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Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 01

By: LittleRed12



 Clara turns 18 and meets her future mate.

"Here they come!" My best friend, Paloma whisper-shouts.

A medium size black wolf looks over to us and narrows her eyes. We've been spotted, so there is no point of hiding behind the half rotten log on the edge of the woods. Paloma jumps up and waves, catching the attention of most of the pack members.

I grab her hand and pull her close, "Does it seem like there are more of them than normal?"

"Their pack is even bigger than ours. I'm not sure how many council members they have. There's their Alpha and his mate, his heir and his mate, the Beta and his mate, and there's Grayson."

A shudder rips through my body as she points on the large gray wolf. As if he can feel me, he turns his head and slows his pace. His stare unhinges me and spreads goosebumps down my arms. As the Alpha's youngest son, he is bigger than all of the pack members that arrived in their wolf form.

Paloma gives me a sly smile. She thinks Grayson is attractive. I probably would too if he wasn't the star of my nightmares for so many years. Or if he didn't give me those creepy stares when the packs met twice a year. It probably would help if I had seen him in his human form at some point over the last 12 years, but he arrived as a wolf and left as a wolf. A year ago, Paloma was instructed to interrupt the interpack meeting to fetch my Father's mate for the birth of a pup. She claims he was human and apparently she liked what she saw.

"Why is he still here? How old is he? Twenty-one? Twenty-two? Why hasn't he moved somewhere else? A pack can't have two heirs." I wondered out loud, but Paloma responded anyway, "Who cares? He's free eye candy, even in his wolf form."

I can't get over how unusual it is. Werewolf pack hierarchy is a little different then most humans believe. Sure, there is the Alpha and Beta, but the Beta could never be the Alpha. There is always an heir. Typically, it is the eldest son of the Alpha, like in the Harbor Springs pack Grayson belongs to. In my pack, Pine Mountain, it is the son of the Beta who is the heir because the Alpha has only daughters. Occasionally, there is no Alpha and the pack will transplant a younger son of an Alpha. That's what happened to all of the Grayson's brothers, so I'm not sure why he is still around.

A small white wolf jumps in front of me, blocking my vision to the seemly never ending parade of Harbor Springs wolfs. There is definitely more of their pack members than normal.

"Snow!" Paloma squeals and jumps back, "You scared me!"

My sister, Snow, stands in her beautiful wolf form. Her wolf is tiny. She has only been able to shift for a couple months, but she already loves it.

Human sounding stomping follows through the woods after her. "Snow!" A deep voice calls. The sound of his voice makes Paloma nudge my shoulder and give me a knowing wink.

Aspen plows through the bushes and immediately tackles me to the ground. "Good girl, Snow, you found our birthday girl."

I can't help the grin that comes over my face. Aspen is the son of our Beta, the heir to my father, and I'm certain that after tonight he will be my future mate. Today is my 18th birthday and I will be welcomed into the pack meetings and will have knowledge of all the pack's inner workings.

A low growl rustles through the woods and Aspen slowly backs away. I glance around, trying to figure out where the noise came from and spot Grayson outside the door to the cabin where pack meeting are held. His lips are curled and the fur on the back of his neck stand up.

"C'mon Clara," Aspen saying, holding a hand out to me, "Let's go to your first pack meeting."

~

Along with the Alpha, Beta, and heir to the Alpha, the pack council also consists of Alpha family members. Males are introduced at thirteen, while females wait until eighteen. At eighteen, females are usually introduced to their future mates. I'm not sure how this meeting will work out because Aspen won't be eighteen for a couple more months. Perhaps, they will just have us wait to mate.

Grayson is still waiting outside the cabin as Aspen and I walk up. The look he gives me is so intense that my stomach bottoms out and I feel nauseous. He follows behind us and I can hear the tell tale sign of shifting, the erie sound of bones cracking and skin changing.

I can't help myself, I look over my should at him. My God, Paloma was right. He is beautiful. He still looks a bit like the boy I knew before we started shifting. His hair is dark brown and his eyes seem even darker. His jaw is perfectly angled with just the right amount of facial hair. His nose his straight and his eyes, the ones that seem so haunting in his wolf form, are softer somehow. It is obvious he is an alpha, his shoulders are wide and strong and he must be at least 6' 5".

