by Jamie Klaire
"You really haven't heard about Kate?"
His question brought her eyebrows high up toward her hairline.
"What about Kate? She isn't up yet."
He laughed a low, sexy rumble and muttered, "I'm not sure she got any sleeping done at all last night. She isn't here. She and Galen are one. The pack is thrilled that Galen finally took a mate. Although there are some very disappointed she-wolves out there this morning. The new blood will be good for us, though. There is to be another celebration feast tonight. I'm glad he mated before Thomas passed. It will be easier on Thomas, knowing the new Alpha has found his other half. Thomas said he'd be even happier if he could see both of his sons mated before he crossed..."
He said the last bit as he looked at her pointedly over his coffee mug, his words drifting off before he took a sip.
Emma didn't catch that part though. She stood quickly, padding toward Kate's closed door, quite sure Kate would have told her before going off and becoming some wolf's mate.
She flung Kate's door open, only to be greeted with the sight of her friend's empty bed.
"Well fuck me!"
She didn't notice Elam's smirk at her heated words as he watched her over his cup while she paced and mumbled and cussed her friend out for not telling her what she was planning on doing.
"How do you just up and become a wolf's mate without telling your best friend? Don't you guys have engagement periods or ceremonies in front of the pack or anything? Her parents are going to flip. We're only here for a year. It's supposed to teach us to be better, more productive members of society or some shit to be here with your pack. She's not here twenty-four hours and she's a mate to a son of the Alpha? I bet her dad will wish he'd taken her to Africa after all. What does that mean, exactly? To be a mate? Can she still go home in a year?"
"Wolves mate for life. She can't leave him, it will kill him. And her."
"It won't kill her. She's not a wolf. Human's divorce all the time. She can just chalk this up to a Britney Spears moment, that's all."
"That is not so. Wolves do not divorce. They are connected now. Only death will separate them. If one of their souls cross over, the connection lessens. The one left behind will grieve a very long time, and they can eventually mate again. But not when both souls still walk this earth. When a mated pair is separated for long, they both wither. They are strongest together. Kate is one of us now. She wears his mark, he now flows through her veins. We won't know for a little while, but she may also be carrying his pup."
"Carrying his... You have got to be kidding. We've been here less than a full day!"
* * * * *
Emma found Kate later on, at the mating feast.
Emma was sitting on the same log, by the bon fire she'd sat by the night before, when Kate plopped down beside her, her face shining with joy.
"Can you believe it? I'm a married woman, Emma."
"What the hell were you thinking, Kate?"
"I wasn't. Thinking had very little to do with what happened last night. But I'm happy. I never realized it, but I wasn't happy in my old life. Something was always missing. I found that missing piece here. When Galen is Alpha, I will stand beside him as his wife. Or mate. Or whatever.
I wasn't doing well in the human world, Em. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn't want to finish college, but it was buying me time before I had to be an adult. Here, I'll get to be queen of the jungle, so to speak. They will have to respect me here, it's law or something. I'd rather be queen of this jungle than struggle in the human's world. I liked that everyone respected Thomas's mate..."
"Ziva? She was a bitch and a half." Emma interrupted.
"And they still respected her. She is human, like me, and she belongs. She is looked up to. You are special, Em. You carry their blood. Your mother was their Alpha. Why she threw that away, I don't know. But this is my chance to be special."
"We are only supposed to be here a year. What will your parents say? Elam mentioned that you could already be carrying Galen's cub. Is that what you want, Kate? To be brood mare to the top werewolf? Do you even know what being an Alpha's mate consists of? What if you hate it? Elam says you can't walk away from this now, not without dying, or practically killing yourself and Galen."
"Your mom walked away."
"With my dad."
"I'm not planning on walking away. I was just saying. But something happened last night, Em. He was in my head. In my dreams, initially, and then later, when I came outside, awake. We had a connection. And, my god, the sex was fucking fantastic. I've never felt anything like that before. I know you're still a virgin and won't get it, but the draw to him was more than magnetic. I needed him, to make me whole. I can't get enough of him, Em. And this deep, soul connection thing, I think I can love him, eventually. Really love him, like your dad still loves your mom. That part will take time, I'm not stupid, but I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be."
Emma looked around, watching everyone celebrate Galen and Kate's mating. They really seemed happy about it, humans and wolves alike seemed joyous and welcoming.
Their quiet discussion was interrupted when a small group came over and pulled Kate away. Kate tried to include Emma, to get her to go dance with them and join the festivities, but Emma shook them off. She ushered Kate off with them, but wasn't ready to join the crowd herself just yet.
She watched Kate get pulled into the group, watched her trying to learn their dances and move to the rhythms of their drums around the fire, but soon her eyes were drawn to the edge of the crowd.
Galen and Elam stood together, watching the merriment and talking to each other.
Emma watched as the brothers embraced, Elam slapping Galen on his back in hearty congratulations.
The men broke apart, and Emma saw the sheer joy on Galen's face as he turned to watch his new mate integrate herself with his people.
He looked happy, smitten even, as his eyes followed Kate.
