by Tami Payton
I wake up in the back of an SUV, Mason is still holding me, and I’m hit with the sudden thought of the dream I just had, and my face turns red. “You ok babe?” Mason whispers. I look up at him and see him looking down at me with worry in his eyes but there’s something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. “Yeah, I’m fine just a little out of it. Where are we, and what happened?” I try to sit up, but he’s got a good grip on me. Sam is the one to answer me, “You got another migraine and passed out, that means that your shift may come sooner than we think. We had to move soon so were heading out to the woods, so we can be ready just in case. As soon as you shift your migraines will end.” I’m still confused but I feel so calm, relaxed and safe in Mason’s arms that I’d probably go along with a bank robbery right now. The truck stops, and everyone goes to get out, Mason lifts me and carries me to a field that almost looks like the one from my dream and sets me down between him and Cameron. “Ok, so we’re here. Now what?” I look at them and have no idea what to do next. Sam steps up, “Cammie, when you start to shift, and I have a feeling it’s going to be here very soon. It may be very painful and it’s going to feel like every bone in your body is breaking, which in a way it is. Your body structure is changing from human to wolf and then back to wolf, I will try to assist you in any way I can since I’m your Alpha and father but I’m not sure if I will be able to since you grew up away from the pack.” The moon fully rises, and my stomach starts to feel like someone is ripping it apart, I fall to the ground and curl up in horrible pain. Cameron stops Sam from coming to my side, “Dad you can’t help her.” Sam looks at him, “What are you talking about Cameron? As an Alpha it’s my job to try to make it as painless as possible.” Cameron shakes his head, “No dad, that’s what Mason is here for. That’s why he had to come, Cammie is his, it’s his duty to help her through her first shift.”
MASON
I look at Sam and Cameron confused, “Guys I have no idea how the hell I’m suppose to help her, she’s your pack not mine I have no control over her shift. That makes her yours Sam not mine, I think you’re confused Cameron.” My heart is beating out of my chest at the sight of Cammie in pain on the ground and I would do anything to take it away from her. She lets out a howling yelp of pain and my heart squeezes and I can’t take it anymore. “Sam do something! She’s in horrible pain!” Cammie is on the ground tossing and turning, crying out and I don’t know what to do. Sam grabs me by the shoulders, “Mason you know what you have to do son. Follow your instincts, let go. You know who she is, she’s yours. Now go to her and help her.” I stare at him, repeating the words that he just told me. She’s mine. Is that what I’ve been feeling the whole time I’ve been around her? Have I found my mate, could she be the one? I definitely haven’t ever felt like this with anyone else before, never even close before.
I lean down close to Cammie and whisper in her ear, “Cammie, I need you to breath for me baby girl. You need to slow down your breathing and relax or this is going to hurt a lot more and I can’t stand that idea.” She looks up at me with nothing but pain and agony in her eyes and my heart is breaking even more. I take her into my arms and she relaxes some, my body is on fire and my wolf is clawing to come out and be with her when she shifts. Her body is on fire and I know she’s close, it will be any minute now. I know once she’s changed she won’t understand anything I say so I will have to shift as well, and we will know for sure if she is my mate after that. Her body starts to bend, and she howls as claws sprout from her hands, there’s not much else I can do I’ve calmed her as much as I can and can only hope that it’s helped. I quickly shift so I’m ready and in wolf form, as I finish my shift I look down and see the most beautiful creature laying at my feet. Cammie has shifted into a white wolf with a black spot on her left paw, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and the complete opposite of her human form, it’s amazing.