I didn't realize that I had stopped walking, that I had completely turned around, or that Aspen was calling my name until he placed a warm hand against my back. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was grateful that Aspen broke my concentration before I went and did something embarrassing, like look lower at his naked form.

"Upstairs," Aspen nodded toward the stairway, but before I took a step, I looked over my shoulder one last time. Grayson caught my eyes and smiled. He actually smiled and for the first time in a long time I felt something other than fear while looking into his eyes.

~

The pack meeting started off how I expected. Introductions were made on my behalf, though I had met most of the Harbor Springs pack before. I took a seat next to my Father's mate, Sable. Our Beta and his mate sat to the other side and last was Aspen, sitting beside his mother. The Harbor Springs pack sat on the other side of the table in nearly a mirror image so that Grayson was directly across from me. 

The Harbor Springs Alpha and his mate instructed me to call them by their first names, Callum and Yara. Their names were so wolf like and I remembered that their pack didn't interact with humans at all. Set deeper into the mountains, they relied on our pack for trading. 

Callum's lip tilted up at he regarded me. "Dave, she is so tiny. Are you sure she is yours?" He asked my father, who responded with a booming laugh. Even Sable chuckled. Yara placed a hand on her mate's forearm and smiled fondly at me, "She looks just like her mother."

Sable stiffened beside me, but I looked down to blush and smile shyly. My Mother had been considered one of the most beautiful wolves in our area and I did look a bit like her. My hair was long and auburn, my eyes bright and blue, my stature petite. When younger girls started growing taller than I, my father came to me and told me one of the few stories I know of my mother. He told me that she was the fiercest wolf he had ever met and her size never mattered.

I don't have many memories of my mother, but the one I do have is sharper than if it had just happened yesterday. She saved my life by giving her own.

"Let's get down to business. We have a big night and an even bigger day tomorrow." My father said, looking around the room. Everyone was smiling. I think I was the only one who had no idea what he is talking about. 

"Clara, let me introduce you to your future mate." He said and I looked up at him with a smile on my face, but dropped it immediately when I realized that he wasn't referring to Aspen. He was pointing across the table at Grayson. 

Grayson reached across the table and took my hands in his two large warm ones. The electricity running through them shocked me and I stood up and backed up so quickly that my chair fell to the ground behind me. Everyone else jumped at the bang and suddenly all eyes were on me. 

"Wh... Wh.. What?" I finally got out. "I thought..." I didn't finish my sentence and instead I backed up even farther, shaking my head to try to keep the tears that were threatening to fall inside. 

It was Yara that recovered the fastest. She walked quickly around the table and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "What did you think, honey?" She asked.

"I thought Aspen and I were going to be mated." I said in a small voice.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grayson grip his chair's arm so hard I thought the wood might shatter.

My father laughed that booming laugh again, but this time it made me flinch. Yara rubbed my back soothingly as my father answered, "Aspen? Clara, he is younger than you! How would he be your mate?"

"Just by a couple months." I said, my voice shaking.

"No," He laughed again, "Aspen will be mated to Snow when she reaches her eighteenth birthday."

Snow? My thirteen year old half sister? All this time I thought Aspen was so sweet to her because she was my little sister and I cared for her so much. I glanced his way, but he was looking out the windows, not blinking. This wasn't news to him.

This was all too much. My skin was humming, my brow sweating. Yara reached down and gave my hand a squeeze and I felt like it was permission. I was off. Bounding down the stairs, shedding clothes along the way, and out of the cabin. I barely made it through the doorway when my wolf exploded. I howled at the setting sun and shot into the woods.

~

A little while later, my wolf had calmed. I was sitting on the ledge of my favorite spot watching the final part of the sun set into the valley bellow. Still in my wolf form, I heard and smelled him before I saw him. Grayson made his way onto the ledge behind me. He was less intimidating in his human form and my wolf was torn between feeling relaxed because he was currently weaker than me and feeling restless because he could become something so much stronger.

