"You shy, El?"
I nearly swore aloud as I felt a masculine arm wrap around my bare shoulders. I was so thankful that I still had my bra on. Odolf patted my arm and I turned to look at him. That's when I noticed that he was completely naked! He started laughing. I must have looked shocked, or something.
"Don't worry," He deepened his tone, and I had a feeling it wasn't to be teasing. There was something about his voice, that made me think he was hitting on me, which wasn't helping my confidence any. "I'll watch out for you."
Someone cleared their throat behind us.
I stepped out of Odolf's hold instantly, and smiled brightly when I saw Michael standing less than two feet away. He at least had pants on.
"Don't you have something to do, pup?" Michael's practically spat, as he spoke to Odolf. I shuddered when I noticed the look in Michael's eyes. He wasn't the Michael I liked at that moment. Right then, he was the pack beta with attitude.
Odolf grunted, "You can't keep calling me that." That was the wrong thing to say.
Michael growled, and Odolf actually jumped back.
"Later, El." Odolf tapped my shoulder before taking his leave.
I ignored the teenager and focused on Michael, "Are you okay?" I crossed my arms protectively in front of myself when I realized that I was standing in my jeans and bra.
"Come on." He didn't say anything else. Michael just turned and started into the woods. I glanced back, but quickly went after him. Call me insecure, but I'd rather be close to either Alex or Michael than have Odolf come over to me again. We walked into the trees and soon I couldn't see the rest of the pack. "Alex and I thought it would be easier for you, if you weren't surrounded by prying eyes."
I nodded absently. Secretly, I was thrilled, but I didn't want to let on that I was as nervous as I was.
"Besides, first changes are awkward for everyone. I, myself, got lost on my first run with the pack." Michael cracked a small grin, but his strong, aggressive beta personality was still dominating his features. "It's easier with only one person leading you, instead of having the entire pack trying to give you advice."
I turned my back on Michael, and got undressed. My heart was beating like a sledgehammer, and I was sweating, I was so nervous.
"You need to relax." Michael sounded very close to me, but I still didn't turn.
"Why? Can't I just work myself into a panic attack? Didn't you say that my wolf would come out if I did that?" I rambled on.
Michael grunted, "I'd rather you learn to control your changes." I jumped when he placed his hands on my shoulders. "Now, sit down. If it'd make you more comfortable, I'll just talk you through it. You can keep your back to me the whole time." He didn't sound patronizing, so I took his suggestion seriously, and gratefully.
I sat down on the cold ground.
"Close your eyes." Michael instructed from behind me. Again, I followed his directions. "Now, just become aware of the heat in your body. It's the full moon, so you should feel some warmth."
"I'm vibrating."
Michael actually laughed, "That's normal."
After that neither of us spoke. I forced myself to relax on my sitting bones, and breathed. I could hear every cricket's song, the rustling of the leaves as the breeze picked up, and Michael's breath coming from behind me. He sounded close, so I assumed he had sat down as well.
I could feel the warmth. I could almost feel flames in my stomach.
"Now, let it expand." Michael whispered gently.
I tried and failed.
"I can't." My heart rate started to pick up as I began to panic. My worst nightmare was coming into reality.
Michael shifted behind me, but didn't come any closer.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a very long deep breath. I sucked up my fear, pride, and anxiety, and turned around so I was facing Michael. He was kneeling on his left knee a few feet away. His face revealed that he was shocked by my action, but his eyes softened immediately. I also noticed that his eyes grew hazel as he met my gaze.
"You have to relax, Elaine." Michael repeated, and inched closer to me.
I nodded silently, but I couldn't.
Michael kissed my forehead and cupped the back of my neck, and I was completely shocked when I heard him whisper, "You're gorgeous." I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that or not. Then, he released the back of my neck and put some inches between us. His eyes locked with mine.
I got trapped in his gaze. His eyes were bright and gold, while the rest of his face was pale and white from the moonlight above us.