I walk towards her and bend down and nudge her with my nose, it’s now or never, time to see if we are mates. “Cammie are you ok? How do you feel?” She jerks her head up startled and looks around trying to figure out what’s going on. I jump back to give her some room, I don’t want to crowd her. “Mason? Is that you?” She asks, her voice is shaking, and her legs are unstable as she goes to get up. I’m smiling, and my heart is racing a mile a minute, she can hear me that means that it’s true. She is my mate. “Yes, it’s me. Are you feeling ok? Can you walk around?” She stands and starts to walk, “yeah, I think I’m good. Why can I hear you in my head? This is weird. Will I be able to hear everyone in my head? Oh my god, I won’t be able to handle that.” She’s starting to panic so I jump over to her and rub against her to calm her, as soon as I reach her I feel her body relax. “No baby girl, you won’t be able to hear everyone. We hear each other because we share a special bond, but I will explain that later. You will be able to hear Sam and Cameron because of the family and Alpha bond but that’s it.” She nods and looks over towards Sam and Cameron who have shifted as well just in case they were needed. “You ok little sis?” Cameron asks. She laughs, “It’s gonna take awhile to get used to hearing that, but yes, I’m fine. This is weird, but I think I kind of like it.” Sam laughs, “Yes it’s freeing and a great escape from the everyday life but there’s a lot that comes with it. Now let’s go hunt and run out some of your energy while the moon is high.” I follow behind Sam and Cameron, staying beside Cammie so I can help if needed. I don’t want to leave her side.
We finish our run just before sunrise and return to the clearing where we parked. Cammie had a blast and now we have to teach her how to shift back. “Um guys, how do I get back to myself?” She asks sounding worried. “You need to focus on your breathing and your heartbeat. Picture yourself standing on two feet, and then you will be. It’s the same with shifting to your wolf, but we will practice that later. So, let’s get you back, deep breaths you can do it.” I watch as she closes her eyes and takes long deep breaths and the air around her shimmers and soon she’s standing in front of me. My heart stops, all the blood rushes to my cock as I take in her body, breast that are more than a handful, a flat stomach that flares out to perfect wide hips that I can picture grabbing ahold of while I slam into her from behind. Then there’s her ass. God, this girl has got an ass that I just want to sink my teeth into. I growl deep in my throat and my wolf is begging to come out and claim her now. She seems to notice that everyone has changed back and that were all naked, “OMG! No one has any clothes on!” She goes to cover herself but luckily Sam had shifted first and thought ahead and had gone to the truck and grabbed a blanket for her. “Here sweetheart, put this on. Sorry we should have warned you, after a shift all wolves are naked as we’ve ruined our clothes. It’s something that you get use to.” Cammie wraps herself in the blanket, her face red as a tomato and just nods her head. I’m still trying to get the image of her body out of my head when Cameron yells that it’s time to go. We get into the truck and Cammie grabs some clothes out of the bag and lays down. I pull he closer, so she’s wrapped up in me and she falls asleep, exhausted from her first shift.
CAMMIE
I moan and go to roll over and realize that I’m wrapped up in someone’s arms. I open my eyes and the sun is really bright, I squint to see what is going on. I remember leaving and Cameron was driving but now Sam is behind the wheel, Mason still has a death grip on me and I’m basically in his lap in the back seat. “Where are we? What time is it?” I know it can’t be that late, I mean we left the field just before sunrise, so we have to be by my apartment building somewhere. “Well we didn’t think you were ever going to wake up, your first shift must have really drained you. You’ve slept the entire trip, sweetheart. It’s 7:00 am and we’re in Tennessee, almost home.” My jaw dropped, I sit straight up in the seat waking Mason up in the process. “Tennessee? What the fuck do you mean Tennessee? Why the hell are we here?” I’m starting to panic and can’t believe that they’ve taken me away from my home. “Cammie, we need you to calm down, we don’t n
eed you to accidently shift in the car. We couldn’t let you stay in Maine, it would’ve been to dangerous for you since you’ve had your first shift. If any one had found out who you were you would have a huge target on your back and you’re not experienced enough to be on your own yet. Trust me this is for your own good.” Cameron is explaining this to me but I’m to pissed to try and understand any of it. Mason takes my hand and tries to make me see reason, “Cammie, they have a point. If someone realized who you were and was to come after you, it wouldn’t be good. You would be defenseless, you wouldn’t know what to do or have no way to help yourself. We wouldn’t be able to live with our selves if anything happened to you. At least with you coming back here you can learn what you need to know and then you can decide from there.” He looks at me with hope in his eyes and I break, “fine, but next time don’t make decisions for me. I expect to be involved in any and all decisions that I am involved in. Understood?” Everyone agrees and is silent the rest of the way to Sam’s territory up in the mountains.