He sat beside me and ran a hand through my fur. "I'm sorry." He told me, though I'm not sure what he would have to be sorry for.

"Can we talk?" He asked and I looked away.

"Can you please shift back?" I looked away again.

"Clara, we need to talk and I really don't want to have to do this." His tone held a hidden warning and then I remembered. He's the son of an Alpha, he can command me to shift back.

I showed my teeth to let him know that I wasn't happy and reluctantly shifted back into my human form. Living so close to humans, Pine Mountain Pack was more modest than other wolf packs. I brought my knees to my chest to hide my breasts and crossed my feet at my ankles to hide everything else.

I tilted my head to look at him and saw that he was running him eyes up and down my naked body. I curled into myself even farther and he smiled.

"How did you find me?" I asked him.

"Ah, uh, Aspen told me that I would probably find you here"

"How long has he known?"

"Who his mate is?" He questioned and I nodded.

"Since he was thirteen, same as me."

I snorted and mumbled "asshole." Grayson smiled bigger.

We sat another few minutes in silence until I asked, "Are they mad?"

"No. When I left, they were all laughing. They are probably getting ready for tomorrow now."

I was taken aback and seeing my expression, Grayson explained further, "I did the same thing when I found out. Though it wasn't because of you, my brother had just been mated and I insisted I would never let that happen to me. I shifted and got the hell out of their. Our fathers were laughing that we are a match made in the stars."

I nodded and shrugged my shoulders. "Is that why you always give me that creepy stare?"

He looks taken aback and a smile flickers against my lips. "Creepy?" He asks.

Shaking his head, he says, "Sorry, I didn't realize I was being creepy. You are very beautiful. I have a hard time keeping my eyes off of you."

He reaches over to take my hand and I flinch. Then I look up, ready to apologize, but he puts a finger to my lips. "It's okay. Tomorrow you will become my mate. How much do you know about the ceremony?"

"Nothing" I confess. He nods like he expected that.

"Tonight, you will have a meeting with the women in both our councils to explain everything to you, but let me assure you, we will share blood, but we do not have to share a bed."

My whole body relaxed. He continued, "I know I am almost a stranger and you will need to get to know me. I want you to be comfortable with me. If there is a day when you want to be my mate in both the name and carnal sense, I will be there. Just remember that if you are not in my bed, someone else will be."

A swirling jolt of jealously swam through the pit of my belly. Our pack, with it's human tendencies, often treats mating the same way that humans treat marriage, but that is not the case for most of the more rural packs. A mate is the first person you share a blood bond with. It's used to tie packs together, to create peace treaties, and create stronger packs.

"And I will be able to have someone else in my bed?" As soon as the words escape my mouth, I hear a growl and Grayson lounges and pins me to the ground. I squirm underneath him but there is no use, my 5'2" frame will never be able to get him off. My wolf has already submitted and I'm baring my neck to him before I realize it.

He runs his nose along my exposed jaw and breathes in the scent of my hair and neck. He moves the hands that were just gripping my arms and places his forearms on either side of my head. His hips lower until I feel his weight on my body and he just stays there. Breathing,

His breath is slow and warms the side of my throat. I take a deep breath myself and try to match his inhales and exhales. He relaxes even further until my breasts are just barely touching his bare chest. The sensation makes my nipples hardened and a gasp escape my lips. I feel something long and hard against my hip and I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. I'm completely naked and he's just wearing thin athletic shorts.

I start to open my mouth, but Grayson beats me to it and says, "I'm sorry. Can I just have a minute?"

I expect him to get off and go walk around or something, but he just stays where he is, breathing me in. Something about this just seems so natural, so I relax and nuzzle into his neck. He smells like warm summer rain and fresh cut grass. My wolf likes it and she makes me whimper.

Grayson growls again, but it is completely different than the last time. This is just a rumble in his chest. A warning for me not to push him. A warning that he is about to lose control. I feel his mouth hot on my neck. He trails kisses from under my ear to my collarbone. Then his tongue is out, tasting me, making swirling patterns. I wiggle against him and he does that same growl.

