by Jade Royal
“You’re doing great,” Gemma said to her smiling sweetly. Bliss smiled at her and nodded. She looked at Gemma, and her wolf took great peace in the young female.
“I don’t know how you’re doing it,” Bliss commented.
“Me either,” Gemma smiled. “But I’m happy I can do it.”
“By the way, I’m really sorry for telling you those things Tristan said to me. He really didn’t mean it in any harm, and I told you those things because you wanted to know.”
“Don’t worry about it alright? I’ll tell him that I wanted to know and I kind of forced you into saying it. At the point we are right now, we still have a lot of work to do, but we’ve come to a point where things can only get better.”
“Good. I don’t want anything going wrong with you two….Especially something that I helped to cause.” Gemma pushed a strand of Bliss’s hair from her face and continued to rub her back to keep her wolf calm.
“How did you know that Tarzan song you sang to me?” Bliss asked her.
“My mom used to sing it to me all the time. Then one of the first human things I was exposed to was that movie. Once I watched that movie, I watched all those human cartoon movies and learned the songs. I guess it’s where my passion for music started.”
“Every human mostly grows up on Disney movies. That song brought something from my childhood out, and I guess that’s why my wolf calmed down. That, plus your voice is beautiful.”
“Do you want me to sing to you again?” Gemma asked. Bliss exhaled and nodded. Gemma began humming ‘A whole new World.’ Bliss visibly relaxed. Gemma helped her to stand and took her to the bed so she could lie down. Gemma sat next to her and smoothed Bliss’s hair from her face. She continued to hum before she began to sing softly. Bliss’s eyes flickered closed as her breathing evened out. Gemma continued to sing as Bliss went to sleep.
Tristan and Kellan walked back to the bedroom with a tray filled with food for both Gemma and Bliss. Only when they returned to the room, they saw that Bliss was in a deep sleep while Gemma hummed and sang a beautiful song that was almost like a lullaby. Tristan was stunned in his tracks as he watched his beautiful mate sing. It seemed so generic to say, but if angels sang, Tristan was pretty sure that’s how they would sound. Not only that, but her skin seemed to be glowing. Like there was something in her that was so bright and innocent, and Tristan felt himself falling deeply. He understood that there was a part of her that was in such contrast from how she was now. Her wolf was a volatile beast who didn’t take shit from anybody and lashed out to show dominance. But here was Gemma, as sweet as honey that seemingly couldn’t hurt a fly. It was a hard balance to live with, but Tristan was going to make sure she understood her importance in the pack. That even if she couldn’t tap into the anger that her wolf needed, she was still an amazing woman. His woman.
“She’s knocked out,” Gemma said. Tristan snapped from his thoughts.
“I didn’t think she would ever get to sleep,” Kellan sighed.
“Thanks so much, Gemma.” He climbed into bed next to her and snuggled up behind her. Bliss moaned in her sleep as she scented her mated.
“We’ll be close by to make sure she’s good for the night,” Tristan said sitting on the lounge chair in the room. He pulled Gemma to his lap and set the platter of food next to him on the night table so he could feed her.
“Does any of your wolves need to go for a run?” Kellan asked, knowing that it was hard to keep their wolves trapped in their bodies on the night of the full moon.
“No I’m good,” Tristan replied.
“Me too,” Gemma smiled looking at Tristan. He kissed her on the mouth softly. They held each other for the rest of the night while keeping an eye on Bliss. Every time Bliss stirred uncomfortably, Gemma was right at her side to hum to hear another song that calmed Bliss down enough to lull her back into her deep sleep.
***
“Where are we going?” Niles asked Dell as they traveled under the fading sunlight. Dell had watched begrudgingly as the Phoenix Pack traveled away from the cave to find a place to shift for the full moon. Bliss had walked with them, and her stomach was protruding. His plan didn’t work. She hadn’t shifted. He quickly led his pack away ready to meet up with Bryce so his pack could shift when the moon rose.
“A friend of mine is going to invite us to shift on his territory. It’s safer for us there.”
“Says who?” Niles questioned. Dell only glared at him before continuing to walk. Dell was in a sour mood.
“Just shut your mouth and do whatever he says,” a packmate said. Niles ignored them and continued to follow Dell. He was going to keep his mouth shut, but from now on he had to pay extra attention as to what the hell Dell was doing.
They arrived upon the thickest part of the woods next to a small pond and a shack. Niles recognized the man who was shooting arrows at the Phoenix Pack. He still had his hood on covering his face, but Niles knew he was the attacker. Dell had aligned himself with someone out to kill one of the strongest packs known to every wolf. Niles didn’t like it.
“We have been granted access to shift on this land,” Dell told his wolves. “You can shift and run this territory without being bothered by any of wolves or packs.” The rest of the wolves ran off, but Niles stared at his alpha and the mystery man before he finally moved off. Unlike other packs, they didn’t necessarily shift or run together. Niles only pledged to the pack because he thought Dell would be able to keep him alive. If he was doing sneaky shit and aligning himself with the wrong people, then their lives were at stake…including Niles’.He wasn’t ready to risk himself following an alpha who was making the wrong decisions.