Then, something lurched in my stomach.
I flinched slightly heat overwhelmed my body. My blood was boiling as Michael's eyes narrowed. Something clawed against my insides, as if needing to get out. My first instinct was to squeeze my eyes shut and curl into a ball, but I couldn't. I couldn't look away from my beta's eyes. I was completely captivated.
It was if I was magnetized to Michael. I leaned forward, to be closer to his warmth, and still held eye contact with him.
Michael's eyes lightened until they were the color of white gold.
Then, he grabbed my neck, and pulled me forward. His lips crashed against mine. Instead of being shocked, shy, or nervous, I reacted as if it were the most normal thing in the world to be kissing my beta.
His hand was large around the nape of my neck and gently massaged the pressure point near my collar bone. Just when I started to raise my hand to his shoulder, he pulled back.
Michael pressed his forehead against mine, while panting.
We locked eyes once more, and then sharp pain flooded into my chest. I gasped sharply. Then, as if something were being pulled out of my stomach, something expanded from my abdomen.
I almost screamed, but I couldn't take my eyes off Michael's, so it wasn't an option.
I blinked, hard. When my eyes found Michael a few seconds later, he was smiling at me adoringly. The pain was gone. Instead, I was full of energy. Nothing was vibrating. Instead, I was prancing.
"Gorgeous." I was positive that he meant for me to hear him that time.
That's when I noticed that I was prancing on four feet instead of two.
I turned in a tight circle, and saw fur, the color of the full moon, spread over my skin. My legs were long and strong, and my tail was tall, like a flag.
Chapter Twenty-Three
There was nothing like being on four legs. The grass had never smelled so crisp, the air had never felt so much like a friend, and there was something magical about how the moonlight touched my fur. It was hard to explain, but it felt like a mother guiding her pup.
I circled, the still-human, Michael with my head and tail hung high. I was prancing. My legs burned to run through the fallen leaves, but my wolf had taken control and ordered me to remain where I was. I was to wait for Michael.
He followed me with his eyes. There was a certain intensity to his gaze that made me tremble, even more, with anticipation. Every ounce of me wanted to please him; wanted praise.
Then, an almost scheming smirk curled at his lips. "Let's run." His voice cut through the magnitude of the noise in the woods. I never realized just how much lived in our territory before. I could hear deer hesitantly stepping through the brush, birds taking flight from the branches, and about a million frogs. Not only that, but I was almost certain there was a fox or two scampering around.
My eyes abruptly started snapping from one object to another. I was like a newborn that was looking at the world for the first time. Even in the dark, I could see everything. I was particularly enticed with the things that moved.
I took an urgent step out of the circle I had previously been making, to chase the offending squirrel that had chose that moment to jump from it's home, but stopped. Something in the air shifted and I whirled back around to face my beta.
Michael was still standing in the place I left him, but something was changing within and without him.
I had witnessed changes before, but always as a human.
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While in my wolf form, I could see flecks of gold surrounding the second eldest Durand brother. I watched him, my eyes trying to make sense of what I was seeing, as his skin changed into his pelt. A light breeze swept over me, and before I could blink Michael was trotting up to me.
The look he gave me was comical. I knew, that if he were human, he would have been laughing.
I made a coughing sound, the closest thing to a scoff I could manage, but nuzzled his neck anyway. I walked around him and started towards the trees. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to run.
When I reached the end of our small clearing I heard a snap of disapproval from behind me. Michael was already at my side by the time I had begun turning back to him. I tilted my head to the side, questioningly. All he did was nip my ear, both playfully and scolding.
I guessed I wouldn't be given that much freedom that night.
While we walked side by side I took notice of our differences. His pelt was the complete opposite of mine. While mine shown as brightly as the full moon, his was as dark as the surrounding sky. While mine was beautiful, his wasn't just stunning but powerful. The shade of his coat not only brought more attention to his glistening eyes, but gave him a mysterious air.
