Chapter 37
*Adam's POV*
By nightfall all the preparations had been made. The baby was to stay with Riley. She was expecting and this would be good practice for her. With Sam safely looked after Josh made his way to our backyard along with Everleigh and Leo.
Mom and Dad both stood on the patio waiting. I checked my watch to see that it was 11pm. I pushed the sliding door open letting the cool air rush through the house. I scanned the sky for the moon and was thankful when I saw none. Our power was harnessed from the moon. A full moon means we are at our absolute strongest in our wolf form. The amount of power it gave us wasn't extremely substantial, but we needed her wolf to be as weak as possible tonight.
She couldn't spend the rest of her life sedated. This was our last chance to pull Lily out of her wolf. We would try both her dad and mine to see if either Alpha would be strong enough to her wolf to force her to shift.
I could hear her nails scratching against the floor as the sedation wore off. My own wolf whined wanting me to be by her side the second she opened her eyes. The large wolf staggered to the open door sniffing at the cool air. Her footsteps were shaky, and her eyes were still slightly unfocused. Her eyes closed with her snout raised in the air letting her nose guide her. That wasn't a good sign. She is relying only on her wolf instinct. I jogged to the center of the yard shifting into my own wolf. The change in energy caused her eyes to snap open.
She took a few steps towards me. As soon as her paws left the patio, Dad slipped to the door sliding it closed.
I had been staring at her wolf for over a day, but this was the first time I saw her awake and moving as she should. She was slightly smaller than Josh, but still one of the largest wolves I had ever seen. Her normal green eyes were a deep honey gold. The white fur glinted in the star light. She shook her head growling low.
Leo stepped forward first. While still in his human form he released a low growl. His shoulders were pushed back, and head held high. His own gold eyes were glowing in the night. The wolf turned at the challenge putting her back towards me.
"Lily. I call you forward." His voice was loud and clear. The wolf turned her head in curiosity and moved closer to him. She stopped a few feet away eyeing her dad as well as the woman peaking around his shoulder. "I command you to shift!"
Everleigh flinched at the authority even though it wasn't directed at her. Lily didn't move. A normal wolf having an alpha command directed at them would drop to their bodies to the ground and advert their eyes. This wolf turned her head the other way and twitched her ears.
"As your alpha, I command you to shift!" He tried again almost shouting. I heard Everleigh mutter a "Please."
When she realized, this man was trying to get her to submit she growled and crouched into an aggressive position. Her front legs dropped into a crouch, but her haunches remained in the air. Leo glanced over to my own Dad. His alpha would be slightly weaker than her father's just by sheer lack of alpha lineage, but if she saw him as her alpha that would be all that mattered.
Dad stepped forward this time. His hands were folded behind his back, and he kept his expression void as he drew her attention. As soon as Lily's attention was turned Leo pulled Everleigh's arm slightly guiding them closer to the sliding door.
"Shift." He didn't need to speak a full sentence. The power behind his words made the wolf sniff. She did not drop but did come out of her defensive position. She turned her head to the last man on the patio. Josh.
Her wolf whined, and I could see the pain written on his face. "Lily, are you in there?"
Another whine. "Shift!"
I thought I saw her head dip, but she shook it quickly and turned to bolt. Instead of a direct path to the woods she came face to face with me.
My heart skipped when I saw the specks of green that now floated in the gold. The wolf growled warning me to get out of the way. Instead, I made myself as large as I could, I puffed my chest and lifted my lips into a snarl. Her wolf would have to submit in some way for me to able to get to Lily.
I focused my eyes on hers as I walked slowly towards her.
'Submit.'
The wolf growled, but her head dipped ever so slightly. I could see the struggle as more tiny green spots appeared in her eyes. I released a small breath barely relaxing my muscles. The split second of weakness was all the wolf needed. She lunged at me teeth first. I felt the earth shake underneath me as a gust of wind pushed me away from the wolf.
I glanced at Trinity who had turned her back on the encounter. I looked back at the wolf who now had one gold eye and one green.
I began to circle the wolf growling low. It followed me making tight circles. She bared her teeth and attempted to snap in my direction, but every time she did something snapped her head back causing a whimper.
Every circle I made I moved closer while crouching my body lower. I slid into the wolf's circle putting the top of my head in the crook underneath her chin. The wolf paused. Confused. I could feel its pulse pounding against my ears.
She lifted her paw digging her claws into my shoulder. I whimpered as tiny pricks of pain spread through my front leg. I looped my head around her neck contorting like a snake. She flailed her head but couldn't make contact with my skin. I quickly lifted my body while pushing her head down. Her body instinctively went to roll out of the attack, but I used the moment to pounce on top of her.
The claws dug into my soft underbelly to force me off, but I was bigger. I used my weight to trap the wolf on her back. She growled at me taking over the green that was evident before.
I growled loudly placing my teeth on her neck. The wolf froze. My teeth pressed ever so slightly against her pulse.
'Mate. Shift.'
The wolf's body started to tremble. I removed my teeth and nuzzled her neck slightly as the wolf underneath me shrunk. I lifted my body while the claws pressing into my stomach turned into shoes and cold fingers.
Her large wolf shrunk down to a small human. Her green eyes looked up into mine. I whimpered at the girl unbelieving that she was underneath me. Her fingers made their way to my face feeling every inch of my snout and head. I closed my eyes dropping my forehead against her own.
Her wolf scent still clung to her skin, filling my nose with violets. Vanilla, and musky woods. For the first time in months my body fully relaxed. I followed her shift with my own. Her eyes widened watching in amazement as if she couldn't believe I was in front of her. Fingers tangled in my hair, and her longing seeped into my skin mixing with my own.
A strangled cry turned our attention back to the patio where her mother was full sprinting towards her daughter. I swallowed down the growl and rolled off Lily. My body screamed at the lack of contact, but her mother's arms were already pulling her up from the grass and wrapping her into a hug.
The frustration quickly turned to worry as I stared at her back. The shirt she wore barely clung to her body. The red drenched fabric hung in strips at her back. I stood pulling off my own shirt. Her mother broke away glaring at me, but I used the opportunity to slide it over Lily's head hiding the wounds.
She slowly walked to the patio glancing back at me. I could feel her relief mixed with impatience every time her eyes met my own. Her eyes would meet my eyes for a second as if she was feeding off me for strength, but then drop to my bare torso. The feeling that rushed through the link left a pit of my own desire in my stomach. As soon as the emotion seeped into me a blush creeped across her cheeks, and she adverted her eyes to the next person rushing towards her.
A tight hug sent a small tingle of pain every time they touched her back. By the time she reached Josh her energy was exhausted again.
He reached out taking her hands in his. I felt a stab in my stomach at the intimacy of their reunion. Anger flared when I looked away. I shouldn't have to look away at another man greeting my mate, but here I was.
I forced my gaze back to the pair in time to see her brush tears off his cheeks. He leaned down whispering something in her ear. Her eyes widened and a bright smile appeared on her face. The first smile I had seen in months, and it was at him. I gritted my teeth fighting the growl that rumbled in my chest. She hopped up wrapping her arms around his neck while they both laughed.
Both Leo and Dad glanced between the pair then back at me. Pity painted both their expressions until Mom stepped in.
"Lily...I understand this is a lot, but I think it's best Adam takes you to the doctor." As soon as she dropped her arms Mom grabbed her hand guiding her back to me. Her face dropped when she realized the emotions that weren't her own.
I dropped my gaze from her guiding her to the house that should be our home.