When his pack wandered off, Dell went up to Bryce. The man uncovered his face and looked up at the sky.
“Do you feel anything?” Dell asked him.
“Cold,” Bryce replied. “Like no matter how much I wear or the fact that I made a fire earlier I’m just cold.” Hera came from the shack, the urge of the full moon probably leading her outside to shift.
“Well, it’s finally time to see what you really are,” Dell said pointing at the moon. Both he and Hera gave power to their wolves and shifted with a surge of power and cracking bones. Bryce stared in awe at the two wolves standing in front of him. Dell was larger than Hera, but the both of them exuded power and strength. It took a lot for Bryce not to drive a silver coated arrow through both of their hearts in jealousy. Both wolves walked around him in a circle. They were looking directly at him, but he didn’t understand nothing of what they were saying or suggesting.
“If you’re talking in your head to me I can’t hear you,” Bryce said. Both Hera and Dell stopped walking around him. They looked at each other before turning and looking back at Bryce. They nodded their big heads at him before turning around and trotting off then bursting into a sprint. Bryce understood that they needed to take their wolves for a run, so he stood alone next to the pond staring out at the sky. He was silently wishing that something would happen to him. That he would shift into a magnificent beast and his scars would disappear, and he would be the all-powerful wolf that he was meant to be.
Bryce looked out at the bond, the cold depths calling to him. He didn’t know why since he was sure he didn’t want any part of the cold water. He was already shivering from the coldness he felt under his skin. As he was looking out at the water, he felt his eyesight shift. He blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, but his vision appeared in thin slits, amplifying what he was looking at, but nothing in his peripheral. Bryce stumbled back, the new vision making him uneasy. He fell onto his ass as the coldness inside his body took over intensely. Bryce felt like he was going to freeze from the inside out if he didn’t warm himself up. He crawled slowly towards the fire he had built earlier to allow the flames to lick at his skin and warm him up. As he reached for the fire, he stretched his arm out to touch the flames. His cloak fell away from his arm, revealing his skin. Through slit-like eyes, his vision went wide and he gasped. He jer
ked his arm towards his face and glared at it . It was slimy and covered in black and green scales. His fingernails were replaced by long sharp black claws. He hurriedly stripped himself of his long black cloak. Even though he was wearing jeans, he could still see the scales on his feet, and they covered his chest.
“What the fuck?” he gasped touching and feeling his body. Then he noticed even his speech was funny. He scrambled to the pond so he could look at his reflection. Dread filled his gut, and he felt like vomiting at his image that glared back at him. His pupils had turned to slits; he had tiny sharp fangs and small sharply pointed teeth, a nose that was sunken into his face with two long slits that allowed him to breathe. His tongue was long and skinny, split in the middle. Bryce shook his head not trying to believe what he had become. He was nothing more than a human snake.
Dell and Hera shifted back in the woods before they walked back to the shack where Bryce was waiting. The moment Hera stood naked in front of him he groped his dick showing her what he wanted. Hera rolled her eyes and turned around to lean against a tree. She arched her back and shook her butt at him.
“Just come take it,” she sighed. Dell groaned in excitement and quickly mounted her. He shoved himself deep into her pussy without preamble. Her muscles fisted him and lubricated his dick as he pumped into her fiercely. They fucked up against the tree hard and rough until both of them were weak with orgasms. Still buried inside her, Dell slapped Hera’s ass.
“Once you remember that whatever the hell Bryce is, he’s still someone that can’t give you pups. So whatever you think you can achieve with him, think again.” Hera moved her ass forcing him to slip out of her. She turned around and looked at him.
“What he has is power, Dell. None that both of us have. Let’s use him to kill the Phoenix Pack and then we’ll kill him.” She shrugged and sauntered away headed back towards the shack. Dell smirked and followed her.
They didn’t know what they would come upon, but Bryce was on his knees glaring down at the pond. His cloak was off, but both Hera and Dell saw his bareback. It was scaly and slimy.
“Bryce?” Dell called out to the man. Bryce turned around slowly revealing his snake features.
“What happened to me?” Bryce snarled. Hera and Bryce walked in circles around Bryce. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“Oh my god,” Hera shook her head looking up and down at him. “I wonder if all of you have scales?” Bryce growled at her before yanking at the front of his jeans. His dick fell out of his pants also filled with scales. Hera forced herself not to gag. Dell was right. There was no way she could ever have pups with him or for that matter, have sex with him again. She didn’t think she could get herself to do that. It was such a shame because he had amazing dick.
“I asked a question!” he snapped.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dell said.
“We have our folklores, but I’ve never actually seen it,” Hera replied.
“What is the folklore?”
“We were taught to not turn humans into shifters. At first, we thought we could continue our race by giving humans the power, but we learned that not all humans were capable of carrying the power, or worthy of it. In some cases the human would either die from the bite or die during the first shift,” Dell told him.
“In other cases, if a human was turned and survived both the shift and the bite they would either become a shifter, or they would become something else,” Hera continued.
“What do you mean?” Bryce asked.
