A Night Claimed

by Domina Alexandra

  I pretended I didn’t hear her. I didn’t know what to think about what she said. Mate. Strange word in a strange, new world. Being an Alpha’s mate sounded too serious and important. Bigger even than marriage. It was not something I could consider in my present state of mind.

  “And…you are becoming an Omega.”

  She lost me.

  “It is rare to find an Omega. And the few who do exist in this decade are threatened, or even killed. It is hard to have an Omega in a pack.”

  “Why?”

  “You can make a dominant become submissive around you. Not that a dominant could be 100 percent submissive, but they are certainly more malleable and less aggressive. Omegas are the heart and soul of any pack they join. You will not be submissive nor dominant. You will be protective of those who are in your pack and others who are weaker or stronger. You do not bow to the power of an Alpha and could easily slip through the magic that forces you to shift by an Alpha’s command. There is so much more you will learn. But that is another reason Cecilia and a few others are threatened by you.”

  “What does this all mean? For me?” I looked down at my fingers once again, trying desperately to avoid her gaze.

  Rikki lifted my chin, forcing my eyes to meet hers. “You will challenge everything I say or do.”

  “Only if it sounds ridiculous.”

  “You’ve been human for 28 years. Anything I tell you from here on out will sound ridiculous to you.”

  “Then get ready and good luck.” I willed my nerves into a calm. “Does this mean I will stop being human?”

  “I have human attributes. We look human. But, no. Once you are werewolf you are no longer human.”

  “All I really needed was a yes or no.” It felt as if the ground under me had slipped away. I didn’t know how to be anything else other than what I had always been. I was Bonnie. Who was I now?

  Rikki stood. “Rosemary will pick you up in the morning.”

  I frowned. “Why exactly?”

  “The full moon’s tomorrow night. You can’t be here when that happens.”

  I knew she was right, but I wasn’t thrilled that yet again, I had no choice. Suppressing the urge to scream and thrash and cry was a herculean task. Rikki headed for the door, successfully evading my ire. At least, for the moment.

  She turned to face me when her hand turned the knob of the door. “No. You have no choice. And if I must come and drag your ass to the pack home, I will.”

  “Asshole!” I shouted at the door after she had disappeared.

  Chapter Eight

  “How long do you plan to stay out here? It’s been over two hours.”

  “I’m a medic. We spend up to 14 hours in a rig at a time. I can hold out,” I grumbled, my gazed fixed on the dashboard.

  Rikki slapped the doorframe exasperatedly. “Damn it, Bonnie! You can’t afford to be weak the first time you shift! You need to eat and hydrate.”

  “You know what I’ve concluded?” I crossed my arms across my chest in protest. “Besides some minor changes, I feel the same. You could be wrong. I think you’re wrong.”

  Rikki sighed and her arms fell to her sides. “Bonnie.”

  “No!” I snapped. I shook my head angrily. “I’m still just me. I-I can’t be anything else. My career, my family, my friends. Me. You have embraced being a werewolf, but it’s not for me.”

  Rikki leaned her head against the door of Rosemary’s car. “Bonnie, you will shift.”

  I tried not to cry. I bit my lip, but the tears came anyway. I wiped them away as they formed and fell. I had time to prepare for this day, but I still wasn’t ready. I still couldn’t believe it – process it. Even when Rosemary arrived to fetch me this afternoon, I pretended that I had no idea what she was talking about. It was childish, I knew. It was also futile. This change was racing toward me at a breakneck pace, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it from happening.

  “Come inside,” she pleaded. “Please, Bonnie. This is not something that you can do alone.”

  I snorted. “You say a few sweet words and I’m supposed to succumb to your demands?”

  “You know what…” Rikki yanked me out of the car before I could fight back. She lifted me over her shoulder as easily as if I was the size of a small toddler, and then she carried me toward the shed.

  “Fuck. Damn it!” I bellowed. “Seriously, Rikki!”

