by Jade Royal
“I don’t know how you do it,” Gemma said. “After my heating, sex is the last thing on my mind. Shit was too painful.”
“Well, that’s because your mate wasn’t man enough to turn your heating into pleasure like Kellan did for Bliss,” Rita said, clearly not afraid to speak her mind. Tristan, however, didn’t appreciate it.
“Why don’t you mind your business?” he asked.
“She’s my pack mate, so she is my business!” Rita snapped.
“I don’t understand--” Tristan left from where he was, stomping towards Rita. “How you’re in my face about what I don’t do when you’re still begging your mate to be with you!” Jayce stood this time, taking charge and knocking Tristan away from Rita.
“Keep outta her face, Tristan.” He growled.
“Well then, tell her to keep out of my business.” Tristan grunted. He looked towards Gemma. He didn’t want her to think he purposely let her go through her heating cycle to cause her pain.
“Come here, lemme talk to you.” He huffed. Gemma crossed her arms and shook her head.
“You had all the time to talk to me, and you said nothing worthwhile, Tristan. I don’t wanna hear anymore.”
“Gemma…” He growled. “I said, come here.”
“What? You think I’m supposed to bend over or something? That because I’m young I’m some sort of child? Let me be perfectly clear, Tristan. I didn’t choose for my mate to be ten years older than me just like you didn’t choose for me to be ten years younger than you, so it’s either you’re gonna accept me, or you’re not. What you’re not gonna do is act like my damn father. Accept it or not, but I’m a woman now, and you won’t treat me like a child. Wait, let me rephrase. I won’t allow you to treat me like a child.” After glaring at him, she turned and walked off, her hips swaying angrily as she walked. Tristan watched her longingly before turning and walking in the opposite direction.
“You really should mind your business,” Jayce said to Rita.
“I’m surprised you even came to my defense. Not like you want to accept me as your mate either.”
“Don’t start with me!”
“Jaxson, you wanna mate with me?” Rita asked. “I should be going in heat soon. I’ll need a male to fuck senseless.” Before Jaxson could answer, Jayce was roaring at the man with his claws drawn. Jaxson held his hands up in submission. Jayce shot a sharp look at Rita.
“Go ‘head, provoke me.” He snapped. “Because the only thing that will happen is me going feral and killing one of my best friends, and then you’d have to live with that on your conscience for the rest of your life.”
Jayce was getting a little bit too close to Rita’s face for comfort, so Bliss stood in front of Rita vibrating with alpha powers. Jayce’s eyes returned to human, and he looked directly at her.
“You and Kellan have a good thing going,” he said. “And if you don’t wanna end up unhappy like me, Rita, Tristan, or Gemma, you’d mate him and be happy. There’s nothing worse than knowing who your mate is and not being able to have them.” He looked at Rita for the last bit of that sentence before backing away. Bliss looked at Kellan. It hit her then that she never considered how she would feel if she actually left and never saw Kellan again. She would be deeply saddened, but what confused Bliss was the fact that she didn’t know if she would feel sad or if it was her wolf that would be the sad one. Chapter Sixteen
Kellan watched Bliss sleeping. Nerves racked his body as the sun came up and shone through the cabin window. That night, the full moon would be upon them. Though she wouldn’t shift until the moon shone, she would feel its effects during the day. With Jaxson and Tristan gone on their assignments, Kellan was counting on Jayce to have his back with the pack while he attended to Bliss.
As he watched her, he saw her face scrunch up before she started tossing and turning. Being his mate, he was able to tap easily into her emotions. He couldn’t see what she saw unless she projected it to him, but he felt her immense angst and anxiety. His wolf was ready to launch forward to protect his mate anyway he could. A vision erupted in his mind of Maverick. He was carrying her lifeless body through the woods where he finally dumped her. She was projecting her nightmare to him, and he wasn’t even sure she was aware that’s what she was doing. Kellan didn’t want her suffering through that kind of nightmare, so he went to wake her up. Only when he touched her arm, she startled awake, baring her teeth and growling.
