by Sky Corgan
It felt alien to be with a pack that wasn't her own, and Karen had more than a few concerns. From what she knew, other packs didn't accept new werewolves easily. Carter was the regional Alpha though, so maybe he had better control of his pack than most other Alphas did. On top of that, she wasn't sure what her wolf would do if she did turn. Hopefully, it would be smart and immediately roll onto its back as a sign of passive submission. She doubted she could take on any of the wolves in this pack, even the petite, lithe females. Fighting had never been her thing, and hierarchy ranking in her own pack was handled diplomatically, not with violence, as was common with most other packs.
Even worse, what if she wasn't able to shift? Aside from the obvious embarrassment, there was an incredible potential for danger. Most lycans lost their humanity completely when they shifted. She would just be a fragile human among a pack of wolves—wolves that were ready to hunt. If Carter couldn't persuade them away from her, she could easily become prey—easily become dead.
All of these horrible thoughts went through her mind as each step led her closer to uncertainty. She felt sick to her stomach. More than that, she was angry at Carter for not coming to explain how things would work and calm her fears. Didn't he understand how pivotal this shift would be for her? Not just for her, but also for her pack.
Karen wished Howard was there. Wished he had stayed to attend the shift too. She felt safer around her family. Here, she felt like an outsider—a charlatan, someone who the others thought was just pretending to be a wolf. At least, this whole experience had already given her more respect for her own family than she'd had in years. She knew where she belonged now, and it certainly wasn't at Sky High Ranch.
They reached the same spot where the bonfire had been held the night before and made a wide circle around it. Karen's palms began to sweat as the judging eyes of the other lycans landed on her. She tried her best to distract herself by fixing her gaze on the spot where she and Carter had made love the night before.
Carter broke free from the group and went to stand in the center of the circle. His dominant scent seemed to pour out from him, causing everyone to take notice. His eyes wandered around the pack, meeting the gaze of each lycan. It took a while to make his way to Karen, but when their eyes finally met, Karen felt a heat inside of her ignite so intensely that she gasped.
A few of the other lycans sniggered at her reaction, but she could barely pay attention to them. Carter's eyes were ringed with amber, so bright they were almost glowing. He was allowing the wolf to come out prematurely, probably to help control the group. It was important that he asserted his dominance, that he showed them who was the biggest, baddest wolf of them all. None of them could do what he could. None of them could shift without the full moon. It was proof that he was the regional Alpha, and a good reminder that he could tear any one of them apart in the blink of an eye if he wanted to.
“Some of you might be wondering why I called you here early today,” he began, turning away from Karen to address his pack. They looked at him with respect—fixed on him. It amazed Karen how as soon as he opened his mouth, it was like she no longer existed to the pack. Carter commanded such attention that nothing else mattered to them but him. “Tonight is going to be a little different. I will not be shifting with you. Kenny will be in charge, and I will expect you to follow his lead as you would mine.”
An older man broke free from the circle to stand by Carter's side. Karen had noticed him before, had smelled the strength of the wolf in his blood, but she had never thought much of it. A silver wolf, the breedable females would have called him. The equivalent of a silver fox in human terms. His white hair was flecked with silver. He had gorgeous pale blue eyes and a body more muscular and toned than most guys in their twenties. Karen could imagine he was a stud in his day. There was a raw masculinity and sexuality coming from him, and Karen was embarrassed that it stirred something within her. Stupid wolf, making her horny.
“I will be taking Karen away from the group to observe her shift.” Carter gestured back to Karen but didn't look at her. “We'll be in close enough proximity to communicate, but far enough away so that she won't be in any danger.” He turned to Kenny and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper, though everyone could hear what they were saying. “If you need me, howl. You remember our plan?”
“You have nothing to worry about, sir.”
“Good.” Carter's eyes locked with Karen's again, and she felt a shiver roll down her spine. Another night alone with Carter, and this time as a wolf. She had no idea what that meant, if anything. All she did know was that she felt a lot safer—and more aroused. “Are you ready to go?” He approached her, though there was no warmth behind his eyes. Just wolf.
“Mhm,” she replied, flanking his side to follow him into the forest away from the rest of the pack—into the unknown.
Karen was terrified. Carter could see it in her eyes, and it turned him on. It bothered him that she had such a hold over him, and yet he still had to act like she was nothing. When the pack had snickered at her reaction to his wolf, he had wanted to growl at them and show his disapproval. This had to be handled delicately though. She was an outsider, and while they accepted her temporary presence for the sake of his political position, they would never accept that he wanted more from her than a one-time mating.
Walking side by side, he could smell how ready she was for him. Even though he had been with her just this morning, the thought of taking her again drove his wolf wild. He liked the part of her that was oh-so-human, the part that was able to resist the sway of his Alpha.
Business, Carter. This is about business, not pleasure. You want to see if your wolf has any bearing on her shift. If it does, maybe you'll have an excuse to keep her longer. That's what this was really about. If she had been anyone else, he wouldn't have given two shits whether she could change around him or not. This shift was all about finding an excuse to make her his possession.
