Tyler had asked her to see if she could find the scent of one of the patrols and to follow it until she had run a full perimeter; so she struck out straight towards the boundary line ignoring any other scents of wolves merely going for a run. Besides, the perimeter run should be thick with the scent of her fellow pack members. She stumbled past a strong scented trail that was well within their borders and she slowed down uncertainly. As far as she knew Alex had only two trails set up for the perimeter runs; so this should be the first.
[Which trail are we taking; the inner or the outer run?]
[The inner run is best for now as the outer run is rather long and can be pretty tedious if you have to run the whole one. That is why our fathers decided to split the outer run into three groups that overlap by a mile and the inner run is done by two teams also with a mile overlap. Are you tired; or do you think we can see how fast you can go while keeping your nose in the trail?]
Mandy huffed at him and it came out as a very wolf-like snort. [Please try to keep up Ty!]
With that she shot off to the left, surprising him be tackling the run anti-clockwise in stead of the usual clockwise he was used to. Chuckling to himself he did a quick turn about and set off after her trying very hard to suppress his natural instinct to run her down and force her to submit to him. Because he now basically had two sets of instincts running simultaneously; he could allow the more basic and animal part of him to navigate his way through the forest while another part of him could watch her. And watching her certainly was going to be the highlight of his day.
Tyler felt pleased that his initial assessment of her was correct in that her slightly thicker than usual legs – for a female wolf that is – still allowed her to set a pretty grueling pace. Closing the gap some more she instinctively increased her pace; easily keeping her lead and increasing it again. Grinning internally, he matched her pace and took the time to notice that she always managed to stay more or less in the centre of the trail. He was pleased that she had been able to make a smooth transition as far as her senses were concerned. Sometimes new wolves had a bit of a struggle with the sensory overload and it took them a few days to settle into their fur as it were. Mandy had gone through it like a pro; and he couldn’t be prouder of her.
[Enough running for now squirt, let’s try something else; OK?]
[Struggling to keep up are you?]
There was more play in her voice than seriousness, and Tyler let the comment pass without reacting on it. When he reached her where she had stopped, he sank down and wormed his furry body into the cool grass under the tree and after only a short hesitation, Mandy joined him.
[Everything feels different. It looks different, smells different and it even feels different.]
[Yes.] Tyler agreed as he stuck his neck out and allowed the wind to ruffle the thick, almost mane like hair in his neck. [You will notice that most of your senses will not go back to quite human the more you shift. I think it makes the change easier on shifters when the difference from on to the other is not that big.]
She did not reply. She did not have to. At the moment no words were needed. They were both happy and content to just be together for now.
[Is this only the second time you changed?] He asked her after a long while.
[Actually, no. I went to sleep in my wolf form last night.]
[Weren’t you hot?!]
It took her a while to reply and by then Tyler was more than interested in what she had to say.
[Mandy?]
Huffing as she loudly expelled the air in her lungs, she almost deflated. [Must have been; I woke up lying on top of my bed, naked.]
The image rocked through his mind. The most he had seen of her bare skin had been the bit yesterday after she had wounded him and she had tried to help him. Thinking about that did not help either. He remembered the way her very naked body had rubbed up against his when she was worried about him. Actually, he did not get to see that much at all, but he could clearly recall the curve of her side and waist with the slightest glimpse of the swell of her breast.
He only became aware of his low growling when she growled loudly at him; her wolfy lips curled away from her teeth in warning.
[Sorry. You can not say things like that to me and not expect this kind of reaction. Especially when I am in wolf form.]
Mandy whipped her head at him in surprise. [I thought you two halves had merged and that the ‘wolf’ wouldn’t get all worked up?]
A sharp burst of air ruffled the hair in her neck when he nudged her with his snout. [Regardless of how well my two sides have joined; you are my mate and on the animal level there are not as many emotions to cloud the issue as far as being your mate is concerned. We have been waiting for you for a very long time now Mandy and that period when you and I weren’t talking has made me realize that I need to make the most of everything; at all times. So yes; you saying things like that is going to twist me up and wring me out like a piece of sponge.]
Mandy relaxed back into the cool grass as she thought about he had just said. His acknowledgement thrilled her and frightened her at the same time. She had spent a small part of last night thinking about what her change meant for them as a couple. Tyler had made no secret that he was willing to wait until she had graduated from school; and while she appreciated that; there was another piece of her that resented the fact that the waiting part seemed so easy for him. Before she could get her self all worked up; she concentrated on other things instead.