“It’s me, Bliss.” He urged, keeping his hand on her so she felt that it was only her mate next to her. Feeling his presence, she stopped growling and jumped into his arms. Kellan held her tightly.
“Jesus, you’re shaking,” he said.
“I-I thought I was back with Maverick, and he-he was beating me up, and then he stabbed me. I begged him to let me go, but he wouldn’t listen, then he just drops me in the woods, and I thought that was it. I thought I was over for.” Kellan kissed her neck and held her tightly.
“I’m here for you now, Bliss. I won’t let Maverick touch a single hair on your head. Not again.” Bliss looked into his eyes searching for the truth in his words. It was there. It always was when she was dealing with Kellan. Even when he told her about turning her into a wolf. He hid nothing from her, and that’s what Bliss needed most. Her fear of Maverick would plague her until he was dead, but as far as relationships, she would always be afraid of those because she couldn’t take the unknown. Not knowing if a man would rear around and hit her without warning, or if he would just be leading her on until one day he showed his true colors. Everything that Maverick had done. But Kellan, he was proving to be as transparent as anyone could be. Bliss felt his protection, his truth, and his allegiance to her. What better relationship to be in than one where you could know how the man felt about you? Without thinking, Bliss leaned forward and kissed Kellan deeply. That was the only way she could translate how she felt about him.
Still with their lips locked, Kellan lowered her back down on the bed. Bliss parted from his lips and held him tightly. She rubbed her face against his beard.
“Tonight is the night,” she said lowly. “I’ll finally become a wolf.”
“You’re ready,” he said sensing her anxiousness.
“You know how I said once I turned I was going to leave?” Kellan nodded even if it gave him great grief to do so.
“What if I changed my mind? What if I want to stay? You know, like I said before, I didn’t have any friends, but Rita, Kyra, and Gemma, they mean something to me. I don’t just wanna leave.”
“If you don’t want to leave, Bliss, you don’t have to. I would never force you to leave, but you have to join the pack, Bliss. It’s an extra measure to make sure I can protect you. Tonight, after you turn, I can do the ritual, and you’ll be part of the pack.”
“We’re a strong pack.” Bliss commented. “I think that we should use our strength to protect other packsand eliminate people who seek to do harm against shifters, including humans.” Kellan ran his fingers through her curls. He smiled when they got stuck in her strands. She giggled and shrugged.
“I’m natural, and now I’m a wolf.” She shrugged. “Get used to it.”
“I love it. Don’t you worry about it, but what you say about us protecting others means something to me. I have a pack full of people who Maverick mistreated, and I’m going to do what I have to in protection of them, and protection of you. You are my mate, Bliss, and there’s no way I should let a wolf that’s hurt you the way he has walk this earth breathing the same air you breathe. I’ll do anything in my power to rid you of that fear you have for that man. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“And that’s why I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly. She closed her eyes and winced as her muscles moved under her skin. Kellan hushed her and ran his hands over her skin trying to soothe her.
“The feeling will come and go throughout the day.” He informed her.
“I’m ready,” she said nodding her head.
Besides the occasional muscle
shifting in her body, Bliss felt fine. After laying in bed with Kellan for some time, they finally got up to have breakfast. Bliss thought she felt fine, but there was a mustering of something inside her. When Kyra served Kellan a mug of coffee, Bliss stood and growled at her intently. Kellan gave Kyra a look, and she bowed at Bliss immediately and backed off. Bliss was temporarily appeased, but she still knocked the coffee mug away from Kellan before she went to make her mate another mug of coffee. She felt absurd of course when she finally came back to herself, but Kellan comforted her.
“Your emotions will be at a low tolerance,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.” Bliss just nodded and sighed.
Like he said, all day she was snapping at the other she-wolves whenever she felt threatened. She tried her best to just be normal with the females. As Gemma was talking about how she felt about her parents leaving with Jaxson to join that other pack, Jayce came into the kitchen.
“Hey, Bliss, are you--” Bliss snatched up Jayce’s hand the moment he touched her. She held it in her grip and twisted it.