“Are you nervous?” he asked, already knowing the answer. It was simply a test to see if she'd lie to him.
“A little.” She tripped over a root and fell into him. Carter grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her, and as their eyes met, the need to mate surged through him to the point that he wanted to rip her clothes off and force himself inside of her right then and there. “Sorry.”
He shook his head, doing his best to wipe the thought away. “You'll be fine. We're almost there.”
The desire to mate was always the strongest right before the shift. Perhaps that's why he had been so gaga over her. She was a new toy in his playground, and he was like a kid who had too much candy. Everything the past few days had been about play, play, play.
Right now, he needed to focus. He would know if his feelings were sincere after the shift when his hormones died down. If he could just hold on until the shift took place, these sexual inclinations would subside as he became more consumed with wolf things, like hunting and running.
They continued on in the darkness until Carter felt that they were a safe distance away from his pack, then he turned to Karen. “Here will be fine.”
“Here?” She looked around apprehensively.
It dawned on him how unfamiliar this all was to her. She didn't know this forest like he did. And the fact that they were traveling in the dark made it all the more frightening to her. Thanks to her wolf blood being so weak, she lacked the night vision needed to see where they were going. Carter had to lead her by the hand most of the way, not that he minded. He liked touching her. More than that, he liked the idea that she couldn't escape him.
They faced each other in the small clearing he had chosen, and he began to undress, indicating that she should do the same. Karen's nervousness increased as she turned away from him and started pealing off the T-shirt she was wearing. Just the sight of her naked flesh made the wolf in Carter bristle. His cock hardened instantly, and he could hear the animal inside whining to get at her. She was so beautiful, curvy and luscious with soft
, supple skin.
Business, Carter. Damn your wolf for being so insistent. It was going to get worse before it got better. The more clothing she shed, the stronger his urge to mate became. By the time they were both naked, the air was thick with the smell of their wolves and his pre-seed. If he didn't know it pleased her to see him so aroused, it might have embarrassed him the way his body was reacting. When she turned to look at him though, he could see the lust in her eyes. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. They were fighting the battle of control together, and Carter worried they were on the edge of losing.
He took a step forward, hearing the wolf growl in approval, though their intentions were not on par. Gently, he placed two fingers beneath Karen's chin and tilted it so that she was forced to look at his face. The less they gazed upon each other's naked, willing bodies, the better their concentration would be when the shift did come.
“Look into my eyes. Look only at me,” he told her. Even as he said it though, his gaze fell to her full, slightly parted lips, and he felt an almost unbearable need to kiss her, to draw her into his arms and claim her mouth and her body.
Only a few more minutes. Summoning up as much self-control as he could, Carter locked eyes with the beautiful creature standing before him, allowing the wolf to come through, wide amber irises and small pupils taking over. She would need to draw power from his wolf to shift. The moon probably wouldn't be enough.
“Are you ready for this?” He smirked, trying to help alleviate some of her fear.
“Do I have a choice?” she laughed nervously.
“No.”
The first tremor rolled through Carter's body, and he felt the familiar sensation of his blood heating up. Soon, it would be boiling as the transformation took over. He did his best to keep his eyes on Karen as the shift began. She winced, and then she screamed, wrapping her arms around herself as if to try to keep the wolf inside. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her it was alright, but the change was already ripping through him.
His heart went out to her, as it did to all the lycans that had a hard time with shifting. For him, it was merely a pang of discomfort. For most others, it was incredibly painful, starting with an intense stomach ache that spread out like a virus consuming the entire body with fire that burned every cell. It was over in mere seconds though. The most intense pain you could ever experience condensed into the span of a heartbeat.
Then they were wolves.
It felt like Carter was staring at a smaller reflection of himself. Karen's eyes were the same color, and so was her fur. He wanted to react triumphantly to the fact that she had been able to shift, but now wasn't the time. Now, he needed to assert his dominance over her.
He stood stiff-legged and tall in front of her, his ears pointing towards the heavens. With any luck, she would roll over and expose her throat to him, the ultimate sign of submission. He would accept a mere lowering of her body though. Anything to establish the pecking order so that she'd know she was to follow his lead for the rest of the night.
It took a few moments, but Karen slid her paws out in front of her, and it looked to Carter like she was about to submit. Her butt never followed the front portion of her body though. Instead, she kept it up in the air, her tail wagging back and forth as she made a short playful noise before standing back up and bounding around him.
Carter was absolutely flabbergasted. In her wolf form, Karen did not recognize him as her Alpha, but as an equal. Before he even had a chance to realize what was going on, she pounced on him, biting and tugging on one of his ears before running a few steps away and doing the bowing gesture again, her tongue lolling out to the side in happy excitement.
This wouldn't do. If she didn't accept him as her Alpha, then she wouldn't listen to him, and if she didn't listen to him, then she could be in danger. It pained him to do it, but he took a more aggressive stance, his fur bristling as he pulled his lips back to snarl at her.
Karen cocked her head to the side as if she didn't understand. Then her eyes flashed with the fear that Carter had seen behind them when she was human, and she took off into the forest.
Shit.