Like her training. On a very private level, she had expected this morning’s training session to be a lot more intense. The wolfy part of her had constantly wanted to break loose and show Tyler exactly what she was capable of and it had cost her a lot to keep it as civil as she could. During the training she had seen in the small ways he tried to hide from everybody how pleased he was at her progress and it had frustrated her to no end. If he had been so pleased; why didn’t he really put her through her paces himself like he had promised last night instead of getting Alex and her dad to train with her?
Watching him through the corner of her eye, she thought that perhaps he did not want to spend the day fighting and arguing. And as eager as she was, perhaps that is a good thing. Even now she could feel the restlessness boiling inside her; the wolf was eager to test her own limits and see what he really was capable of because nobody else had ever come close to him.
She had noticed that she was much bigger than her father, and that Alex was about half way in between herself and her dad. Not even once in her wildest dreams had she entertained the idea that she would be anything other than a regular wolf. And what Tyler said was true in a sense; with his wolf as remarkable as he is, they should have at least thought about the possibility of her being larger than the other females. A shiver of anticipation rolled over her as she thought about what lay ahead of them. Being her usual realistic self; she also knew that there was undoubtedly trouble ahead of them; but she refused to think about it right now. Now all she wanted to concentrate on was the cool wind ruffling her fur and her mate lying here right beside her.
Tyler was quite content and wouldn’t have minded to spend the rest of the day right here with Mandy. It never stopped amazing him how much she completed him. When he noticed her restless sighing, he decided that they should get going.
[OK squirt; up and at ‘em.]
[At last! I never thought you were ever going to get going.]
He was up already and he bumped into her as she got to her feet; making her stumble to the ground. [Try to keep up!]
[You cheated!]
Her indignant cry echoed in his mind as he shot a quick glance over his shoulder, she was still frozen there in an undignified bundle on the ground, her wolfy mouth wide open as she gaped after him. It was such an endearing picture that he unknowingly slowed down to watch her. Her cry of warning came a mere second before he careened into a tree. Utterly surprised that something like that could ever happen to him; he fell to the ground with a hard bump.
Within seconds she was hovering over him. [Are you alright?]
[I’m fine.]
Mandy was glad she did not have to fight back a smile at the petulance in his voice; but when he stood up and faced her; she could not keep it in. He had some dried up leaves matted in the fur on his face and it looked so darn funny.
With a scowl on his face he watched her crack it up and he could not help but feel the tiniest bit annoyed at her for laughing at him that way. When the seconds grew into minutes his annoyance dissolved. Seeing her like that would always make him happy; even if she was laughing at him.
When she could look at Tyler longer than a minute and not fall into another helpless fit of laughter; Mandy stood up on shaky legs. [Oh Ty,] she nuzzled the thick fur in his neck; [you make me laugh so much.]
[I know.]
Mandy chuckled at the reluctance in his ‘voice’. Trying to swipe the dead leaves off of his face with her snout was tricky, but she persisted until he was clean again.
This was heaven. It had to be, Tyler thought while Mandy tended to him. If this was a taste of what their future would be like, he could hardly wait. When she was happy that he was clean enough, he licked behind her ears. Wolves in themselves were not erotic creatures at all; but because they had a dual nature; even something as innocent as social grooming took on a completely different meaning.
Feeling daring, he licked and nuzzled down her neck and when she leaned into him; he growled softly in approval and encouragement.
This morning when Mandy had mentally prepared her self for the day; she had never imagined something like to happen. It was so unexpected. And so bloody good! Having never been exposed to much wolfy affection, this was surprising to say the least. And she could not get over how absolutely marvelous his fur felt against her. Then it struck her that technically, they were naked. Mandy froze. If she could feel the heat of her blush, would he be able to feel it too? Embarrassed, she inched away from him.
Tyler had much the same thoughts she had; and he was enjoying the intimate moment for as long as it would last. The moment he felt her withdraw from him, he tensed; trying very hard to curb his disappointment. She took another step away from him and suddenly, it angered him. She was his!
And of course, with Mandy being who she is; instantly knew what the sudden angry growl was all about.
[Tyler,] she spoke hesitantly as she nudged him with her snout; [we should get back.]
