by Livell James
Gifts usually manifested between the ages of five and ten, and she’d assumed since her fox woke inside her so late in life, that she was going to be a rare shifter who didn’t have a gift at all.
But maybe this was it. She’d only heard of one other shifter who was rumored to have that ability—Jessica Matthews of the War Cats tribe. But Jessica’s was brought on by the fact that she came from a clan of witches who’d bestowed their magic on her, making it possible for her to have two animals.
Alley didn’t have any magical powers, other than the magic of being a shifter itself. So, it made sense that this could be her shifter gift.
It was something she’d think more on later, though. She had too much going on at that moment to dwell on what her shifter gift might be. She rolled over and placed her feet on the floor, clueless to what the day had in store for her once she left the room. Fear ran through her at the thought of what awaited outside the door.
Yes, she was at her father’s house, but she didn’t know the man at all. Hell, she didn’t think she knew any wolf shifters for that matter. His pack may not even accept her. Did he have other children in this pack? So many questions filled her mind, but she knew that she would never get all the answers. She had a family back home and wasn’t sure a pack of stinking ass wolves were something she wanted as family.
For now, she wanted nothing more than to take a shower, but she had no clothes other than the ones on her back. She didn’t care though, the shower was happening. She would walk around naked if she had to. They were shifters after all, so no one would really notice right? After getting the water heated to just the right temp, she entered the shower that was the size of a small closet. She placed her body under the rain showerhead, letting the water rain down on her. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift away, the water warming her body as it trickled over her breasts.
She reached for the body wash, only opening her eyes only for a moment. She squeezed the bottle, letting the strawberry smelling soap flow onto the washcloth. Her mind drifting off again, letting thoughts of the man she saw a few days ago standing naked in the woods. His abs, that dark skin shining in the light, that huge cock.
Oh, not our mate huh?
She pushed the animals to the back her mind, quieting them—this was her moment. The moment she let her hand carry the washcloth to her clit. Washing over it caused a tingle, a tingle that she could not just let go. Letting the washcloth fall to the shower floor, she let her fingers find her spot, a finger on either side of her clit. A slight moan escaped her lips just before she let her middle finger slip inside her. At that moment, flashes of Maxwell on top of her flowed through her mind. Another finger found its way in. The motion of her hand sped up and as she let herself go, she reached her climax. Heat built inside her causing her knees to go weak, and she was hardly able to hold herself up when she felt the release of her orgasm. That was the most amazing orgasm she had ever given herself. She moaned so loud, she worried someone might have heard her. The wolf pushed forward and it was all she could do to keep it from howling right there in the shower.
How was she to control two animals? Hell, she had just gotten the fox to stop shifting in anxiety and now she had to control the thoughts of a wolf.
Alley finished her shower and reached for a towel. Her thoughts wandered back to having two animals as her gift, and she wondered if she really could take on the shape of both animals, or would the wolf only be a part of her mental awareness? Could she embrace the power of both animals even if she was in the form of the fox?
Being in this room had her feeling like she was locked in the cell at prison again. Spending this amount of time alone always made her mind race with so many thoughts and questions. The quiet was good for some things, but while dealing with everything at once, not so much. She had to get out of this room.
Before she could put on her clothes, a knock on the bedroom door startled her. Wrapping a towel around her, she walked into the other room and cracked opened the door.
A small lady with long black hair stood on the other side. Her eyes were the color of the sky and her face was beautifully framed by her silky black hair. One deep breath and Alley knew she was a wolf. She took another breath and, she thanked God she didn’t have that smell. The human senses would never pick it up as any shifter would smell normal to them, but in their shifter world they all had their own distinct smells—and the wolves had the strongest of the smells.
The lady pushed herself into the door, causing Alley to stumble out of the way, her eyebrow raising as she watched the other woman.
“Hi, Alley, I’m your cousin Ashley. Your dad figured you and I were close to the same size and asked me to bring you some of my clothes to wear,” she said in a deep southern accent.
Alley didn’t really know how to take it, that some strange girl claiming to be her cousin showed up at the door with a bag full of clothes. Clothes that she hoped didn’t smell like a wolf. How did mom even mate with a wolf. Ugh… Why the fuck did that thought even cross her mind, she wondered. But she was half wolf after all, she would just have to learn to accept it.
“Well thank you Ashley, I’m not sure how you timed that so well. I was just getting out of the shower and was worried I would have to wear a towel until I found the laundry room to wash my clothes.”
Taking the bag from her, she went back into the bathroom and put on the first pair a blue jean that she found in the bag, and a blue tee shirt to follow. Oddly enough the fit was perfect. She placed the bag on the floor and went back into the bedroom where Ashley was waiting on the bed.
“Come sit down, let’s chat for a bit,” her cousin told her.
Chitty chatty girl talk wasn’t really something Alley was a fan of, but she really hadn’t had anyone to talk to other than the inmates at the prison, and lord only knew, those conversations were never anything nice. She had mostly stayed to herself in there to keep from having to explain why she was even in there in the first place. She never really knew any of her family on her dad’s side, so maybe a little girl talk wasn’t a bad thing after all.
