are-so argument with one of her students, which she’d promised herself not to do—how could she manage to dominate Betsy Braddock but not some bratty teenager? But at least Monet appeared to be getting flustered too.

“Last summer, the camp I went to sent private limousines to pick us up and bring us to the cabins comfortably. The X-Men have a million-dollar jet, but they couldn’t afford to drive us out here in a van even?”

“Sounds like a nice camp,” Kitty retorted, making her voice as sweet as she could, but knowing that her tightened eyebrows gave away how she really felt. “Why didn’t you go back there again this year?”

For a moment, Monet really was on the backheel. Her face flushed, even through her caramel coloring, and her gaze darted away from Kitty’s face. “I was bored with the place,” she said, cloaking her excuse in snideness, like Kitty was an idiot for not having figured that out.

“You won’t get bored here,” Kitty told her. “We’ll walk you around the camp for hours.”

Monet gave a haughty toss of her long brown hair, sending it tumbling over her shoulders. “Don’t you think all this happy camper stuff is a bit asinine for us older kids? We should just stay in the mansion for summer. At least it has electricity—and air conditioning.”

Grumbles of agreement ran through the group. Kitty thought to herself with venom. Nice of Professor X to leave me to explain this plan to everyone. Aloud, she said “We can’t have the remaining student body split up and we don’t want a bunch of kids stuck indoors all summer with nothing to do, picking up bad habits for their adult lives.”

“So anyone who isn’t simply enthralled by rubbing sticks together is just out of luck then?”

“Oh? So you already know how to start a campfire?” Kitty asked, aware that she and this idiot brat were now in a showdown to win the respect of the group. Whoever won was liable to be really calling the shots for the rest of the summer.

“It’s not hard to figure out,” Monet replied. “You rub two sticks together. If cavemen can do it, so can I.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind showing us?” Kitty questioned sweetly.

Monet might be able to start a fire or not, but she definitely couldn’t play poker. Not willing to risk the embarrassment of proving unable to pull a mastered skill out of her hat, she hedged the bet. “It’s not even worth my time.”

“Then you don’t know how to,” Kitty said, seething. “Cavemen can do it, but not you. Maybe we should stop listening to you, who doesn’t know anything about outdoor survival, and turn our attention to me, who is trying to teach you this stuff.”

With satisfaction, she noticed the others shifting their stances ever so slightly away from Monet. 

“Oh, fine, I’m sure you have plenty to say.” Monet sighed heavily. “I find public speaking such a bore anyway.”

Kitty delivered the coup de grâce to settle the first round. “Try not to eat any berries while you’re here. I’m sure you haven’t learned which ones are poisonous yet.”

“What if one Older Sister tells us to do something but you tell us something else?” another girl asked, but she seemed sincere, not challenging like Monet had been.

Kitty focused on her—a pretty Asian girl about the same age as Monet. A little flutter ran through her as she took in the girl’s almond eyes, neatly styled black hair, and supple little body. 

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Jubilation Lee,” the girl told her. She looked at Kitty boldly, but not in any sort of defiance. 

Jubilee. Kitty had heard of her. Another of Frostie’s, but thankfully she hadn’t learned Emma’s attitude like Monet had. No, she was pretty as her name. But she could be as much trouble as Monet was. With her sweet, lithe body, she could make plenty of trouble for Kitty.

Kitty spoke. “If that happens, just do as I say. The way we’ve set this place up, each Older Sister is in charge of ten or fifteen girls. They’re our big responsibility. We watch out for each other, but you’ll mainly report to us. If another Older Sister tells you to do something that you think would make me unhappy, check with me. And don’t worry about making them angry. I’ll take care of you.”

“Okay,” Jubilee said, sounding reassured, sporting a smile that sent a quick thrill of yearning through Kitty.

Definitely trouble, Kitty thought with sweetened dismay. She knew how she could get with submissive girls—especially cuties like Jubilee who didn’t know yet what bottoms they were—and she might not be able to stop herself from seducing the girl. Jean Grey, who was in charge of the whole summer camp, was quite understanding, but Kitty doubted she’d be accepting of one of the teaching staff teaching a camper how to do without their virginity.

No matter how cute and appealing Jubilee looked, or how easily she could picture herself giving into temptation, Kitty would have to stay strong. Avoid being alone with the girl. Instead, she’d vent her frustrations on Betsy and Laura. They’d certainly appreciate it. 

Otherwise, it was safe to say she’d be off the X-Men. And where would she go then? X-Factor? X-Force? Excalibur? Kitty’s philosophy was that if an X-Man didn’t live under the same roof as Chuck Xavier, they weren’t really an X-Man.