His growl warned her as he stalked closer to her and she knew that Tyler was not quite in control of the situation any more. Slowly Mandy lowered her body and lay down on the ground. If this had happened this morning; she would have reacted in a very different way; but after the few moments they had shared just now, there was no way she would antagonize him right now. She loved him too much to do that to him. Instead, she showed him with her actions and submission that she knew she belonged to him. Tyler’s whole body rumbled with approval as he stood over her, caging her body in with his four legs, and bit down on the fur and skin on her neck.
Standing over her like this was one of the most sensuous things he had ever experienced. He rolled the skin and fur between his teeth, biting down just hard enough not to break the skin. The sound of her heart rate increasing sent the blood soaring through his veins. His whole body was super sensitive to her. He could feel the heat rolling off of her in waves, hear the frantic beating of her heart and feel the soft brush of her fur on his under belly. Every little part of him was focused on her. On her responses to him and he marveled in them. Daringly he lowered his belly to rub against her and it thrilled him when she arched her back into him, trying to get closer to him as well.
For longer than a few minutes they tempted fate as they enjoyed being this close to each other; and he would have stayed like that for much longer if he hadn’t become aware of some subtle change. It took him a while longer than it normally would have taken him to realize what had changed. And he only realized what it was because he suddenly had the urge to bite down. The need to mark and claim her now sent icy chills down his spine. For much longer than he liked, he debated over whether it would be such a bad thing right now.
Mandy felt the change in him and when he suddenly jumped away from her she was confused and hurt, until he growled at her accusingly.
[You have gone into mating heat.]
Oh. Mandy thought as she tried to process his words as the reason for his very sudden strange behavior. [Oh!]
Her first instinct was to get away from him as quickly as she could; but Cassy had done her job very well and even before she had completely perceived what her initial impulse was; she recalled all the lessons Cassy gave them that no matter what; you never ran from a wolf. It took everything she had to stand still and not give in to the sudden panic; until she remembered that this was Tyler. He would never hurt her or do anything that she did not want. She took the time to gather herself properly before she stood up and faced him.
[Are you OK?] She asked hesitantly when he took a few steps further away from her.
[I’m not sure; just give me another moment please.]
Mandy nodded and tilted her head as she watched him intently. [Do you want me to leave?]
[No!]
He looked ready to pounce on her if she moved; so she stood absolutely still. [I am not going anywhere; don’t worry.]
[Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out the way it did.] To his surprise Mandy huffed at him impatiently.
[Just stop apologizing already! Do you know how many times you have said ‘sorry’ to me this last twenty four hours?]
[Sorry.]
[Seriously?]
[I’m sorry!]
[Tyler; have I been such a monster lately that you feel you have to keep on apologizing?]
[No! Of course not!] Tyler took a few careful steps closer to her. [It’s just that everything I say seems to come out all wrong Mandy. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you to change. Waiting and longing for it and dreading it at the same time. Does that even make any sense to you?] Spinning around he started pacing up and down in the small area between the trees. [This is supposed to be a special time for you!} He said angrily as she stomped around. [You did not even get to go on a run yesterday after your change. Instead; you have your first kill behind you. That is NOT something I wanted for you.] A furious growl rumbled through him and echoed in the trees. [And the things I am thinking about doing to you could put me away in jail for a very long time.]
[You are my mate!] Her protest only managed to fuel the fire in him. [Besides; I am most likely thinking of doing the exact same things anyway.]
[It’s not the same! You are a minor Mandy; you are barely sixteen and in less than ten days I will be twenty four! That makes it illegal.]
[It’s not fair.]
Her soft and petulant protest made him bite back a bitter comment on how life was seldom fair to anyone. He was trying desperately not to think about what she could be thinking of doing with him. Just trying to imagine it was pure torture while her scent was literally killing him. He wanted to run away or lock her up in his room to keep her all to him self. [Let’s go back home. I think it would be better, for a while, if you and I do not train together. I would still like to keep an eye on things; but it would probably be best if my dad or yours took over for now. At least until your heat has passed. It would be safest that way.]
Reluctantly she followed him. When she had started out ahead of him; he had quickly stopped her when he told her that it was too tempting with her running in front of him like that and they ended up running side by side. The first couple of times when he had growled softly, she had almost snapped at him; until she thought about how hard it must be for him to be running next to her like this. So; every time he would growl, she would either slow down or move closer to him. That seemed to keep him calm enough for now.