It makes me giggle. He nips me. Hard. Hard enough that I stop giggling and my legs fall open. Then he sucks and I wiggle against him again, but this time the bulge in his shorts is lining up in a way that makes me groan.

He moves down lower, kissing my pink, hard nipples. He moves back and forth, paying equal attention to both my breasts. His warm mouth caressing the skin and his tongue flicking the buds into hard, tight beads.

He moves lower still, peppering kisses down my belly, over my hips, to the top of my pubic bone. I try to close my legs, but a deep growl has me reconsidering. His hands slide down the back of my thighs and grip my ass, tilting me forward into his hungry mouth. 

He looks up at me as he slides his tongue against my hot flesh and that gaze is the same intense gaze I always experience from his wolf. He takes a minute and backs up, his breath on my exposed skin as he says, "Your taste, your scent..." and then nothing. He growls and pulls me harder against his mouth.

I moan and his tongue thrusts inside me, imitating an act that I have never been involved in. His nose wiggles against my clit and groan out his name as I spasm around his greedy tongue.

I'm panting hard, staring up at the pine trees half blocking the darkening sky. He comes up to whisper in my ear, "You are mine" and then he is gone. The gigantic gray wolf eyes me through the woods and then runs off.

Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 02



I made my way back to the Alpha house and collected clothing. Walking around in the nude is always frowned upon when you are the alpha's daughter. A quick look in the mirror shows a deep purple bruise on the side of my neck. He marked me. That asshole. Even though I'm annoyed, I decide not to cover it and throw on a green summer dress. If he wants everyone to see the mark, I'll just let them look.

It seems like there is a party going on outside the cabin where pack meeting are held. There are a few bonfires, music, and food set up throughout. Normally, I would be excited and barely need a reason to celebrate. Werewolves are social creatures. We enjoy spending time together like that, but today it feels like everyone else is partying while I'm mourning my freedom. 

Someone pinches the inside of my arm and I look over to see Sable, my father's mate. "Where have you been?" She asks with narrowed eyes.

I open my mouth to answer, but it must not really matter because she's pulling me along, towards the cabin.

"That little stunt you pulled earlier was extremely immature. You need to think about all your father and I have done for you. This alliance insures pack safety. You need to respect your mate and produce a pup as soon as possible."

My mouth opens and closes like a little guppy fish as I try to figure out what to say. "But, I'm only eighteen!" I stammer out.

Sable rolls her eyes, "How old do you think I was when I mated with your father?"

I never really considered it before. I was very young when they were mated. It was shortly after my mother was killed. I was still too afraid to even go to their mating ritual. It wasn't until Snow was a toddler that I started warming back up to the other wolves. I would watch her from the window, playing with my father. Her two chubby human legs pumping hard trying to chase his four-legged beast. She'd squeal with laughter as my father's wolf bounced around, stealing licks under her sweet dimpled chin whenever she got close.

I went outside that day. My father was so surprised he immediately shifted to his human form. Since my mother was killed, I had avoided the wolves at all costs. They tried everything, having the weakest, the youngest, and the most familiar wolves approach me, but it didn't matter. I still curled myself up in a ball, shaking and crying with the memories of her death. 

After that day, I progressed by leaps and bounds, but two years later a certain grey werewolf attacked me while I was playing in the woods. He pinned me to the ground, made me submit, and then just ran off. It wasn't until I started shifting myself that I truly became comfortable around the other wolves and it wasn't until a couple hours ago that I felt anything for Grayson other than fear.

Interrupting me from my inner dialogue, Sable continues with a huff, "At least you are mating a young, attractive male. He hasn't mated with anyone else. He has no children from other women."

We are at the door now and she stops and turns to me. "Let me give you some motherly advice," she tells me, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, "Make this work out. We have the humans in front of us and we can't keep watching our backs. This alliance has been in the workings for a long time. You just need to do your part."

With that, she pulls me inside the cabin and I follow her up the stairs.

~

Upstairs, Yara and Vera, the Beta's mate, are already sitting down and deep in conversation. Seeing me enter, they both look up with kind smiles. Yara pats the chair next to her and I go take a seat.

