It’s funny as shit. Conor and Gael crack up, but I hardly break a smile.
I’m missing something.
We should go back to camp.
“Conor, check him for a concussion. If he’s good, ten more. See you back at the gym.” I don’t wait. Once I make a decision, I go. I shift and lope north. They’ll catch up.
I race east, and instantly, some of the tension eases. The wind riffles my fur, and the soil and leaves, wood and water, all the sights and sounds of my territory sift through my senses, unraveling the knot that’s been coiling in my gut.
Maybe I’m spending too much time training the males and not enough time roaming the pack lands. Bad things happen when you stifle the wolf. You start hearing voices, for example.
When we trot into camp, I expect him to give up our skin. The wolf doesn’t like buildings. He keeps his form, though. I don’t fight him; I never do. He sniffs, noting the fresh venison in the shed we use to butcher meat and wet pussy from a cabin along the common. Rowan and Lochlan.
Lochlan’s supposed to be patrolling the southwest quadrant with Tye. Are we abandoning our posts to bang females now? That’s the kind of self-indulgence that leads to fuck ups.
I figure the wolf will handle it, take out some of his nervous energy on Lochlan’s ugly hide, but he canters straight through the commons, up the path along the ridge, winding past the laundry and the elder cabins. He’s got a destination in mind. The garage.
Liam’s out front under a truck, country blaring on the radio. Only his legs are visible. The place reeks of oil and metal. What scent is the wolf tracking? I can’t make anything out under the chemicals.
The wolf snuffles around a tire and plops on his haunches, scratching his hindquarters like he’s got nowhere else he’d rather be. We have shit to do. Training. Meetings with elders. Finances. Phone calls. All the other crap I avoid by training B-roster.
But I guess I’m gonna scratch my ass by an old tire.
Then I hear giggles. Females.
Una and Annie walk around the corner of the garage, and the instant they see my wolf, they freeze. Guilty as hell. Annie’s eyes go round as dinner plates. She has the most skittish wolf I’ve ever met. Una steps in front of her.
My wolf doesn’t move, but he barks an order.
Shift.
Annie shifts immediately. Under the truck, a curse devolves into a pained yelp. My bad. I guess Liam shifted, too.
Una is still standing on two feet.
My wolf barks again, louder. She lifts her chin.
My wolf growls a few more times for good measure.
Shift. Shift now.
Liam wriggles out from the undercarriage on his belly. Annie cowers, trembling, gaze averted, neck bared. As is right.
Una is frozen in place, wearing a pale-yellow blouse, rolled up past her elbows, and a long jean skirt. There’s something balled in her left fist. Her brown hair shines, wisps framing her face. She’s tied it back in her usual braid.
My wolf pads closer to her very slowly. Almost cautiously. She tenses. My wolf stops, sits, and—whines.
My wolf never whines. He’s a huge silver beast with pure white markings, bigger than a dire wolf. We fear nothing and no one. We’re unbeaten in battle. Sought by all females. Alpha.
What witchcraft is this?
My wolf stares at Una. Una stares at us.
He strides forward. One pace. Another. Like he’s trying to be casual. Annie scuttles backward, whimpering.
Una cocks her head slightly to the left. My wolf pauses, patient, watchful. He wants her wolf to come out. Badly. He’s frustrated, but he’s being very careful not to let on.
For the first time that I can remember, he is not me at all. I want to force her down to her knees, snatch that braid and tilt her neck until I can see the vein throb in her exposed neck. Make her submit.
She’s mad, and she’s gonna get herself hurt. You don’t bait a monster like mine. He has mauled males for less provocation than this. It’s not in his nature to ignore a challenge.
But he’s not giving up the skin. And for some reason, he’s not responding to her defiance with aggression.
I don’t get it. And I don’t understand why he’s so keen to see her wolf. It was painfully small and scrawny with a gnarled hind leg. The thing looked underfed.
And how can she resist shifting at our command? Only another alpha can defy our compulsion.
This can’t be a mate thing. I don’t feel a bond. I’d know if we were connected in that way.
My wolf rumbles low in his chest, a sound used to soothe the newly born. Una stands, all false bravado. Her knees knock, swaying her skirt. I can smell her fear. Neither my wolf nor I like it. It burns our nose.