It’s 8 am when my eyes finally open, since I felt I deserved a little sleep-in. Look, I know 8 am doesn’t sound like a sleep in but compared to my usual schedule it is. I can see Zara is still softly sleeping away in my mind and I smile. Perfect, I can execute my plan. But I can’t risk her waking up or knowing what I’m doing, so I put a barrier up between us in my mind.
I rarely ever do this, a lot of people – especially those at odds with their wolf spirit – tend to keep them silenced fairly often. I think it’s quite cruel and stupid. I could never keep Zara locked away like that, I love her too much. That may sound vain since I’m talking about a personality in my head, but Zara is her own entity, we just share a vessel is all.
Getting out of bed I give my body some stretches and twists before I leave my room and the Alpha suite. On my way downstairs several pack members stop me to kindly wish me a happy birthday and I thank each of them. I then make it outside and begin my trek into the woods.
We wolves are very durable so the rocks and twigs under my feet don’t bother me in the least. As I walk deeper into the woods – staying on pack territory – I keep my nose to the wind and ears open.
I’m on the hunt.
I can hear and smell some small animals nearby but I’m hoping to find something a little bigger, maybe a stag. I decide to try a different direction when a scent makes its way to me on the wind; a grin splitting across my face. This is perfect!
I strip out of my pyjama shorts, top and underwear then place them over a tree branch. We are more than accustomed to nudity, it’s not that big a deal. Depending on the day, if a human entered the territory they might mistake us for a nudist colony.
Once I’m in my birthday suit – HA! Birthday suit, get it? Because today’s my… oh never mind.
Anyway, I drop the barrier in my mind and am met by a very displeased Zara.
“What the hell, Amelia? Why was I waking up to a barrier?” she sneers. I giggle at my grumpy wolf.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” I shout in my mind. Her sneer vanishes and she’s immediately yipping and wagging her tail with glee.
“Happy Birthday Amelia,” she giggles shaking her head. “How do I fall for that every year?” she says in amusement.
“Good to know I can still surprise you,” I say cheerfully.
Technically speaking, wolf spirits don’t have birthdays, or at least no one I know gives their wolf a birthday, but I do. Zara has been with me since birth; in my eyes that was the day she was born, so I happily share my birthday with her. Each year I put up a barrier just long enough to put a surprise together and drop it for the reveal, she’s so unaccustomed to the barrier that she never realises what I’m doing. Works every time.
“Time to shift, Zara.” This makes her ears perk up.
After a moment of searing heat, I’m quickly on all fours shaking out my fur. Immediately everything around me becomes amplified. The colours around me are more vibrant, the smells more prominent and the sounds more amplified.
The first shift is the worst, mine took four hours and twenty-three minutes and was absolute hell. For over four hours all I did was scream and writhe in pain while every bone in my body broke and rearranged. The second shift was a significant improvement, and by the third shift, there was no pain. Now it takes me a couple of seconds to shift and instead of pain all I feel is a burst of searing heat spread through my body and then it’s gone.
Zara is a stunning wolf; I was in awe the first time I saw her form. She is black and white but in a unique way. She’s black on the top half of her coat going from the tip of her nose down to the tip of her tail and she’s white on the bottom half from the tip of her jaw again to the tip of her tail. She looks like she walked through white paint and ended up dip dyed. She’s also a good 6’5” tall, which is pretty normal for Alphas.
Alphas are commonly around the 6 feet mark as are other ranked wolves with other wolves usually being around 4-5 feet, but the Alpha is always the biggest in the pack. Dad is two inches taller than me in wolf form.
“So what’s my surprise?” Zara asks excitedly.
“You tell me,” I reply coyly.
I give Zara full control and feel as her ears are perked up listening to her surroundings and I watch as she points her snout up and sniffs the air just as a gentle breeze moves past and I know she caught the scent.
“No way!” she exclaims making me chuckle.
“I was surprised too, but it’s just perfect. It’s all yours, girl,” I tell her.
“Oh, thank you, Amelia, this is going to be awesome!” she exclaims again as she takes off into the woods at top speed; the trees around us becoming a blur.
Zara and I have had an understanding since we first shifted; when in wolf form I would give her complete control because technically speaking this is her body; I would just be the passenger giving guidance. When in human form I would be in control, and she would be the passenger. The only time we would relinquish these roles is if we felt the other was in dire need or danger. We are a team. We have mutual respect and understanding and that’s what makes us so unbeatable.