Carter let out a warning howl, signaling to Kenny that Karen was heading their way. Then he gave chase, kicking up dirt as he quickly closed the distance between them. Karen was fast, but not fast enough. One long leap, and he was on top of her. They rolled, and he tried to pin her, tried to force her into submission, but she wriggled out from under him and took off in the opposite direction.
Desperation clawed at Carter's insides. He had promised Karen's brother that she would be alright, but how could he keep that promise if he couldn't get her under control. At this point, he could only see one way, and she wasn't going to like it.
Karen's wolf had always been unpredictable. Howard often blamed her for breaking away from the pack during the shift, but the truth of the matter was that she had little control over it. She liked to think that because it was what she secretly wanted, it happened. Now, she wasn't so sure.
Nothing would have pleased her more than for her wolf to have bowed down at Carter's feet and submitted to him fully. She had bowed down, alright. Bowed down with tail wagging in disrespect, then pounced on him to add insult to injury.
Now he was chasing her, and he was pissed. She'd be lucky if he didn't rip her throat out the second he had a good hold on her. That's what an Alpha would typically do after suffering such an indignity. It probably seemed to his wolf that she was fighting for hierarchy. In truth, her wolf was just an addle-brained idiot, too excited to be shifting somewhere different to heed any wolf rules.
For as foolhardy as her wolf had been though, it still kept its survival instinct intact. Karen's lungs burned as she ran faster than she ever had in her entire life. Even as a wolf, she felt more like prey than predator. If Carter caught her, it could mean her death. For that reason, her wolf wouldn't stop.
It just took one wrong move for her to feel Carter's paws wrapping around her as he pounced on her again, sending her careening onto her side. She had been lucky to get away from him the first time. This time, not so much.
A sharp whimper escaped her as his teeth bared down into her neck. Karen's life flashed before her eyes as she felt the bite crack her delicate skin and the warm blood begin to flow. Her wolf went limp on the ground, mewling pitifully under the weight of the bigger wolf as he held her down until she had no choice but to submit.
It took Karen a moment to realize that she was more frightened than injured. Carter let out a warning snarl, then his mouth left her throat, and he backed off, though he remained standing on her hind legs, starring down at her with a penetrating gaze.
“I'm sorry,” she said internally, though she doubted he could hear her.
An apologetic whine fell from her lips as her wolf finally rolled over onto its back, drawing its paws close to its body and exposing all of its most vulnerable parts. The hierarchy had been established, and she was on the bottom.
Satisfied, Carter leaned down to lick at the wound on her neck before nuzzling under her chin with his nose and taking a few steps back to allow her to stand. Karen rolled up onto all fours and shook the dirt and grass from her coat, then she padded up beside Carter, staying a few paces behind to acknowledge that he was the leader. He snorted approvingly, and then they took off into the forest together, the way it should have been when they initially shifted.
They didn't travel very far before Carter stopped to howl at his pack, letting them know he had everything under control again. Karen listened to the chorus of responses, and it seemed almost magical to her. She had howled with her own pack before, but they never sounded so in sync with each other as Carter did with his pack. To her embarrassment, her wolf joined in, unable to contain itself. When she looked at Carter, he seemed more pleased than disapproving though, and that made Karen relax a bit.
Having established communication with the other wolves, Carter took off into the forest at a trot and Karen followed. She ex
pected that he would take her hunting, as most packs did during the full moon, but instead, they just ran all night. It felt surreal being by his side, trying to keep up. He followed the nearby stream at a steady pace for most of the night before turning around to make their way back.
The night breezed by. Karen trailed behind Carter, enjoying all the new smells of the surrounding area. Her wolf liked being with him, as did she, and it made her kind of sad that this would probably be the only time she'd be able to shift with him.
Finally, they returned to the place where they had left their clothing. Carter curled up on the ground in the middle of the clearing, and Karen wedged herself into the groove of his stomach, taking the position of little spoon. She hated how even her wolf was so needy for him.
Surprisingly, Carter returned the affection. He nuzzled his muzzle against the top of her head before licking her ears and face. She licked back at him, and they continued grooming each other until the moon disappeared, and sleep overcame them.
CHAPTER SIX
It felt like a dream. One long, crazy dream. Karen could still remember the smell of Carter's wolf lying close to hers, feeling its warm fur and the thumping of his heartbeat as they laid together and groomed each other for what seemed like hours. He had treated her with tenderness. Tenderness she certainly didn't deserve after what she had put him through.
She groaned to life and rolled back into what felt like a very warm rock. A warm, fleshy rock. Carter, she realized after blinking the sleep away. His eyes were still closed in slumber, and he looked amazingly peaceful. More than that, he looked devastatingly sexy.
A content grin spread across Karen's face as she turned over and rested her head on his chest. She shouldn't be doing this. After the rough night they'd had, the last thing he would want was for her to be touching him, but she just couldn't resist. The residual effects of the wolf were still wearing off, and her body was alive with the need to mate. Even when they were wolves, she could feel the desire to breed with him, but somehow, her wolf had managed to keep from acting on it. Thank God for that.
