10. Zaire #2
I glance up to see a sprout of hair crawling up his arm before it bends impossibly in the wrong direction. Pain slices through my back before I can say something, as I curl up on the ground. A howl tears from my throat, Auden and Elio answering with their own cracked sounds.
My body shudders as hair sprouts all over, my legs starting to lengthen.
I cry out again as my face starts to feel like it’s stretching, my whole body changing and morphing.
I try to spread them and watch them curl instead, joints pulling inward while my nails push darker and thicker right in front of me.
“Oh, fuck.” The words break apart when my jaw locks.
Elio drops beside me with a shout. Auden reaches for him, then jerks backward so violently his knee hits the ground. My hips feel like they’re being torn open from the inside.
I try to push up and can’t. My legs are changing too fast beneath me, muscle tightening and bone shifting while my clothes pull in places they shouldn’t. Something cracks along my spine and another sound tears out of me.
The pain starts backing off slowly, leaving me shaking in the dirt. My jaw settles first, then my hips, then my back until I realize I’m no longer curled around myself.
I glance down to see a whole lot of black fur and four paws. Holy shit.
A small rumble catches my attention and I look up to see Auden in his fully amber coat and Elio in a midnight blue fur. Auden shakes out his coat, testing his paws. He stumbles to the right and then tries again, standing better the second time.
Dude, Auden starts, his words filtering into my mind. I think we’re werewolves.
No, shit, Elio grumbles stepping toward me. He stumbles forward and flops on top of me, letting out a rough sound. I roll over and pin him beneath me, licking his muzzle several times before Auden runs into us.
Quit it. We need to figure out how to shift back.
I look over at him and force myself to my feet. Working with four paws instead of two feet is very different. My eyes widen as something whips behind me and I twirl around, unable to see it.
What was that? I yell into our heads. Also, how are we hearing each other?
Elio snorts as he rubs his nose along my side. Who cares? Being in this body feels good as shit.
Something whips behind me again and I move to look at it to find Auden in my face. It’s your tail, dipshit. Get used to it. Can we focus for a minute?
I take a deep breath, realizing that Auden is seconds away from freaking out. Out of the three of us, he’s the one who loses his shit last. I bow my head a little toward him, nuzzling against his fur.
He lets out a soft sound, a mini howl that brings out my own need to respond. Elio follows suit until the three of us are lifting our heads to the nearly full moon, bellowing from somewhere down deep.
What is this? It feels like I’m calling to the moon, Elio jokes.
I start to respond when a howl reverberates the forest. I twist around to search for the sound, all three of us huddling closer to each other. Please tell me you guys smell Khal. I can’t be the only crazy one.
Auden rubs his head against mine. Is it weird that I want to move toward that howling?
Yes. Don’t go into the light! Elio jokes.
The howl comes again, the three of us moving toward the sound until I realize that it’s not as far off as I thought. My gaze sharpens through the darkness, something shifting a few front in me.
I squint and catch two deep yellow eyes hovering above my head. When I focus a bit better, I realize the eyes are set in a wolf’s head, a wolf much larger than the three of us. Holy shit, that wolf’s huge as fuck!
I stumble back, Elio tripping over me. Auden stands in front of us, baring his teeth just as the howl comes again, followed by a growl that shakes the trees. My body tenses, warmth spreading through my limbs as the fur recedes.
“Wha-at?” The question comes out broken as I find myself human again, butt-ass naked in the middle of the forest.
Elio is sprawled over my back legs, Auden kneeling in front of me. “Holy shit, that’s a rush. What’s going on? Who are you?” Auden shouts at the wolf.
I sit up a little, pulling Elio into my lap, about to fight off the furry creature with whatever adrenaline is left when the fur starts fading away. I frown, confused until Khalil steps out of the dark mass, just as human and naked as we are.
“No fucking way,” I mutter. “Werewolves are real and you’re one. Fuck, you turned us.”
Khalil sighs, dragging a hand through his hair. “That’s now how any of this works.”
“How did you find us? Are you spying on us?” Elio asks as he pushes to his feet, apparently completely unashamed we’re all standing here with our dicks out.
“Because you said it was one last time and now we’ve spent a week fantasizing over your knot and growing wolf abilities.
I mean, do you see all this hair?!” He points to himself and I snort at the mass of hair across his chest and down his torso.
His is not as thick as mine and Auden’s but it’s a lot more prominent than it was a few days ago. Khalil steps closer, Elio moving in the same direction until he sags against the older man’s chest.
I watch as Khalil wraps himself around my boyfriend, Elio relaxing for the first time in almost a week. His scent sweetens until it’s almost a thick syrup, Khalil’s nostrils widening before the man dips to kiss Elio’s temple.
Auden pushes to his feet, helping me to mine. “Okay, start fucking explaining. No, who is that?!”
Another wolf starts moving toward Khalil, a light grey fur reflecting the moonlight. Khalil lets out a heavy growl, tightening his hold on Elio. Elio lets a soft whine that morphs into a purr, the grey wolf shifting into another human.
I throw my hands up, frustrated. “Lovely, do you have a whole ass pack, Khal? Please tell me one of you can explain what the fuck is going on?”
The man clears his throat. “It’s not Khal. It’s Alpha to you all.” He straightens up a little. “Now, I’m Amos and I would start with an entire spiel if you had been introduced properly.” Amos glares over at Khalil, my body moving me without my permission toward him.
He lets out a rumbling purr as I tuck myself into his other side, Auden following until we’re all pressed around the guy.
Amos just laughs. “Alpha, you can’t deny their yours any longer. Now, boys, I can explain quite a bit.” He gestures toward the open door with his mug. “But perhaps we should start by getting the three of you inside before everybody else comes looking for the wolves they just felt joining the bond.”
I stare at him. “The what?”
Elio huffs out a timid laugh, though the spark of fear running through him is something I can almost taste. “No. Back up farther than that.”
Auden rubs a hand over his face before looking toward Khalil. “Preferably all the way back to why Khal can turn into a wolf.”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it, shaky enough that I lean more of my weight into Khalil. His expression softens when he looks at me, and whatever is moving behind his eyes makes that same pull under my ribs tighten again.
Amos shakes his head. “Let’s makeour way to the Alpha’s house so we can discuss this properly. You’ve had a very long night already, and it’s about to get considerably more interesting.”
We make it two steps before I stop. “You still haven’t answered me.”
Amos glances back over his shoulder.
I gesture between myself, Elio, Auden, and then Khalil. “So, we’re werewolves? What does this all mean? I’m not going anywhere until I get a few answers.”
His smile comes much slower this time. “You’re the new members of the Hawthorne Pack, apparently.
” His attention shifts to Khalil before returning to us.
“And judging by the way your Alpha nearly tore through half the bond when you shifted, I suspect that’s only the beginning of what we need to discuss. ”
Khalil closes his eyes briefly. Elio makes a quiet sound beside me while Auden’s grip tightens around my arm, and I stand there naked in the grass trying to decide which part of that sentence I hate most.
Amos just lifts his mug toward the open door. “Welcome to the Hawthorne Pack, boys. Meet your new pack Alpha.”
I nod, trying to take it all in before his words register. “Wait, hold the fuck a minute. We’re mated to the fucking lead of the pack?”