“If a human survives both the bite and the shift, but are undeserving of the power of a wolf, then they become just what their true nature is. The blackness of their hearts will be revealed by what they turn into,” Dell said.
“So…I won’t ever be a wolf?” Bryce questioned.
“No. The universe has deemed you a cold-blooded snake. And that’s what you are.” Bryce screamed out in anger.
“So how the fuck did Bliss become a wolf then huh?! She’s no fucking angel!”
“She is,” Dell told him. “The universe makes no mistakes. If Bliss was turned into a wolf; it was because her heart was pure enough to carry the gift. Not only that, but didn’t you murder her? Or help to murder her or saw her get murdered and did nothing? You’ve been sneaking around with Maverick and plotting against other people and deceiving other people. That sounds like a snake to me.”
“Change me back,” Bryce snarled.
“Close your eyes and visualize the way you used to look,” Dell told him. “Once you visualize it, force yourself to take on that look again.”
Bryce snapped his eyes shut, still snarling as he visualized his human self. He felt the scales retract on his body, his human skin returned, and he was able to see normally. He couldn’t help the sigh of relief that came out of his mouth. He didn’t want to have to walk around like a damn snake. But at the same time, his scars were back. So either he was a fucking snake, or a scarred up human who had to hide his face. Either way, he was fucked.
“Thank goodness,” Hera said. “I was beginning to wonder how in the hell I would fuck a scaled dick.”
“Shut up,” Bryce snapped. “Dell put some fucking clothes on. We need to talk about the fucking Phoenix Pack and my bitch daughter.”
“Why do you hate your kid so much?” Dell questioned as they walked back to the shack. He grabbed loose linen pants from the couch and slipped them on while Hera slipped on a tunic.
“Because I had to take care of her. I had to live a life without love because of her.”
“What’d she do?” Hera asked.
“She killed my wife,” Bryce grunted. “My beautiful wife always wanted a kid, and I didn’t! Because she was going to leave me. I just said fuck it, and we got her pregnant. She named our daughter Bliss right before she died after giving birth. I’ve never forgiven Bliss. That, plus I never wanted Bliss in the first place. So here I am alone and powerless, and she still gets to have her life turn out perfect. Finding her mate, having the power of being a shifter…..things that I was robbed of, but yet still she has. I’m not gonna sleep until I make her life a living hell just like she’s made mine!” Hera and Dell looked at Bryce. He was truly hurting. Beneath all his hatred he was serious about being in hell. And that had made him bitter.
“Enough questions about me. Dell, what happened to our plan?”
“The plan failed,” Dell told Bryce.
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just did. We gotta think about something else.”
“I’ve done what you said and pulled back all the hunters plus emptied my warehouse, still, there's nothing to show for it.” Bryce began to pace. He wanted his vengeance. That chill in his body hadn’t left him even though he shifted back. That chill was making him cold and brutal. Now he didn’t care about taking shit easy. He wanted results.
“One of your wolves,” Bryce started. “I saw him with the young wolf from the Phoenix pack. Are the two of them close?”
“Who Niles? Yeah, he has a thing for the young bitch why?”
“You’re his alpha. Order him to bring her back to the lounge. I’ll be there waiting to tie her ass up as bait to lure the rest of the pack there.”
“Ha, good idea. But alpha or not, Niles is not going to betray that woman or her pack. So try again.” Bryce growled and grabbed an arrow from his desk. It was laced with silver. He held it above Dell’s heart.
“You find a way to lure that bitch back to the lounge, or this silver arrow has got your name on it.” Dell’s eyes flickered with fear, but he kept himself composed.
“Fine. You want the bitch; you got her. I’ll make sure Gemma is delivered to you. You’d better be ready, because once you’ve got one of his youngest wolves captive, Kellan is going to come at you full force.” Bryce snarled with a smile on his face.
“Oh, I’ll be ready. Two days Dell.” Dell looked Bryce up and down before slapping the silver arrow from his hands and marching out of the shack. Hera
followed behind him.
“What are you going to do?” She questioned.
“Just what he wants me to do,” Dell smiled.
“Why do I feel like you’ve got another plan?”
“Because I do. I’ll deliver Gemma just like he wants. But Bryce isn’t ready to deal with the likes of the Phoenix Pack. Despite his weapons, he’s seriously underestimating them. But hey, I’ll make sure they come straight for him. The pack will ensure that I don’t have to get my own hands dirty. They’ll get rid of him for me. Then I’ll get rid of them. Kellan still think’s I’m on his side anyways.” Dell shrugged and continued to walk off.
“I’ll be back for you baby,” he said to her. Hera only chuckled and turned back to go into the shack with Bryce. She didn’t care who came out on top in this battle. Whosoever did was the one she was going to cling to. Her pussy didn’t care for anything but power.
***
Dell awaited his wolves to return near the Phoenix Pack cave. He had howled out to them sending them his location and forcing them to come back. One by one, each wolf emerged and shifted back into human form, all of them except Niles.
“Where’s Niles?” Dell asked. Just as he asked, Niles ran up to them still in wolf form. He shifted back but looked as if he didn’t want to hear anything Dell had to say.
“That territory we just came from is going to be ours,” Dell said.