“So, I can’t take the silence anymore it’s driving me crazy.” I finally huff about 20 minutes later. “Tell me about everyone. Sam you said you’re the Alpha so I’m guessing that means the big man in charge, right?” Sam nods, “that would be correct Cammie, I’m the Alpha of the Hallow pack here in Tennessee and we have about 290 pack members. Your brother Cameron is in training to take over as Alpha and will one day take my place.” Cameron smiles like he’s proud, “I smile and nod. “Wow that’s a lot of responsibility. So, what about you Mason, are you like a Beta or whatever you call them? How do you fall into this pack mix?” I turn towards him curious about how he fits into everything. Cameron laughs as Sam shakes his head, I’m confused as I look back to Mason and he’s got a crooked yet sexy as hell smile on his face. “No baby girl, I’m not a Beta, not even close. I’m actually the Alpha of the Gentry pack in North Carolina.” I look at him in shock, “I don’t understand, how, why?” Cameron laughs, “Mason is my best friend, has been for years. His pack and ours are what we call brother pack. We’re allies and have each other’s backs. Our pack borders the Tennessee and North Carolina line as does Mason’s, we each cover the states sides. It actually works out perfect how much territory we cover and the fact that we get along so well.” I nod, “That makes sense. Wait how old are you? You don’t seem that old to be an Alpha.” Mason looked at me, “I’m 19, my father was killed when I was 16 so I didn’t have a choice, I had to take over the Alpha duties.” I can see the pain in his eyes and it breaks my heart. I grab his hand in mine, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He nods his head. I lean back into him and start to feel tired again, everything has been a lot for me and my body is exhausted and soon I’m asleep again.
MASON
We arrive at Sam’s house and Cammie is asleep again, Cameron doesn’t have anywhere to put her yet, but I don’t even pay any attention to him and just head straight towards my cabin with her. I have my own cabin that I stay in when I come and visit with Sam and Cameron, I’m here so often that it belongs only to me, well now Cammie as well. Sam gives me a look as I walk past him with Cammie in my arms, but I ignore him, I know what’s going through his head, I always talked about how I wouldn’t fall for the whole mate drama and now this little thing has me wrapped around her finger and I can’t do a thing to stop it. Man, I’m screwed. I gently lay her on the bed and cover her up, I softly kiss her forehead and walk outside, Cameron and Sam meet me at the door. “She still asleep?” Sam asks. I nod “yeah, I don’t think she will be asleep for too much longer, but I don’t want to wake her if we don’t have to.” Sam is still looking at me with that odd look and then he smiles, “I knew it would happen, I just didn’t think it would happen like this.” I’m shaking my head and kinda freaking out myself, “I really don’t think I’m going through the whole mating thing, Sam. I mean yeah, don’t get me wrong. I’m attracted to her, but I don’t think I’m agreeing with the mate thing.” I shrug and avoid eye contact with them, Cameron laughs. “Dude, you’re screwed. She has you wrapped around her finger and anyone can see how you look at her. Just wait it will hit you harder than you will expect it to.” They both walk off laughing at me, I head back inside shaking my head. I jump into a quick shower and then decide to make some dinner in case Cammie is hungry when she wakes up.
I’m making steaks when I hear Cammie behind me, “Um hey.” I turn around and the sight of her is breath taking, her hair is wild, and she’s got this flushed look. “Hey baby girl, I’m making some dinner I figured you might be hungry when you woke up. It should be done in about 15 minutes, if you want you can jump into a shower or wait until after we eat? Which ever sounds good to you.” She smiles, “I think I’m gonna take you up on that shower if you don’t mind.” I nod, “down the hall, towels are in the closet and everything you need is in there. I put your bag in the room, so your clothes are in there. Yell if you need anything.” She nods and walks down the hallway and I hear the shower start and then all I can picture is her naked with water running down her body. God this is killing me, it’s all I can do not to walk in there and take her against the wall of the shower.