She forced her attention off of Jubilee and to all the other girls in her care. “Are there any other questions before you wash up and turn in for the night?”

The girls had already found a feast of a barbecue dinner waiting for them when they finished their hike through the woods, so that was the feeding taken care of. One more hour, at most, and then she’d be free of them. Kitty wondered when Betsy would be done with her group. Maybe she was already finished with them, and now was waiting for Kitty in their shared cabin.

Betsy might not know it, but she’s getting lucky tonight, Kitty thought. I’ll just pretend she’s Monet and topping her will practically take care of itself. Imagining her as Jubilee was too damn risky. But the need to work this lust out of her system grew stronger with each passing moment.

“Are you going to sleep in our cabin?” A younger girl had asked the question, her voice sounding damp, like she might be holding back tears.

“No, I won’t,” Kitty said tenderly. “I have a little cabin of my own for me and another Older Sister. It’s very close to your cabin, though, so I’ll be close by if anything happens.” She couldn’t help but glance at Jubilee as the last words passed through her lips.

“Why won’t you stay with us?” the frightened girl demanded.

“Because we adults think that you should learn how to be self-sufficient and work together, not rely on us. We’ll still be here, but you have to learn what to do when we’re not.”

“But I’ve never slept in the woods!” the girl insisted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “What if there’s a bear?”

“Or a snake?” another girl asked, adding to the crying girl’s fright with some of her own.

Kitty could tell she was on the verge of a full-blown panic. Once that riot broke out, it’d be hours before she could calm everyone down and make her way to Betsy. Kitty slapped her hands onto her hips.

“Don’t be such babies!” she snapped. “You’re mutants! Part of the X-Men! The youngest of you is what, twelve? When I was twelve, I knew how to act like a young lady. What’s the matter with you? Do you need a teddy bear? A nightlight? Aren’t you old enough yet to be able to get a good night’s sleep without your mommy or daddy standing by your crib?”

The Wolverine-style tough love seemed to do the trick. The girls who’d been sniffling quickly wiped away their tears and runny noses, trying their best to look tough. The tragedian who’d started the fuss, though, wouldn’t be shamed so easily.

“Couldn’t you stay with us just for one night, this first night?” she begged Kitty. “Until we know there’s nothing to be afraid of?”

Yeah, and then one more night, and one more night after that. All while Betsy’s tight little ass goes unpaddled. No thank you!” 

“I can’t,” Kitty said, trying to mix gentleness and firmness in equal measure. “You need to toughen up and that has to start right now. Mutants don’t have the luxury of being coddled. But just think, the sooner you start growing up, the sooner you’ll become the strong young women I know you can be.”

“And then we won’t bother you so much,” Monet snorted.

Many of the girls laughed behind their hands as Kitty shot Monet an aggravated look. “If you need your parents to tuck you in, perhaps you could stay with them this summer.”

Monet swallowed hard, her throat bobbing. “I didn’t say I wanted to leave. I’m going to wait and see if you can actually do a good job first.”

“Then maybe you can keep quiet and let me do my job.”

Monet’s hand shot up before Kitty could dismiss her, indicating she wanted to ask a question. Kitty held back a sigh; she couldn’t show the other girls that Monet was getting to her, not this early on. 

“Yes, Monet?”

“What should we call you?”

“I already told you. My name’s Kitty. Everyone calls me that.”

Monet smirked. “But should we call you Older Sister Kitty or just Sister Kitty?”

Kitty had no idea how this bitch had survived studying under Emma Frost. How had Frostie not blasted a vessel in her brain at one point or another? “I’m not a nun, Monet. Call me Kitty. Period.”

“Okay, Kitty Period.”

Kitty decided to ignore her, though she found the gaggle of laughter that went through the group harder to ignore. “Now that we’ve gotten all that settled, let’s go to the shower. We don’t want to wait until all the hot water is gone, now do we?”

She put her arm around the frightened girl’s shoulders, as she seemed riven to the spot, and helped usher her along with the other girls.

“Are there bears in the woods?” the young girl asked, keeping pace with Kitty but with obvious misgivings.

“No. There aren’t any,” Kitty assured her.

“What about snakes?”

“Only little ones,” Kitty promised. “With no poison, and they’re all more scared of you than you are of them. Nothing’s going to get into your cabin except maybe a chipmunk. Are you afraid of chipmunks, honey?”

“Uh-uh…”

“That’s good. You’ve already started to be a big girl. So when your parents ask me what kind of camper you were, I’ll tell them all the progress you made from being scared to being brave.”