Emma felt suddenly very alone.
She felt a tug on her attentions, like she was being watched as well.
Her eyes searched the crowd, scanning people who were strangers to her before yesterday, and she zeroed in on the stare she felt burning into her.
Elam.
She wasn't in the mood.
His face was washed in shadows, but she was almost certain he was the one watching her so hard she could feel it.
"Oh, come on. Surely this pack has had strangers here before. Surely they weren't so far from civilization that two female newcomers could draw this much attention from the two top dogs. This place is crawling with hot chicks." Emma said to herself. "OK, maybe not crawling, but..."
Emma looked around.
The females she saw were unnaturally attractive, but there weren't very many of them. And most were older, her parent's generation. Most of the females their age were clumped around Kate, and very few females ran around with the youngest of the pack.
Emma spotted a few young females, probably six to twelve years old, and a few really young ones on the hips of some of the others, but by far, maybe by a 4-to-1 ratio, this place was crawling with males.
Weird.
She looked back towards Elam, the pull of being watched still strong.
He moved then, or the flames from the fire did, but suddenly his face was no longer hidden in shadow.
Her eyes locked with his, and she had to remind herself to breathe.
Damn, he was breathtaking.
Kate's words when she spoke about mating with Galen rolled in her mind as she met Elam's gaze over the fire.
Remnants of the visions she'd had last night, sitting right here when Elam had sat down beside her, touching her, filled her mind with flashes of the two of them locked together in passion made her flush. She was glad she could blame it on the fire if need be.
No! She would not fall like Kate had, into the arms of the first hot male to catch her attention here. No matter how his mere presence affected her by making
her stomach roll with slow, sensuous butterflies, and no matter how she felt the urge to clench her thighs tight against each other for some kind of relief.
She was going home in a year, just as she arrived, unattached.
Their stare was broken when Elam suddenly stood taller, turning his head away from staring at her, and looking past her, over her shoulder instead.
Slowly, everyone around the bonfire stopped dancing, and turned to join Elam in staring behind her.
The drums slowed and then stopped, and then someone gasped the word, "Thomas."
The words, "The Alpha!" also started to hit her ears, and Emma turned to look behind her, to see what had caused the sudden end to the celebration.
A large, regal wolf was making its way down from the biggest cabin, toward the celebration.
Ziva followed close behind, not looking happy. In fact, she looked rather pissed.
From her expression, and the surprised mutterings around her about Thomas, the Alpha, Emma figured that Ziva wasn't happy that Thomas was joining the crowd.
Thomas's wolf form was large, with deep brown fur that reminded Emma of a Chow dog, and as the wolf aimed for one of the large picnic tables, and shifted into his human form, Emma heard Elam's voice just beside her ear. Damn he was quiet when he walked.
"Our wolf forms are stronger than our human forms, especially as we age and come closer to death. The wolf is the easiest form for Thomas to inhabit right now."
She nodded her understanding, and watched as Elam and Galen's father shed his wolf form, and became human.
It was beautiful to watch, the shifting. Now that it didn't come as a complete surprise, she watched his shift with less scared, more appreciative eyes.
He stood tall, bracing one thigh against the table, just in case, but not sitting on one of its benches.
He looked old but still strong, his deep brown wolf fur shifting into grey hair, as he gathered his strength to address the crowd.
"We have had an exciting couple of days," he started, his voice gaining strength as a spoke.
"I'm sorry I couldn't join you all last night, I'm feeling a bit stronger today. I wanted to welcome both Emma and Kate. Emma, it is good to have you here. Your mother has been gone a long time, but she was often in my mind. Kate, I hear congratulations are in order. I welcome you as part of our pack, as Galen's mate. I was starting to wonder about that boy."
Mutters of laughter broke out around them at Thomas's teasing, and continued as Thomas added, "Now, if we could only get Elam to see the light, as well."
Emma's eyes shot to Elam, and she found his gaze already on her.
"Before I cross over from this world and into the next, I want to know who will carry this pack onward."
Ziva started to interrupt, to speak to Thomas, and he mumbled something quiet, but stern in her direction, and then turned back to his pack.
"I have two sons. Therefore, nothing is assured. Of course there will be a challenge. That is how it is done. And I wish it to be soon, so I may pass on with that knowledge. Now, if you will excuse me, my strength in this form is fading, and I wish to save it for the challenge. I know either of my sons will lead this pack well, and of course, if anyone else wants to challenge, that is your choice. It will be as it is supposed to be."
And with that, Thomas shifted back into his wolf form, and with Ziva's help, headed back up the hill.
Chapter 9
"What does that mean?" Emma addressed the question to Elam, standing beside her.
"It means there will be a challenge for Alpha after all. I was hoping there wouldn't be. Everyone knows Galen will be Alpha. The official pack rules say the spot is open to anyone, and any discontented wolf can challenge for the spot at any time. Traditionally, though, our pack has been happy to pass the Alpha position down along the blood line.
Even though we are both Thomas's sons, Galen is Thomas's blood. I'm an adopted son, my bloodline is unknown since I was found alone in the woods.
