The Human's Alpha

Chapter 45

'Relax! I'm just messing around! Let's go for a run!' He says excitedly as he hops around me in a circle.

'Where's Chloe?' I ask.

'She's still nervous around a lot of people so she stayed back at my place.' He explains and heads off towards where we will meet the rest of the pack.

I take off in a run and it feels incredible. I've never felt so free and graceful as when I let my wolf take charge. I push my muscles hard until I reach the clearing. I look around noticing I'm alone.

'Where are you?' I ask Liam and Sam.

'Right behind you.' Liam answers.

I turn to see the two wolves speeding towards me.

'You're fucking fast, Luna.' Sam says with obvious pride.

Pack members quickly arrive. They each come up to me and bare their necks, showing their submission. It humbles me. I never realized I was missing such an important connection to them while I was human. I'm surprised to see nearly the whole pack came out to run with us. I look over at Liam, and he trots up to me. He nuzzles my cheek and rests his head over my neck. A protective movement I realize. He bumps his forehead against mine and licks my cheek.

'I love you.'

'I love you too, Liam.'

He bends his neck and howls towards the moon to signal the start of the run.

'How cliche.' I giggle and he narrows his eyes at me, which is hilarious on a wolf and turns to run.

He stands at the front of the group and waits for me.

'Come stand next to me. We are equals.' I trot up to stand beside him and wait.

'Are you ready?' He asks.

'Let's do this.' I respond.

He kicks off hard from the ground and I follow suit. Sam is only a few steps behind me and everyone else was right behind him. My heart ached a little at the spot behind me. The spot where Chloe should be. Now that I'm through this, I resolve to help she and Sam work through their issues to be the successful mates that I know they can be. To have the relationship that they both deserve.

I see a deer out of the corner of my eye and, before I can stop her, Violet veers off in that direction. Liam catches on quickly and follows me while linking the pack.

'Beta will take over from here. Apparently your Luna's wolf got distracted.' His tone is light with humor and affection. I hear snickers from the rest of the pack.

'Bring some back for me, Luna!' Sam says before the group rounds a bend, leaving Liam and I to stalk my prey.

'Stay low and quiet.' Liam says as he crouches towards the earth.

I follow suit, watching where I put my paws, avoiding any sticks that could snap and alert the deer to my presence.

I follow the deer, a medium sized buck, through some trees and towards a small stream.

'Good, Lily. Attack when he's distracted. Go for the throat. A clean kill. You want him to suffer as little as possible.'

I nod, too focused on my task to respond. I slink closer to the buck. He stops at the streams edge and looks all around him, scanning for predators. Liam and I stand stock still and he doesn't notice us.

As soon as his head lowers and he begins to drink, I push off hard with my paws and leap soundlessly through the air. I land on his back, sinking my canines into the soft fur of his neck. His blood seeps into my mouth and my wolf is suddenly incredibly hungry. She pulls his throat out in the next second, and the buck collapses on the forest floor.

'That was incredible, Lily.' Liam says. I look over at him as he pads over to me slowly.

'I can't believe I did that.' I say.

'Me neither. Your instincts are impressive.' He says as I lean down to tear the flesh from the deer. I go to take a bite and look up at him. He's standing there watching me, so I rip a chunk of meat off and throw it to him. I wait for him to eat it, but he doesn't move.

'What? You don't want any?' I ask a little hurt. I mean I killed this freaking deer the least he could do is try it.

'I'd eat that whole thing, actually. But it's your kill. You get the first taste.' The way he says taste makes me want to run back to our bed, but my stomach growls and my hunger wins out. I lean down to take a bite, and the bloody flesh soothes some instinct in me. The animal instinct that craves the kill. After I start Liam joins in and it doesn't take long for the deer carcass to be picked clean.

'Crap. We didn't save any for Sam.' Liam chuckles.

'He'll understand. Your wolf was hungry from your first shift. You're covered in  blood, how about we clean off in the stream?' He asks and nudges me towards the chilly water.

The water is soothing and I feel my fur cling to me. I splash around in the water a little, enjoying the peace and freedom. I look over at Liam, who is watching me intently. I splash him with water and he huffs at me before joining me in the stream. I walk over to him and rub myself against him again. I have this deep desire to make sure he smells like me. The movement reminds me of the way our bodies move together when we make love, and I'm desperately aching for that now. Liam must feel the same, because when he speaks he asks for what I long to give him.

'Shift back, baby. I want to hold you in my arms again.'