I’ve finished dinner and have our plates on the table when she comes out of the room 15 mins later and I inhale a deep breath. Her long black hair is damp, hanging down her back, she’s wearing tight pajama pants and a black tank top. I can see every curve on her body and my whole body reacts, I bite back a moan as I turn to grab a couple bottles of waters. “You’re just in time for dinner, here have a seat.” I bite my lip as I grab the waters and quickly sit trying to hide my very hard and uncomfortable situation. “God, I’m starving, and this looks so good. I feel like I could eat a horse.” She blushes as she starts to dig into her food, I watch her and am fascinated with her. Even the sight of her eating is beautiful, I shake my head, this is crazy. I really need to get laid it’s been too long and I’m going crazy over the first pretty girl I come in contact with.
We finish dinner and head over to Cameron’s cabin, so Cammie can get caught up on anything that he and Sam have found out since we’ve arrived. “Hey sis, how did you sleep? Are you hungry? Sarah just finished dinner and I’m sure there’s some left overs.” She shakes her head, “thanks but no, Mason cooked us some steaks and I am stuffed. I slept well, thanks. I don’t think I’ve ever slept that long before in my life. Who is Sarah?” I laugh because she just fired off all the answers to Cameron’s questions so fast. “Sleeping so long and hard is typical after your first shift, it can take a lot out of you. You will notice that the more you do it the more stamina you have afterwards, and it gets easier and easier each time. Sarah is Cameron’s mate.” She looks confused and her eyebrows scrunch together, and her nose scrunches up like a rabbit as well, it’s to damn cute. “Mate?” Cameron then goes on to explain the mate process to Cammie and as Sarah walked out, Sam is entering the cabin. “So, it’s like finding your soulmate? You have one person or wolf that’s meant for you and when you find him or her your wolf will automatically know who he or she is?” She looks around for confirmation. Cameron nods, “Yup, that’s’ pretty much it. Now there are a few acceptations to the rules. Most females if their mates die, they won’t take up another mate. The males on the hand will take up another mate because the mating bond has been broken when the female dies.” She looks really confused now. “But I thought a mate was a soulmate? If that’s the case then death shouldn’t matter, I mean not that I believe in true love or anything, but this all seems kinda fucked up. The man can move on, but the woman can’t? That’s kinda sexist.” I have to give it to her, she has a point, “Now the only time that both wolves won’t take another mate is when they’re fated.” I tell her. She looks at me and is about to ask a question when Sam interrupts, “Let me correct that, what Mason means is that the wolves can’t take another mate.” She then looks at Sam, “why can’t they take another mate? What does fated mean? How do you know if your fated?” “Fated means that you are meant for one wo
lf from the day you were both born. It was destiny the day one or both of you were born. When fated mates find each other it can be instant, or it can be figured out over a period, but it will be done. Usually fated mates don’t happen within the same packs, you have a 1% chance of that happening. It’s always between two packs, so those packs are joined. Their pack bands will join when the wolves are meant to be aware of the mating. When the time is right, they will be made aware of it. When they are mated it can not be undone, and there will never be another. If one wolf was to die, the mate bond is so strong, that the other mate will not be able to live without his or her mate and will wither away.”
CAMMIE
My heart stops. It’s like I didn’t hear him right, No. I didn’t want to hear him right. One wolf would die without the other? I mean that’s crazy. It’s just love I’ve heard of having a broken heart, but that’s just crazy, nobody actually dies from a broken heart. “I look at Cameron, “Are you and Sarah?” I can’t even finish the sentence, I just found him. If their fated and something happened to one of them I could lose him. I shiver just thinking about it, and my stomach starts turning. Cameron shakes his head, “No, me and Sarah aren’t fated, she’s just my mate. She will be my wife soon, and hopefully the mother of my children, but we’re not fated. You have nothing to be worried about, I’m not going anywhere Cammie. We just found you, you’re not gonna lose us anytime soon.” He sits down next to me on the couch and wraps his arms around me. Sam sits on the other side of me and does the same.