Alaric
The rain stung my eyes, soaked my fur and made the woodland floor slippery under my paws.
But still my wolf ran, pounding forward, almost as if he wanted to get lost amongst the trees.
I couldn't let him just run without being guided. I had to keep a rein on him. I was the Alpha's son, and in charge of leading a group of guards and warriors throughout the woodlands, racing along the borders to help keep out anyone that shouldn't be in our pack. I had to set an example, keep my wolf under control.
So, I took a back seat in my mind as I let my wolf out as much as I dared, let him run, let him feel the rain, feel the freedom ... almost.
Next to me, Enzo's wolf was keeping up. Unlike my wolf's black fur and silver eyes, Enzo's had beige coloured fur and bright green eyes that looked almost haunting in the dark of the night.
"You're keeping up", I told Enzo over the mind link. Because we were in wolf form, we couldn't speak, couldn't talk like we could when we were in our human skin, so I used the link to communicate with him, and with the wolves running behind us.
I could almost see Enzo's wolf roll his eyes.
"Of course I'm keeping up, asshole", he growled. "I'm your Beta, remember? I gotta keep up with you. I mean, someone's gotta kick your ass every now and then, right?"
I chuckled, my wolf's pace never slowing down. Being the future Alpha of the pack, my wolf was bigger than most other wolves, his frame a hulking mass of power. Whereas the muscle should have made him slower, my wolf actually used them to hurtle himself forward, the strength in his legs propelling his body.
Dad thought it would be a good idea to send me into the woods, to lead a team of guards for a race around the perimeter. He thought the fast movement of our wolves, the herd-like effect we would have, would help to scare any intruders away.
We passed a few guards while we were running, warriors and scouts that my dad had instructed to keep an eye on the borders, follow any scent that was out of place, report anything out of the ordinary straight back to him.
But the weather was against us. The rain could easily mask any scent. The wind was blowing quite strongly, sending leaves flying, branches snapping. The rain was coming down much harder, being thrown in our faces by the wind.
I thought what I was doing right now was pointless. Dad had added to the number of guards and their patrols along the perimeters. He had even enforced a curfew, telling members of the pack that weren't expected to help protect us to stay inside, going as far as placing some guards around the houses, roads, and walkways of the pack. Just in case.
It wasn't like any more protection was really needed. I mean, we were wolves. Our senses were sharp, advanced. So what I was doing right now didn't really make any sense.
The only good thing to come out of it was my wolf was getting a good run.
Weaving in between trees, dodging low branches, leaping over exposed roots. My wolf's tongue was lolling to the side of his mouth as he pushed on, his breath coming out in pants, the air burning his lungs.
"Young Alpha", one of the guards called over the mind link. "Permission to have a rest."
There was a chorus of chuckles from the others, a few others joking, calling this guard unfit.
Smiling to myself, I slowed down. "Yeah, let's all take a breather."
Every wolf slowed a stop, all of them panting, a couple of them dropping to the floor.
"Fuck." Enzo laughed as his wolf came trotting up to me. "You nearly killed them."
"I didn't mean to." I honestly didn't. I hadn't realised how fast I was going, how much I was pushing everyone else.
I had the feeling that my wolf was running wild, so I decided to keep a tighter rein on him for the rest of the night.
My wolf bristled at that last thought, and I rolled my eyes at him. I was the future Alpha, so I was naturally stronger than the rest. Like every other wolf in the pack, I'd had training from an early age, learned how to control my wolf as he finally emerged when I turned eighteen years of age. But, unlike everyone else, my training had been more intense, longer hours, harder work. My wolf was strong. And I had to be strong to match him.
My wolf sat down and cast his eyes over the dark forest.
The rain was pouring, limiting our sight, affecting our hearing.
I felt Enzo's wolf sit beside me and glanced over at him, to find his startling eyes on me.
"Hey," he started. "Can we ... uh ... talk?"
My wolf nodded his head.
"Not like this." He took a deep breath. "In human form."
Oh.
The mind link was open, and every member of the pack could hear the conversations going on within it. Some conversations were clearer than others ... mostly, it was just noise.
Shifting back to human form was becoming less painful the more times I did it, but it still hurt like a bitch.
Fuck.
I felt my bones popping back into place, my spine realigning, my legs forcing me to stand upright.
Shit.
Shaking my head, I looked over at Enzo, who stood next to me, just as nude as I was, running a hand down his face, feeling the after effects of the shift, just as I did.
The rain needled our naked skin, and I grabbed Enzo's arm and dragged him over to the nearest tree to huddle under the branches.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I could feel goosebumps rushing along my skin, causing me to shiver.