I only grew more hyper as we melded with the pack. With my human instincts thrown out the window, I stuck close to Michael, which was something I wouldn't have done if my human had been in control. With my side pressed against his we walked around the wolves. I sought out my brother instantly.
Josh approached us, with Greg and Pavel close behind, and my eyes perked immediately.
I snuck a glance at Michael before bounding over to him. Josh pressed his head into my side, much like how Michael had done earlier, and licked my nose. I shook myself when he was done.
Around me the pack was socializing. Like Josh and Michael had with me, they rubbed against each other renewing the scent of the pack. I greeted Greg and Pavel enthusiastically. I was practically buzzing as I 'wolf hugged' my packmates. I noticed how many eyes were on me, but it didn't bother me much.
Gabriel was near the outer ring of the semi circle the pack had created. I jogged up to him. I almost wagged my tail at him when his eyes locked with mine.
Like everything about Gabriel, his coat was pure black, like his hair in human form. However, I noticed a small white patch of fur just at the bottom of his side, closer to his stomach. When I was close enough, I nudged the white spot.
Gabriel snorted. It could have been a threat, but when his eyes met mine once more, I saw the laughter in his golden gaze. We rubbed against one another, and I lingered near his side as others came over.
Soon, however, I was too anxious to stay still. I nudged Gabriel lightly, and motioned towards the unused portion of the clearing. He seemed to understand, because he didn't stop me when I left his side.
When I made it to the outside of the mosh-pit like circle, I shook out my fur again. That was all I could do to not start running laps.
I heard someone approach me, so I turned. It took me a second, but I soon realized that the two red and white patched wolves were the twins.
I wagged my tail playfully at them. Martin greeted me friendly, but Odolf took a new approach to the meet and greet portion of the full moon run. He pushed himself up onto his hind legs and hung his front over my neck.
Startled, like a gun shy horse, I jerked under his hold. However, he held me down with a surprising amount of strength. I growled, but I wasn't the one who shoved the male to the ground. I jumped away from the presumptuous twin with barred teeth. Only when I realized Michael was standing in front of me, did I begin to relax.
I stared at the scene in front of me in intense confusion. Part of me realized that Odolf's actions on me had been claiming, but the fact that it had been him to do them baffled me to no end. Sure, he had made a pass at me earlier, but still. I never thought Odolf liked me in that way. He was the pack goof, more of a little brother than a prospective mate who was technically a few months older than me.
Michael loomed over Odolf. From my place partly behind the beta, I realized just how large Michael was. Even from the ground, I could see that Michael was at least a head taller than the twin. And his anger only seemed to add to his height and the bulk of his muscle.
Instead of feeling grateful towards my beta, I felt enraged. So, using the majority of my weight, I pushed him. Of course, he didn't even budge, but I did get his attention. With my hackles raised, I growled at him. It wasn't challenging, per say, but it did show my aggravation with him and his actions.
Michael's reaction was to shove me to the ground. I let out a shrill whimper, more out of surprise than pain, and stared up at him. He towered over me, but I didn't regret my previous action. He shouldn't be fighting my battles, especially when it came to the twins. I could have handled them and I wanted to show that I could.
A howl sounded somewhere behind us, and Michael unhurriedly stepped over me. His eyes glared into mine, and I partially sunk into the ground. My insides fell like a sack of bricks, and once I turned away I mentally licked my wounds.
Within those seconds my carefree energy had drained. Instead I felt like curling into a ball. Not only had I not earned kudos from my beta, I had gotten into a power struggle with him.
I hung my head as I stood.
Then I heard a light growl from in front of me. My eyes snapped to Odolf's.
That time I didn't hold back. I used my overexcited energy, my rage, and the anger I'd received along with my humiliation as I tackled him. We snapped, growled, clawed, and kicked as we rolled on the soil.
We only stopped when I had him pinned.