  I punched her in the back a few times, then stopped when I heard a loud growl. I let my body go limp when I spotted Tato on the front porch. He smiled and waved at the both of us, and then disappeared inside the main house.

  Rikki dropped me on her couch and walked into the kitchen.

  “Are you freaking insane?”

  “No,” Rikki said. She handed me a cup of water.

  I drained the cup in a few gulps. She refilled the cup and I emptied it immediately. A third cup was offered, but I was satisfied.

  Someone knocked on the front door.

  “What?” she snarled.

  Whoever was on the other side of the door didn’t enter. He just said, “Don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a fight breaking out. Thought you should know.”

  “Damn it.” She pointed her index finger at me. “Wait here.”

  I scoffed at the closed door. She was naïve to think I would listen.

  But if I thought I was just going to waltz into the main house without issue, I was mistaken. As soon as I opened the door to the shed, Tato’s grinning face was the first thing to greet me.

  “Alpha told me to make sure you don’t leave.”

  Apparently, Rikki wasn’t naïve. I groaned. “I am not going to leave. I only want to see what’s going on.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Honest.”

  Tato studied me, then nodded. “Fine. But I will be right on your tail.”

  I glared at him, but I knew when I was defeated. We walked to the house together, Tato a few paces behind me. There were more people inside the main house than I had ever seen before, but they did not linger. Most were making their way to the backyard where Rikki was standing between two men. They were both taller than her, but their heads bowed so low they almost appeared small.

  “This is your fault,” Cecilia gladly pointed out. She stood to my side, opening the sliding door wider. “Your fucking mood swings have been causing everyone anxiety. That rogue should have killed you.”

  Rikki was in front of Cecilia in a flat second. She snarled, causing Cecilia to drop to her knees.

  “Toni?” I barely recognized Rikki’s voice. “Get your mate and remind her to stay away from mine.”

  I was about to say I wasn’t her mate. However, my instinct warned me not to say anything. No matter how conflicted I was, I didn’t want to undermine her authority in this pack. Something told me that Rikki’s position was more important than my feelings right now. We would have this conversation privately.

  Rikki took hold of my hand and pulled me behind her. I knew we were headed back to the shed. Rosemary flashed me a sheepish grin as we passed. Once we were back in her shed, Rikki paced the length the floor. She was upset. That was obvious. I stood there watching her wondering what I should say. We hadn’t known each other for long, but I had a feeling that despite her rough and possessive personality, she had a fragile heart.

  My hand on her shoulder was enough to make her stop pacing. “I’m sorry. I am not making this easy for you or your pack…of people.”

  Rikki shook her head. “It isn’t you. I should have handled this better.”

  “No matter how many years you’ve lived there will always be something that happens to teach you something new.”

  Rikki sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. “Thank you for not challenging me.”

  “I will collect on that favor later,” I grinned playfully.

  She smiled. “Are you ready to finally join the pack?”

  “Join the pack?” I questioned, a little taken aback by her frankness.

 
; “As in, join the pack in the house,” she clarified. “I know you have no interest in becoming one of my wolves.”

  I grimaced. I had no desire to be treated as property.

  Rikki gritted her teeth. “I think you should try to make friends with everyone. I don’t see you as being anti-social…so try to think about it that way.”

  She was upset. I think I had offended her with my reaction. I said nothing, but I nodded, and then she guided me back to the main house.

  *

  “Want another burger?” Rosemary asked, handing me a second burger before I could reply.

  Dreaming of those yellow eyes prompted a feverish hunt for the beast as soon as my own eyes opened this afternoon. It wasn’t there. I was beginning to wonder if the nightmare was only about the attack, and not also about how I was dreading the change in my life. I checked my arms and legs for any signs of mushrooming wolf hair obsessively for the next hour. Occasionally, I’d examine my teeth. The only thing that seemed to be changing was my temperature – it was rising at a steady rate.