"Here's our girl. We were wondering when you would come back around. We thought you might have some questions."

Now that I thought about it, I did. Not questions about the mating process, but things much more important. "Where are we going to live? Grayson isn't your oldest son." I asked.

Yara and Vera share a secret smile. "It is something we have been working on for a long time. The rest of the packs just found out tonight, hence the celebration." She gestures outside where we can still hear laughing and music. 

Then she begins to explain. She tells me about the increase in population that happens whenever an alpha couple is having pups. All the other mated pairs tend to start creating families too. Yara had six pups in 15 years, so during that 15 years, there was a baby boom in the Harbor Springs pack. They could handle the pups, but now that the pups are grown and will be starting their own families, the pack will be overpopulated. 

Most of the Harbor Springs wolves between the ages of twenty-two and eighteen, along with a few of the Pine Mountain wolves of the same age, will be splitting off and creating a new pack with Grayson as the Alpha and myself as his mate.

Our territory will be made up of mostly Harbor Springs land, with a lake and cabin from Pine Mountain land. The cabin is one that I have been to. Unmated females are removed from the pack during their heat cycles to eliminate temptation. I spent my only heat cycle so far, which was six months ago, at the beautiful cabin overlooking the lake.

Yara reveals that this will be the first branch pack for the first time in nearly 100 years in our area. We are going to have to learn how to make this work for ourselves and Grayson and I will play an important part. She then goes on to give me advice about her son. 

"He is an early waker," She warns, "That boy never sleeps. He's up before the sun."

She continues, giving me information about my future mate.

"He's too serious, but I think you could get him to loosen up. Encourage him to play."

"He is very aggressive. Don't let him treat you like an object."

"He tends to be singularly focussed. He gives all his attention to one thing and ignores everything else."

She ends with, "I know this came as a shock to you, but I think you will both be just fine." She gestures to the love bite on my neck and I blush. Maybe I should have covered that up.

~

The older women leave me outside the cabin doors and retreat to their rooms to prepare for tomorrow. Glancing around the gathering outside, I can tell that most of the older pack members have left as well. The group that is left is all in their late teens and early twenties. With the bonfire and dancing, it looks like a house party scene out of a human movie.

I spot Aspen near Paloma and her older brother, Griffin, and casually make my way over. Wolves don't limit alcohol, even to minors, and it is obvious that Aspen is wasted. He sees me coming over and steps away from the group.

"Clara!" He shouts. "Hey I'm sorry about earlier, but I guess there is no hard feelings. It seems you don't really mind after all." As he says this, his lip turns up in a disgusted snarl.

"Aspen, I know it's not really your fault, but I feel like I was led on. You knew and you did nothing to diminish my attention."

He steps closer and the overwhelming smell of alcohol on his breath makes me nauseous. "Why does it even matter? Your mate showed up here with the scent of your arousal all over his face. You're not still pining over me, that's for sure."

I step back with a gasp and glance around the ground. I see Grayson immediately. He's with a group of his own pack members. A girl with raven hair rubs his arm suggestively, but he only has eyes for me.

Noting my confusion, Aspen takes another step towards me. "That's right, Little Miss Virgin has no idea. We are werewolves Clara. Did you think we wouldn't find out? Did you think his scent wouldn't be all over you? You reek of him. Do you know what happened when he strolled in here smelling like he took a dip between your legs?"

I shake my head. I couldn't talk even if I had something to say. My throat is tight and my mouth is dry. I know Aspen is drunk, but he has never been a mean drunk until now.

"Your father just sniffed him up and down to make sure there wasn't a trace of your blood on him and then gave him a pat on the should and chuckled. He laughed. As long as that pretty little cherry of yours hasn't been popped, he doesn't care. It's funny. That's what this whole treaty is based on, that sweet little cherry between your legs..."

I don't think I want to hear anymore, but that doesn't matter because Griffin puts himself between me and Aspen. Aspen backs away with his hands up in a surrendering position, shaking his head and asking, "Tell me Clara, would you have let me have it? Before all this? Would you have given it to me for free?" He smirks, turns around, and stalks off toward the alcohol table.