Alley took a seat on the bed beside Ashley.
“You’re my cousin huh?” A slight smirk crossed her face.
“I forget you haven’t met your wolf side of the family, Alley. My dad Tig and uncle Alford are brothers. He is the beta of the pack, and your uncle.”
“So, I have an uncle?” Alley replied.
“You have several, and a few aunts. Maybe a hundred or so cousins. Not all of them live here on the land though, most of them have moved away and started their own packs. Alley, it’s a lot to take in all in one day, I know, so you probably shouldn’t try. I’m just happy I got to meet you and hope you will stay with the pack for protection. You will be safe here and you’ll have plenty of people to have your back.”
Alley let her head fall forward, rubbing her hand across the back of her neck.
“Why would my parents keep this from me? I have a whole different side of my family I’ve never known. Hell, I never even knew my dad was a wolf shifter. I didn’t even know if he was a shifter at all, for that matter. I did know growing up he smelled different then us, but didn’t realize it was the smell of a wolf. I had never been around any wolf shifters until those two assholes kidnapped me.” Alley sighed.
“I am sure it was only to protect you, Alley. Wolf packs aren’t always known for being the nicest of the shifter kind, you know? But, our pack with the help of your dad, have been trying to help turn the wolf reputation around. Once your dad got word that you had escaped the prison, he got the brilliant idea to bring you here. It made it a little easier for them to catch up with you knowing that the prison was only a few hours away. He always talked about plans for you to become part of his pack. He just never acted on it until now, he couldn’t stand knowing you were running. The fact that you would always have to be on the run, bringing you here he thought he could keep you hidden and most of all protected. I really hope you decide to join the pack.
I could use another female around here.” Ashley stood from where she was sitting and walked towards the door.
“I will leave you to think about it for a while,” she finished.
Alley stood and moved herself in front of the door blocking Ashley from leaving.
“First, I am really happy that my dad wants me to be a part of this pack, and getting to know my family is a great thing. Second, and what I don’t like at all, is I feel as if he is trying to force me to do something that I am really not sure about, and third my animals seem to think we have found our mate. The fucked-up part is this mate is a falcon.
“I would like to get to know you and trust me I have a million questions, but I am not sure I can stay here. It would be a huge change, and if Maxwell is my mate, like the little wolf in my head thinks he is, I am sure the pack would not let us be here anyway.”
She’d barely gotten the words from her mouth when noises came from outside.
“Something’s wrong, Alley.” Ashley said before grabbing her by the arm. “Come with me, we have to get you in a safe place.”
“I am safe right where I am, remember I was in the pen for a while, I will be fine. You go find your safe place Ashley and I will catch up with you later.” Alley took her arm away and turn back into the room to look out the window.
She could not really tell what was going on as the view from the window was blocked by a huge oak tree. Not wanting to really stay in the room, she had to go outside to see what was going on, whether it was safe out there or not. She knew she was quick enough and would keep herself out of sight once she got out.
After going out the door into the hallway, she remembered she didn’t know where she was, this place was new to her. The house she stood in front of looked to be at the end of a long driveway, with a few other houses along the side. She walked out into the middle just before she heard a loud screech a bird, a predatory bird. No way, it couldn’t be? Was it Maxwell?
She stopped to cover her eyes in order to shade them from the sun, and sure enough the most beautiful creature she had ever laid eyes upon flew right over her. A black falcon. She knew of no other falcon besides Max. It had to be him. Had he really found her? How the fuck was this even possible? That moment was short lived when he just flew past as if he never even looked down to see her standing there.
Maybe you should have yelled, waved or something.
Chapter Eleven
Max wanted nothing more than to dive bomb the place and find Alley, but he knew he would be no match on his own with a pack of wolves. He flew back to his truck to gather his thoughts and to come up with a game plan.
He picked up the phone to search for Colton’s number and gave him a call. Thankfully he answered the phone this time.
“Hey Colton, man you will never believe this shit. My animal had to shift and needed to fly for a bit to let off some steam, after being in the air for a bit I found wolves hunting in the forest below me.” Max began.
“That’s normal Max, that’s what wolves do,” Justin chimed in.
Max shook his head as if Justin could see him gesturing no on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah smartass, I know that, but give me a second to finish. I sat in a tree watching them hunt for a while before I decided to follow them again. They lead me to their pack without even knowing, but that was short lived once someone on the ground noticed me as their pups were running and playing. I guess I freaked them out, thinking I was after their kids for food. So, the whole pack went running into hiding, and I didn’t stay around long as I didn’t think I stood a chance, fighting a pack of wolves on my own. But I have a feeling in my gut that Alley was there. My animal sensed it.” Max took in a breath, giving Colt a moment to reply.
“Your animal sensed it? From hundreds of feet away? Are you sure you’re okay, bro?” Colton had always given Max a hard time, but he knew that it really was possible for Max to sense things from miles away.
While it was true that most shifters couldn’t smell for miles—it was part of Maxwell’s shifter gift. It gave him a keen sense of his surroundings, and he could sense things from hundreds of miles away.