“Who told you to touch me?” She growled. Jayce stilled. Even though he could take himself from her grip, he didn’t. He should have known better than to touch a new shifter on the day of the full moon, but he thought that maybe if he did touch her, she wouldn’t get lost in the power of the shift by remembering that she wasn’t alone. But clearly, relationships didn’t matter to her in the moment. Her wolf was agitated, and she didn’t want anyone close to her.
“Bliss.” Kellan spoke softly but firmly. He stepped up to them. “Let him go.” Bliss glared at Jayce, thoughts of ripping him to pieces rampant in her head.
“He touched me.” She growled. “I wanna kill him.” She dug her nails into the vein in his wrist. Kellan stood behind her and leaned to whisper in her ear.
“I said to let him go, Bliss.” The tone of an alpha and her mate was strong enough for Bliss to let Jayce go. Jayce backed off immediately. With him backing down but the urge to rip someone apart still coursing through her, she was ready to attack her mate, but as if knowing what she wanted to do, Kellan grabbed her by the back of the neck before she could turn on him. The hold kept her submissive as he led her to the bedroom. He shoved her inside and closed the door.
“I’m going to attack you.” She rumbled as a warning, feeling the need to slash at something. She was fighting hard against it, but mate or not she wasn’t going to be able to resist trying to attack him.
“No, you’re not,” he stated like it was a fact. Bliss looked him up and down confused. She was startled by his confidence enough to allow her conscience to take control again, and that instinctual need to attack slowly faded to the background. Her muscles began shifting again. She groaned in pain and slowly fell to the floor. She leaned against the wall and just tried to breathe. All day, her muscles shifted, and within moments, it would stop, but this time it wasn’t stopping.
“Kell.” She groaned unable to say anything else.
“The day is getting late,” He said.
“Oh, God.” Bliss gasped, feeling panic.
“None of that.” Kellan snapped. He stooped in front of her and looked into her eyes that slowly faded until her wolf eyes were present.
“I got you,” he said firmly. She only nodded once before she gritted her teeth in pain, holding herself tightly.
Kellan sat across from her as the sun slowly lowered in the sky. They didn’t speak because there wasn’t anything that needed to be said. Kellan just channeled his calming energy and strength to her. As the day got later, sweat pebbled her skin and drenched through the tank top she was wearing. She was looking at the ground, breathing hoarsely.
“Bliss.” He called out to her. She looked up at him slowly, her eyes were glowing intently.
“It’s time to go outside. Come.” Kellan knew that speaking to her with authority was the only way to keep her from trying to launch an attack at him and go rogue. A new shifter sometimes couldn’t handle the change without being aggressive, but because it was his bite that turned her, her wolf held a form of respect towards him, but should there be anyone else around, she was liable to go on the attack because in a state of changing, a wolf was vulnerable.
Bliss continued to look at him before she stood slowly. She approached him and walked in circles around him, sniffing. Once she went around in a full circle, she stopped and looked at him. Since her human teeth had fell out, she’d been walking around with no canines. Now, she had little sharp stubs forming. That’s what she snapped at him, but Kellan didn’t flinch. She doubled over in pain letting out a deep grunt. Kellan left her and waited until she had her bearings back. When she slowly rose up and looked at him, Kellan noticed that her nose, eyebrows and cheekbones had changed, making her look like a werewolf without hair.
“Let’s go.” Kellan ordered starting to walk out of the room, but Bliss didn’t follow him. She was looking at him as if she wanted to rip him to shreds. To claim his dominance over her, he walked back to her and grabbed her by the back of her neck. She yelped and tried to bite him, but Kellan solved that problem by biting her first. She squealed and stilled, submitting to his dominance. Once she was done thrashing, Kellan let her go and continued to lead her outside by the neck. He’d made sure to tell Jayce to have the house clear of the wolves during the day, but going outside, the wolves of the pack were ready to support the new shifter. Bliss sensed the gathering of other wolves and began thrashing again, ready to lash out at whoever she could find. Kellan held her tightly, letting her growl and thrash. He pulled her further outside and just held her. The sky turned dark. The eyes of the wolves lit up, including Kellan’s. Kellan let Bliss go and pushed her further into the clearing. She was ready to launch herself at Jayce until the power of the moon caught her. She stared up at the sky, her eyes glowing. She let out a deafening scream and fell to the ground. Her muscles began moving rougher beneath her skin, and her bones began to crack audibly. Gemma and Bliss shared the same struggle.