I just chill in the back of her mind while I watch her do her thing.
She is an exceptional hunter; she was approaching her prey at lightning speed but slowing down the closer she got until she began taking tentative steps as she crouched down, and her eyes locked on their prize.
Damn it was huge!
Standing near a stream lapping at the water was a moose that had to be at least 6 and a half feet tall at the shoulder and if I had to estimate, weighed around one thousand pounds. I couldn’t believe the luck when I caught its scent on the wind, and the breeze is working to her advantage. She’s currently crouched downwind, so the wind is blowing her scent away from the moose, making it easier to catch her prey by surprise.
While I’m content with cake and music for my birthday, Zara is a wolf and deserves to have moments where she can be herself, and hunting for food in her own body is what she loves to do. For an Alpha wolf to bag such a large kill like this, well, that’ll boost her ego for ages.
I watch as Zara slowly edges closer to the unsuspecting animal, her body coiling ready to strike. At breakneck speed she lunges at the moose tackling it to the ground, landing a shallow swipe of her claws to its side as she leaps off it giving it a chance to get back up.
I can see the fear in the wounded animal’s eyes, but also its determination to survive. It gets up and charges at Zara aiming its antlers right for her, but she’s quick to dodge them, manoeuvring to the back of the moose. She quickly attacks biting into its hind leg and tugging it back causing it to drop to the ground as it lets out a cry of pain. She lets it go and moves back and I simply roll my eyes.
Yeah, Zara could have killed it in the first strike, but she’s the play with her food type. Thank the Goddess she doesn’t do this during real fights.
Zara gives the poor moose one more chance to fight back before she sinks her teeth into its throat going for the kill. She clamps her jaw down hard and I hear and feel its neck snap between her teeth. Just like that the animal is finally dead and Zara begins to dive into her kill enjoying her oversized breakfast.
After gorging on moose, Zara heads back to where I left my clothes collecting them in her mouth, then makes her way back to the packhouse. I can feel her muzzle is covered in blood and no doubt the white in her fur is now a garish crimson red, which is now getting on my clothes that are in her mouth, but I don’t mind. Besides, we wolves are used to getting blood on our clothes.
“Thank you for the birthday surprise. I feel so lucky to have been paired with you,” she says, and I can feel through our connection how sincere she is; it warms my heart.
“My pleasure Zara, same time next year?” I chirp.
“It’s a date,” she chuckles.
Our soon to be Alpha is officially 21!
Returning to the packhouse Zara’s appearance gets a lot of notice. People nod in respect, some look concerned while others are smirking. Vitali bounds over to us with a big smile on his face.“Good morning birthday ladies. Want me to hose you down?” he asks jovially. Zara just snorts, though I can tell she is very tempted by the offer of playing with a hose. Sometimes she’s like a giant puppy dog.“I heard that! How very dare you?!” she exclaims making me chuckle. Zara pushes herself back and pushes me forward as I take over the shift and with a quick burst of heat I’m back on two legs and throwing my clothes back on.“So what did you find for her this time?” he asks curiously.“A moose, a huge one,” I grin proudly as his eyes widen.“Not that I’m surprised, but way to go, Zara,” he applauds making Zara preen inside my head. The moment is interrupted by a s
Before I knew it, it was quarter to six and the party was about to start. I get up and slip my shoes back on and take my hair down which now has a natural wave in it from drying while up in my hair clip. I once again make the journey downstairs to the back of the packhouse and down to the training grounds and holy crap! It looks like an outdoor club. I’ll say this for my mother, she knows how to throw a party. The smell of different types of foods is permeating the air making me salivate and my stomach is instantly ready to pig out again. If I weren’t a wolf I’d be the size of an elephant, I swear. The training ground is almost unrecognisable except for the bleachers. The track and sparring field has been covered by a massive light-up dancefloor that can fit the whole pack. Tall speakers surround the dancefloor and down the far end, a DJ booth has been set up. Closer to the packhouse are tables with all assortments of foods and I even notice there are strobe
You ever have those moments in life that feel like the calm before the storm? That’s what I’m realising yesterday was. Yesterday was filled with joy and celebration, but ever since I woke up this morning I’ve felt the clouds of impending doom lingering over me. Bad things are coming. Call it wolf senses, women’s intuition or whatever you like, but I can feel in my very bones that trouble is waiting for me just around the corner. The day has been another round of festivities. The outdoor rave was dismantled in record time and replaced by a good old fashioned barbeque. Picnic tables with the classic red and white checkered cloths have been set up around the back of the packhouse and a small stage has been erected. I’m dressed in a simple white satin blouse and a full length ruffled white skirt with white sandals. Casual but classy. This should be a positive setting, but unlike the excited energy, I felt yesterday, today everyone feels apprehensive and it has me on edge