“I’m perfectly fine, it’s hard to explain right now. I just need someone to go in there with me and maybe we can talk to them without causing any trouble, or at least I hope so. Like I said, I just didn’t think it would be wise for me to dive into a wolf pack on my own.” Max opened the door and stepped out of the car.
“Max, I’m just giving you a hard time man, trying to calm you down. I have some guys in the area I can send over. Get someplace with an address and text it to me. I will have them meet you there. Please keep me updated on how everything goes. I remember you said she was your mate, and if that’s the case, your falcon will not rest until you have her back with you,” Colton said just before hanging up the phone.
He paced back and forth in front of the Tahoe a few times before he got in a drove back into town. After pulling into a small café parking lot, he looked everywhere before he finally found the small numbers on the door—2343—but there was no street name visible. He looked around, hoping to see a street sign. He knew better than to think there may possibly be a sign, but fuck he looked anyway.
With no other signs of a street name anywhere he decided it would be best to get out and go inside.
The café resembled that of an old waffle house building, plain and basic exterior matched with yellow booths and few tables inside. Once he was inside, it was like time stood still, old wood paneling on the walls, photos of food framed on the walls above the grill that looked as if they had been there for at least twenty years, and an old jukebox stood in the corner just before the tiny hall into the bathroom. Damn it was exactly like an old Waffle House, had the sign outside not said Sandy’s Diner he would have sworn he walked into one of the breakfast chain’s locations.
But that was beside the point—he needed an address. Deciding he had to wait for the others to meet him, he took a seat in one of the old yellow colored booths, with the fake wood Formica tabletop.
A lady with a white button up shirt, grey hair, and blacked frame glasses approached his table.
“Hey Hun, how are you today? What can I get ya to drink?” The lady’s smile was so big her eyes wrinkled along with her laugh lines as she handed him a small one-sided menu.
“Water’s fine. Thank you,” Max replied.
“Oh, that’s how you keep those big arms? Drinking water? Will you be eating with us?
“Yes, ma’am let me just get two eggs scrambled and that will be all,” he said, handing her the menu back. He tried not to laugh as she just stood staring at him.
“So, it’s water and protein? We don’t see many guys with muscle like that around these parts. All potbellies and skinny boys around here.” She laughed and turn to yell out his order to the cook.
“You’re funny, ma’am. I do have a question for you, if you don’t mind?” Max poured on his charm.
“Ask me anything, but if you’re gonna ask me to go home with you, my husband may not like that.” She laughed and Max laughed back.
“Ha, well there goes that idea. Honestly, I was only going to ask you for the address I have some friends meeting me.” He smiled. “Oh, and I’m still waiting for that water.” He hoped he didn’t sound like a smartass.
“You’re too damn cute, son. The address is 2343 Interstate Loop, and I will be right back with your water.” She turned and walked away.
Even though she failed to give him the town part of the address, it was okay because he already knew what town he was in. He also knew the more he talked to her, the longer she would stand at his table and not take care of other customers.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, texted the address to Colton, and waited for his reply. After finishing his food, he decided that he wanted to wait outside, as it would be best for them not to have to come into the restaurant. He made sure to tip the lady well before getting up and walking out the door.
; Well this is exciting, he thought to himself. He wished now that he would have just gone into the pack and found Alley, but again he had to assure himself it was best to have backup. After sitting on the bench outside for maybe fifteen minutes, he stood to walk toward the Tahoe, but within a few steps, another vehicle pulled into the parking lot. It was a blue Jeep Wrangler, with a black canvas top, and the two guys inside looked as if they were almost too big to fit.
Max squinted to get a better look. Twins? he questioned just before they opened the doors to step out. Yup they were twins, and they were fucking huge. Maxwell was a big man, but these two were much wider and maybe an inch or so taller. How the hell were they the exact same size in muscles, he wondered. Even being twins, it seemed odd to him. The one on the right did have a lighter color hair than the others jet black hair.
“You must be Maxwell?” the darker haired guy asked.
“That’d be me. You must be the guys Colton sent over. Are you Rogue Enforcers too?” Max had more questions, but he figured those would be a good start.
“Yes, we’re the ones he sent. No, we aren’t Rogues, just really good friends of Colton. We met Colt when he was here training another Rogue. Our family let them use our land for training purposes. He asked us to become a part of the Rogue Enforcers, but at the time it just wasn’t something either us could do and commit to the training—although we promised him we would always be there if he needed us for anything and today is your lucky day. I guess you could say we’re Rogue deputies.” The lighter haired guy laughs.
“Man, this is not the time for joking. Max, I’m Jake Montgomery and that guy is my brother Jared.” He stepped forward, put out his hand, and waited for Max to shake it.
Jake rubbed his hand through his hair and then stepped forward to shake Max’s hand.
“I wasn’t joking, you know.”
Max didn’t really know how to take the two going back and forth, but he knew if Colton sent them, they had to be pretty badass guys. More so seeing that he only sent the two of them to help take on a pack. He took a step back to gather his thoughts for a moment before he spoke again. His falcon could scene they were shifters, but he just couldn’t make out the animal.