Stop struggling. Kellan spoke into Gemma’s head. She wouldn’t get the hang of shifting for the next couple of weeks, but full moons sometimes had a way of making shifting feel unnatural because it wasn’t something a wolf had control over. All wolves shifted under the full moon whether they wanted to or not. The trick was to trust the power to their animals.
Let your wolf take the power, and it won’t hurt. Gemma didn’t respond to him, but he saw when her body relaxed. In Bliss’ case, there was going to be pain regardless. The first shift was always the most painful. She rolled around on the ground, grunting and howling in pain as her body contorted.
Bliss was in the worst pain of her life. She thought giving birth was bad, but she had to really think twice about that. It felt like her body was splitting in two. She was on fire as if someone was torching her alive. Blood coated her mouth as her wolf canines exploded from her gums. Her claws stretched further from her fingertips and began curving. In a rush of power, each member of the pack shifted into their wolves with loud howls. Bliss looked at the large sphere in the sky and felt herself surrendering to the animal she had grown used to inside of her.
The air around the wolves seemed to burst as wolves emerged from where the human bodies were once standing. Bliss’ human scream turned into a howl as a whoosh of air surged from her body. When everything stilled, a hazelnut colored wolf was laying still on the ground in place of Bliss. Kellan gave his wolf power and let the animal come forth. He checked on all his wolves. Each of them stood unwavering with successful shifts, including Gemma. Kellan trotted over to where Bliss’ wolf was still laying still. He thought something was wrong, but when he approached, she popped up from the ground, growling until she realized who was next to her. Seeing her mate, the wolf pranced around happily with her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Kellan couldn’t help but smile. How was he not supposed to? His mate had survived a shift, and her wolf was just as playful as she was.
I did it. Bliss projected to him.
You di
d it. He agreed.
Am I supposed go into heat again?
No. Why?
I have the strange urge to fuck you right now. She trotted a circle around him slowly looking at him like he was her prey. She pounced on him, and Kellan readily submitted letting her get him on the ground and placing her paws on his chest.
Only humans fuck in this position, Bliss. She licked at him before she backed off and let him get up.
The rest of the wolves gathered around them. As a pack, they howled at the moon before Kellan led the trot towards the woods where they would run as a pack, and even though she was a human only mere weeks ago, Bliss ran alongside him with euphoria exuding from her body and rolling out to the rest of the pack.
Chapter Seventeen
Bliss let out an exasperated breath as her muscles retracted and contorted as her human body took place of her wolf. The sun was due to rise soon, and she’d been in her wolf for the whole night running with the pack and patrolling the woods. She didn’t quite know what to expect of becoming a wolf, but it was extraordinary. Her senses were heightened in a way she couldn’t even describe. Being able to see and hear things that she hadn’t before made her feel invincible. Now she understood why being turned into a shifter was a gift.
The moment she was in human form, the pack formed a circle around her. Kellan shifted back to his human form and stood in front of her. Kyra readily stepped up, taking her clothes off and giving it to Bliss, while Jayce handed Kellan jeans. Bliss remembered that mated wolves covered up during the ritual to join the pack. The first time Bliss ever saw the ritual, she was just a bystander wondering what would become of her future, but now here she was, speaking the words of the ceremony and drinking Kellan’s blood while he drank hers. Feeling his blood course through her body gave her an extra spurt of power. For the first time in her life, she belonged to something, and that something wasn’t to be taken lightly.
“Welcome to the pack,” Jayce said slinging his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the cabin.