The pack is making their way to the training field as I get to the backdoor, my mind replaying all the fights and training I’ve seen Declan in over the years and what strategy I can come up with. I’m deep in thought when Ryker steps in my path blocking the doorway. “I can’t wait to see my father sink his teeth into your pretty neck. But honestly, I hope he shows you mercy because I’d just love to have my fun with you when this is over,” he says sickeningly. I suppress the shudder of disgust that wants to roll over me. I want to hurl; Declan and Ryker have some serious screws loose in their heads. I look up at him, my eyes and face devoid of any emotion, causing him to blink in surprise. “Watch your back, Ryker. Because after I kill your father today, my eyes will be on you,” I say impassively and I watch him gulp, shock evident on his face which he quickly replaces with a snare. “Enjoy death, bitch,” he hisses before storming off. I smirk and head up
This past week has been hectic as hell. After getting challenged; killing two people I was practically raised by and getting my nose fixed, I got started on my Alpha duties. The following day we had a ceremony officially making Vitali, Tyson and Chris my Beta, Gamma, and Delta. It went off without a hitch and the transition process for the most part has been pretty smooth. We then had a small funeral for Beta Declan and Saree, to which very few showed up to. Since then we’ve been in meetings each day going over pack paperwork and evaluating the current state of the pack and discussing what changes – If any – we’d like to make. Tyson has begun implementing his new training regime which everyone seems to be loving so far. As the Gamma, his job is to oversee the training of pack members, our warriors and handle overall pack security. His father wasn’t thrilled about him making changes to the training routine of the pack, but once he saw it in action, the pride was all o
We’re one week away from the Vernal Ball and there has already been another threat mailed to me since then. A generous offer of ‘Give up now and I’ll let you live.’ It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. As wolves we’re no strangers to violence, when someone wants to pick a fight, we fight. But this person wants to toy with me first, try and get in my head, make me paranoid. Can’t say it’s working. I’m not scared and I’m definitely not paranoid, in fact, I’m grateful for the letters and I look forward to the next one. Each letter I receive tells me a bit more about my invisible enemy. In the first letter, they made sure to refer to me by my name but never call me Alpha directly. This is a blatant form of disrespect among wolves and is enough to start a feud, so this tells me they do not see me as a real Alpha. They want my pack, so that means they’re power-hungry. The fact they offered to spare me if I hand over my pack denotes arrogance; they think they’re doing
Standing in front of the full-length mirror in my closet I look over every inch of myself repeatedly. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous. Right now, the urge to throw up is extremely high. Tonight is the night of the Vernal Ball and I have been working tirelessly to make sure everything is perfect. Mum and Evalyn took over for a bit so I could come upstairs and get ready and now I’m just trying to steel myself to go downstairs. For tonight I wanted to look my best, so I’ve done light makeup going for a natural look. My blonde hair has been styled in curls and pinned into an elegant up-do, with moonstone clips decorating my curls. My dress is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever put on my body. The dress has a sheer high neck at the front with a V-cut in the back and is adorned with black sequined patterns scattered over the sheer fabric. It moves down into a sweetheart bust with a dark green bodice adorned with black sequin patterns. The bodice
The intoxicating scent is flooding my senses and I can barely focus. My feet start moving of their own accord in search of the source. I move past a few people and that’s when I see him. At that moment it was like time stopped. All sights and sounds had funnelled out and all I can see is him. “ANIMAI! HE’S OUR ANIMAI!” Zara starts screaming in my head like a foghorn. She didn’t have to say it. I knew it as soon as I smelt him. He looks… there are no words to describe him. He is positively the most gorgeous man to ever walk the face of this earth. He’s 6’5”, with luscious shoulder-length black hair that I desperately want to run my fingers through. He has deeply tanned skin and his green/brown eyes – that reminds me of the forest in spring – are glowing brightly as he stares at me. I think I’ve stopped breathing. He’s inhumanly gorgeous. He has a wide jaw, a full but pointed nose and plump lips that I want to devour nestled among a neat short