"Thanks for this." Enzo pointed between our naked bodies, indicating that he was glad I'd shifted to listen to him.
I nodded, waiting for him. He wanted to talk, and even though I was freezing my nuts off, I wasn't about to rush him.
Enzo's blonde hair stuck to his head, the rain drops streaked across his face. He blinked a couple of times to clear the water out of his eyes.
"Listen," he started. "I just wanted to say that I still want to be your beta."
Confused, I cocked my head and he took a deep breath.
"After Tala ..." He looked to the side, his adam's apple bobbing. I stepped a little closer to him and he lifted his gaze to meet mine. "I just kind of lost it a bit back then. Couldn't really stop the shock. Didn't really think anything like that could happen to one of our own, you know?"
"Yeah." I nodded my head. "I know. It was a shock to everyone."
Heaving a sigh, he blinked again and I realised he was trying to blink back tears. Reaching out to touch his arm, I peered at him. "Were you mated to Tala?"
He sniffed, then shook his head. "No. We were just ... messing around, I guess." He shrugged, but it looked like a forced move, like he was shrugging under the weight of a concrete boulder. "But I liked her. A lot. And we kind of agreed that if we didn't meet our mates, that we would choose each other."
Fuck.
That was why he was so upset when she ... died. It was kind of like he had lost his mate. His chosen mate.
Shit.
The wind howled past us, pushing damp leaves along the woodland floor. The branches above our heads swayed, dropping heavy rain drops on our heads.
"Man, I didn't know." I watched as my best friend hung his head. "You should have told me."
He shrugged again, and offered me a sad smile. "We kinda enjoyed keeping it a secret, you know. Made it feel a bit ... I don't know." He cocked his head. "Naughty, I guess."
He gave me a small smile and I placed both hands on his shoulders, not caring that we were both standing naked in front of each other. I had seen it all before. In our late teens, we were trained in the nude so that we got used to nakedness in case we ever needed to shift on the spot.
Thankfully, I hadn't needed to do that. So far.
"You're still my beta," I told him seriously. "And you make a pretty fucking awesome one, too. If you didn't get upset at the passing of one of our own, then I would be questioning whether you would have been right for the role."
He nodded, his lips pursed.
I squeezed his shoulders. "You're passionate, sympathetic, and you can almost keep up with me." I smirked at him and he rolled his eyes.
Chuckling, I took a step back, casting a glance at the night sky, wondering when this rain would stop.
"We're close to Radley's house." Enzo's voice held a note of amusement and I dropped my eyes to his face. He shrugged once more. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to check in on him."
I glanced back at the wolves we'd brought for the run. They looked rested and ready to go again.
Bringing my eyes back to my beta, I thumbed in the direction of the guards and warriors. "What about them?" I didn't want them to ask why we were checking on one particular house when we had run past so many up till now.
Enzo leaned forward slightly. "Tell them to carry on and we'll catch up. And when you do catch up with them, they'll admire you a bit more."
Simple.
He'd said it like it was so simple.
Smirking, I turned back to the wolves we were leading, watching as each of them scrambled to their feet, their attention on me.
Taking a step forward, I took a deep breath. "Me and Enzo are going to check a trail here." I pointed in the direction we were going to head. "The rest of you carry on with the run, and we'll catch you up."
A chorus of agreement came through the mind link and the wolves ran as one, a herd of beasts racing to protect their territory.
I watched them go, my wolf whimpering, wanting to join them.
"I'll race you to Radley's house." Enzo's teasing was unexpected and I spun around to find him already shifting into his wolf.
Fuck.
Shifting as quickly as I could, and howling as the pain rippled through my body, I took a deep breath, getting my body used to being on all fours once more.
Enzo's wolf tilted his head, then bolted, racing further into the woods.
It took my wolf a second before he was right on Enzo's tail, following his lead as he weaved in between the trees, the rain pelting our fur.
Within seconds, we slowed down as Radley's house came into view. Light spilled from the kitchen window and an upstairs room.
Radley's bedroom?
Casting a quick glance over at Enzo, my wolf crept forward, stopping right at the tree line, on the edge of Radley's back yard.
Through the kitchen window, I could see Radley. It looked as though he was sitting on the counter, on the other side of the kitchen, a smile playing on his cute face, his button nose scrunched up playfully. His lips were moving, like he was talking or something.
Talking?
To who?
My eyes moved to the side but I couldn't see anyone.
Claudia. It would be Claudia.
I watched as Radley jumped off the counter, and disappeared from view, the light in the kitchen shutting off.
Missing him already, my wolf whimpered, then threw his head back and howled.