  The sky was a bright mixture of orange and red. Blackness threatened the horizon. No one mentioned the fight that had called Rikki from the shed earlier. They appeared to be more concerned with devouring as much food as possible, probably trying to amass a great amount of energy before shifting tonight.

  I accepted the hamburger from Rosemary, realizing that I would need to do the same as the pack. “Sure.”

  I mostly sat alone while I ate. The other pack members were uneasy in my presence, and I could hardly blame them. My feelings about the upcoming change were perfectly plain from the start. I nibbled on the burger thoughtfully. I was still unsure if this was what I wanted.

  “Everyone is eating at the tables.” Rosemary pointed behind her as she sat beside me on a lawn chair.

  “I’m fine here,” I insisted.

  Rosemary shifted in the seat. “I know we’ve only ever been colleagues, but I want that to change. Not everyone here has given you the best impression, I know. We have to change this though, because we are going to be family.”

  “You don’t have to explain—”

  “No,” Rosemary continued adamantly. “Let me try. They are my pack, for better or worse. And I love them. We laugh and go out together. We help heal each other wounds, physically and emotionally. And yes, some antagonize you and have their own views that you will never agree with, but that’s family.”

  “I have nothing against that,” I snapped hotly.

  “Why don’t you tell Rikki how you are feeling right now? Your anxiety about tonight?”

  I furrowed my brows. “Why?”

  “Maybe she will understand, and if she does, the others will too.”

  I stood, my jaw set, my burger unfinished. “I don’t need understanding. I just don’t belong, and they know it. So, why pretend otherwise?”

  “They’re wrong,” Rosemary asserted. “You’re wrong.”

  Anger flooded my veins, settling somewhere between my heart and lungs. “Look, I still think this is all crazy. There is no proof I will turn into one of you. No facts. And the sooner we get this night over with, the sooner I can go back home and pretend this night never happened. I can go back to my life.”

  Our conversation was attracting the attention of the others, but I didn’t care. I was already halfway to the back door of the house.

  “Bonnie!” Rosemary shouted. “You cannot leave!”

  I ignored her and was almost to the door when Rikki jumped in front of me, blocking my path.

  If it wasn’t clear that I was upset earlier, it was fairly evident now.

  “You and your family barely tolerate me. Don’t act like you care all of a sudden. Move!” I yelled.

  My gums throbbed, and the fluids in my stomach churned. I caught sight of my reflection in the glass of the door and froze. My eyes were no longer brown but gold. A gold so bright that it could light the way in the night. No! No! This can’t be happening! I lowered my head and shoved Rikki aside to run into the house.

  I found a bathroom and locked myself inside, squeezing my body between the toilet and wall. Fugitive sobs fled my throat. I was scared. I didn’t want this. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to live my life how I’d been living it since I was born. Instead, I was trapped in a house with werewolves who hated me. And now, I was becoming one of them. All I could think about was how my life would change. Could I eat my favorite donuts? Could I keep my job? Would I lose anyone that mattered to me? Would I go rogue and attack someone? Would anyone ever like me for being a strange kind of werewolf? Being an Omega sounded like a lonely existence. Did it hurt to shift? Would I ever accept what I was now turning into?

  There were too many questions, and I was terrified of the answers.

  There was a knock at the bathroom door. My head shot upward, tears still spilling out of my eyes. I wanted to be alone. I said nothing.

  “I’m going to come in,” Rikki advised softly.

  “The door’s—”

  The door opened. She stepped in, closing it behind her. “It doesn’t lock. Can I sit?”

  I shrugged. “Why not?”

  My eyes were probably red and puffy. What a great look.

  “Are my eyes…?” I pulled my knees closer to my chin.

  Rikki put her hand on my shoulder, her eyes on mine. “They have returned to their natural brown.”

  I sniffled and returned her gaze. Even at a time like this, I couldn’t help but notice how close she was to me, or how the heat from her hand seared my skin. I had quickly grown accustomed to the angles of her body and her brusque manner. I knew I could cry in front of her. So, I did.