Galen has been groomed for Alpha since he was born. I personally have no interest in being Alpha, so I hoped that when Thomas passed on, Galen would take up the reins. Unless another wolf wanted to challenge him for it, the position would be his.
But Thomas has spoken. There will be a challenge. Galen and I will fight for the title, along with any other wolf who wants to take part.
Have you never shifted, Emma?"
Emma was surprised by his sudden change in topic, and it took her a second to address his question.
"Me? Shifted? What do you mean? Turned into a wolf? No. Why do you ask me that?"
"Your mother was Alpha, for a while. Humans, and non-shifting half-breeds can not challenge, but if you could shift, you could also challenge for Alpha."
"I didn't even know about my mother until yesterday. I'm grateful I've never shifted, it would have scared the shit out of me. Turning into a werewolf all of a sudden, out of nowhere? No, I've never... Is that even possible?"
"You are a little old, but yes. It is usually known by the end of the second decade. With a wolf mother and a human father, you could go either way. Some shift early and often, as a kid. Others are triggered by the hormone changes of puberty. But if you haven't shifted by say twenty, it probably won't ever happen. Being raised human, with no knowledge of us, could definitely put you behind. You have heard about females in a group eventually being on their periods at the same time?"
"Oh yes, periods syncing up is pretty common, especially in the dorms."
"It can be kind of like that. If you are the only female, your schedule is your own. But get two or more together, over time, and they eventually get on the same schedule. It can be like that with shifting as well. If you have the ability, but no knowledge of who you are, or no other wolf hormones in the air, you could stay as you are. Here, with not only the bloodline, but the knowledge, and the proximity of other wolves, their hormones..."
"Are you saying I could still shift?"
"It is possible. A few cycles of the moon should tell."
"I'm still adjusting to all of this. Learning that my mother was a werewolf is a huge adjustment. I'm surprised I didn't run off screaming into the woods when I saw Galen shift. Then to learn that mom held the highest honor of Alpha, and then abandoned her pack for some unknown reason is also huge. Then I learn that some are happy I am here, and some, like Ziva, are not. You add Kate mating with Galen on the first damn night, and now you are telling me I could still shift, and if so, could find myself challenging for Alpha of a pack I didn't know existed until yesterday? I think I need a drink."
"You're not old enough to drink." Elam said it with a teasing grin.
"I'm old enough to tie myself to a wolf pack forever, by having sex, like Kate just did. I'm old enough to run the damn place if I shifted and won a challenge, but I'm not old enough for a drink?"
His laughter warmed some hidden place in her heart, and she elbowed him hard in his side when she realized he was only teasing her.
And she immediately regretted the touch.
Flashes like the ones she saw last night flipped through her mind again. And again, she saw herself entwined with Elam in varying private and passionate positions.
Her breathing quickened, her skin flushed pink, almost as if she was really there with him. Really wrapping her legs around his waist and tugging his mouth down to meld with hers. Really tilting her head back and welcoming his bite as he impaled her with both his hard cock and his sharp, pointed teeth at the same time, marking her as his the same way Kate had been marked.
The pictures faded and she found herself staring into Elam's eyes instead.
He was watching her again, his brow furrowed in concentration. His nostrils flared as if he could smell the heated change in her body, the warmth now flooding her thighs.
"Your mother could do that, as well." Elam's words got her complete attention.
"Do what?"
"See the future. Know what was to come."
"How do you know
that I saw anything?"
"I wasn't here yet when your mother was Alpha. Galen had just been born, when she left. It was right after Reine conceived you, and they hadn't found me yet, taken me in, but I have heard the whispered stories. How she looked when the possible paths were playing out in her mind. We have free will, nothing is set in stone, but some things are more probable than other things. I've heard that Reine had the gift of sight, and it seems that you do as well."
Emma just stared at him, trying to file away yet another tidbit of information about her mother.
"Does that happen to you often? Seeing?" Elam asked.
"No. Only twice ever."
"What possible paths did you see?"
"I saw only one thing, the same thing both times. And I highly doubt it was the future. Just my, I don't know, my stressed mind from everything here happening so fast."
"You saw only one path? Not the playing out of two?"
"I don't know what I saw. I mean, I know what I saw, I just don't know that it means anything."
"The way you looked at me...The way your scent changed...I can guess. You saw what I know to be true, didn't you? You and I? I didn't want to scare you off, but now I don't think that matters. You are to be my mate. My wolf told me it was to be when I first saw you trudging up here with Henry and Kate. You and I are to be one."
"No. You can't be my destiny, I don't believe in destiny. And I'm only here for a year."
"You said you've only 'seen' twice. When was the first time?"
Emma didn't want to answer him, but she knew from the look on his face that he already knew the answer to that question.
"Last night."
"The only two times you have ever 'seen' were the only two times we've ever touched?"
Her jaw stiffened with resolve, not answering him.
"Well then, let's see what happens when I do this."
With that, Elam leaned in and kissed her.
Emma had been kissed before, but never like this.
Elam's hands gripped her face between them, aiming her mouth just right before pressing his lips against hers.