I shoved my paws into his shoulder and stomach and literally pressed my teeth into his neck. I didn't press down hard enough to make him bleed, but it did give him a visual of who was really in charge. Now, hopefully, he'd think twice before trying to make moves on me.
Another howl echoed over the woods, and this time I jogged up to the owner of the sonorous song. Alexander's eyes found mine in the instant I made my appearance. His eyes seemed to inform me that he knew what had just happened. I wasn't sure if I should have felt subconscious, but I didn't.
I tilted my head and showed him my neck, which seemed to amuse him. Alex nodded his head once before throwing it back and sounding the first note of the pack song. Michael was second, and I joined in soon after with many others.
Our licked voices carried over the trees, into the shadows, and up to the moon. We celebrated the cool glow of Her rays.
When I lowered my head I was still high from the vibrations in my throat. I pranced over to my brother. He nudged me playfully, and then we took off. With the pack, we ran. I pushed myself to a whole new speed and found myself near the head. We weren't hunting, so we ran in clumps, not in a line. With Josh at my left and Gabriel at my right, I caught up with the beta.
That's how the night went. Together, we ran.
CL
When I woke the next morning, I was cold. I blinked open my eyes. The first thing I saw was a small pile of my folded clothes. They were sitting just inches from my head. I frowned, recalling the night before, and pushed myself up so I was sitting.
That's when I realized why I was so cold.
Naked, I was in the back yard of the pack house. With new found energy, I yanked on my clothes.
"I thought you'd appreciate not having to walk around in the nude," came the very amused voice of Nathan's middle son. I swung around and saw Sebastian sprawled out in the grass a few inches away from me. "Call my surprised when you came here to make your den, instead of sleeping with the pack." I caught the question in his tone, but didn't answer him right away.
Now armed with my shorts and top, I wasn't that upset with lying in the damp grass. So, I stretched out beside Seb.
I remembered most of the run. Alex had run with pure authority at his place in front of the pack. He belonged in the lead, and it had been one of those happy-tear moments watching him guide th
e pack through the territory. After the main run many had separated to hunt. I remembered slipping away to the river, where Sebastian had been waiting. I recalled us running together. Afterwards, he took me back to where Josh and many Luperco were settled.
I avoided Michael, even though part of me pined for his affectionate stare. I guessed I was ashamed for acting the way I did, but now, that theory didn't make any sense. Fighting my own battles was something I always did. Being in wolf form shouldn't change that.
So, I assumed that only left self preservation, meaning that I had kept away from him to keep us from fighting again.
I was much more pleased with that analysis.
"I think I wanted to get into the house, but I couldn't open the door." I half heartedly joked. I even added a laugh to help cover my lie.
I had started to sleep beside my brother, with the group of Luperco that also included Michael, but I couldn't hold still. My insides were still jumping with energy even though I had run most of the night away. So, I left. I inched away from Josh's side, so I didn't wake him, and quietly reentered the woods.
The pack scent guided me through the territory that looked so different from my golden eyes. I ran. I loved the wind in my hair and my paws pounding against the dirt. It was calming and exhilarating at the same time.
I rolled onto my side, and faced Seb, "Did you sleep here?" I narrowed my eyes in thought, but I didn't remember Sebastian being here when I fell asleep.
After my lone run, I ended up being closer to here than where the others slept, so I curled into a ball and slept near the back deck of the pack house. I remembered feeling safe because the scent of the pack was strong here, and I fell to sleep very easily. However, I had no memory of Sebastian, or anyone else, coming up to me.
"I was keeping a close eye on you." That wasn't exactly an answer, but I didn't push him any further. I was tired, hungry, and in desperate mood for a massive cup of hot chocolate.
So, I pushed myself off the ground, "Is anyone else back yet?"
"Just you and me." Seb followed me into the pack house. The door opened easily, and I was shocked to already smell chocolate in the air as I stepped into the kitchen. I was even more surprised to see Cassiel leaning against the counter.
Howl (Howl Book 1) Page 32