  “You will see that your wolf will reflect who you are now.”

  I snorted. “Come on, Rikki. I’m going to be different.”

  I tried to pretend I wasn’t sexually frustrated with her hand on me. I wanted to give in to her touch but was too stubborn to let her know how I felt, as though I was submitting to her dominant personality.

  “Yes and no,” she said without hesitation. “You will develop stronger personality traits. But…that sarcasm of yours will remain. So will your stubbornness and your desire to help others.”

  “Okay.” I believed her. It was scary, but I did.

  “I’m hard to understand. And complicated. You don’t know whether to punch me or…” Rikki smiled. “Give us a chance. Get to know me. You will see, we are more alike than you think. I am yours, if you want me.”

  She was being serious. I couldn’t stop thinking about our complex and unique relationship. She was mysterious with eyes I could fall into for hours at a time. Exotic and alluring. Rough in the sexiest way. She was a woman not often seen in this world. But she stirred me. I wanted her, to touch her, and to claim her. Show her off to the world as mine.

  Where in the world did all of that come from? It was as if someone else was occupying my mind, communicating through me its affection for Rikki.

  Rikki watched me as my fingertips traced the line of her jaw. She inhaled sharply when my fingertips trailed down her neck to her collarbone.

  “Let me see how I can manage being…” it was hard saying the words. I observed my hands moving of their own volition, returning to her jaw. “If I can handle being different first. Then, I think taking you on will be easy.”

  Rikki snorted playfully. “You think so?”

  I giggled. “Maybe.”

  Her expression was serious. “You will get through this and then you will realize that being a werewolf is a blessing. It took me a hundred years to learn that. You’ll learn it a lot sooner.”

  Cecilia knocked on the door. “Pack’s waiting.”

  I sniffed. “She hates me.”

  “She’s protective,” Rikki argued.

  I stood. “All right. Let’s get this over with.”

  Chapter Nine

  The spectrum of sounds caught me by surprise. Growls, shrieks, groans, and cries overwhelmed the elements of the environment. The pa
ck huddled together on the open patch of grass in the backyard enclosed by trees. My breathing became more ragged, almost as if my lungs had grown to enormous proportions and I couldn’t get enough air to fill them completely. Feeling faint, I closed my eyes, but they snapped open a minute later when I felt a vicelike grip on my wrist. It was a member of the pack unknown to me, but her golden eyes indicated that I was about to be introduced to the wolf that lived within her.

  I quickly noticed that she was not the only one – each of the pack members were shifting. Skin boiled and ruptured, replaced by thicker tissue and grit. Many of them crouched near to the ground, screaming as each disc of their spines was shattered and remolded. The woman’s grip on my wrist tightened. The veins and tendons in my arm were buckling under the pressure. I howled in pain.

  Rikki sprinted over to us, removing my wrist from the woman’s grasp with ease. I stretched my arm out and shook it violently, trying to relieve myself of the intense pain. There was already some swelling at the site, and I could hardly move it.

  “Fuck,” I hissed. “I think she fractured my wrist.”

  Taking my arm in her hands gingerly, Rikki examined the injury. “Yes, she did. But it will heal in a few hours.”

  I shook my head.

  “Please,” I pleaded, “tell me about shifting. Will I be in that much pain?”

  Rikki nodded somberly. “I will stay by your side.”

  I wanted to run. I wanted to run far and fast and never turn around to look behind me. I wasn’t the cowardly type, but this was not a normal situation. The cells and chromosomes of my form were screaming at me, urging me in two directions – my home and the forest. It was a war between my two natures, and the neophyte wolf was winning by sheer force. I retched chunks of half-digested hamburger that strangled the green of the grass. Rikki’s hand slid down my arm and in one smooth movement, she intertwined her fingers with mine. A squeeze. A smile. I took a deep breath.

  Rikki surveyed the mass metamorphosis. “It is scary to see the first time.”