"He's going to be really pissed with himself when he realizes that he ruined your friendship tonight" Griffin tells me and I just nod. 

"For what it's worth, I had no idea. They way he talked, I thought you were going to be mated. I think even though he knew, he still wanted you" Griffin says as Paloma bounces up to me with a red Solo cup and passes it to me. I drink and the fruity liquid hits my tongue. Mmmm. Hair of the Wolf, the punch that our Beta makes for big gatherings, is known for getting you smashed and gets it done quickly. No wonder Aspen was out of his mind.

Griffin and Paloma stay with me and soon we are all dancing to the music. A cup and a half later, I'm feeling tipsy and my inhibitions are lowered. A bumping beat blasts through the speakers and Paloma announces, "This is your jam, girl!"

Apparently we spend too much time at human night clubs and parties. I do love the song. Normally, I would find some cute human boy to dance with all night, maybe even kiss a little. There is no fear for our parents when we go party with humans. An aggressive human male would be no match for the wolf inside me.

As Kelis sings about bringing all the boys to the yard, I start dancing suggestively with Griffin behind me, grinding my ass into his hips to the beat of the song. Griffin is sweet. He has always been like an older brother to me. I mean, if you had a hot older brother that you have secret fantasies about, but have never acted on. I turn around and glide my hands up and down his chest. I loop an arm around his neck, pull him down, and place a lingering kiss on his lips.

"Sorry Sweetheart," he says grinning, "I don't want to get on my new alpha's bad side."

It takes me a moment to realize what he's saying and then I'm jumping up and down, not even caring that he just rejected my kiss. "Really? You're coming with me?" I ask.

"Yup, and Paloma is joining us when she turns eighteen. Grayson asked that your closest friends become a part of the new pack too."

I can't help it, I give him a huge hug. I keep my lips to myself, but we go back to dancing and it is still a little on the dirty side. A really handsome boy approaches me with half a grin on his full lips. I've never seen him before, so he must be from the Harbor Valley pack. He's big and tall, not quite large as Grayson, but about the same size as Aspen. He has messy light blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. Actually everything about this boy is pretty, so I greet him by saying "Hi Pretty Boy."

He laughs and a dimple pops out on one side of his cheeks. "Hi Princess" He says back.

"Princess?" I ask, scrunching my nose in distaste.

"Of course, you are the Pine Mountain Pack Princess and after tomorrow, I will be your Beta." He kneels down like a knight and places a kiss on my hand. I like this boy, he's funny.

"Oh, my Beta? I see. Grayson sent you over here to make sure I behave."

"Busted!" He laughs, his eyes dancing with humor.

"Pretty boy, this is my last night as a single woman. My last chance to have fun," I say, pulling him towards me and dancing against him. "You look like you could be fun," I tell him and pull his mouth to my mouth. I have my tongue sliding against his before he knows what's happening.

He pulls away, looking shocked and a little scared. I almost feel bad, but still, I giggle. At the sound, his lips twitch up in that half smile. He taps a finger on my nose. "Ah, ha! I get it, Princess. You want him to come over here."

I raise my eyebrows and try not to laugh. That was exactly what I wanted. Someone grabs me around the waist and my back bumps against a hard chest. I know his smell already. It tickles the inside of my nose and makes a sweet ache low in my belly. Grayson growls against my neck and whispers in my ear, "If you wanted me over here, Baby, all you had to do was ask."

I turn to face him and wrap both arms around his neck. We are dancing so close that I'm not sure where he starts and I end. "I thought you were busy" I say, nodding toward the group he was standing with before. The raven haired girl is starring daggers in my direction, while the rest of the group seems to be watching us curiously.

"Never too busy for you, Baby" He says, his lips skimming my lips and his thumb tracing the shape of my jaw. He leans down to place a kiss on my lips. I must be drunker than I thought because I slip my tongue out to taste him. This man that I feared just hours ago is now someone that I'm aching for.

He kisses me hard, lips parting and tongue sliding out to greet mine. Aspen was right, he does smell like me. I can even taste a hint of what I am assuming must be myself on his bottom lip. I suck it into my mouth and drag my lower teeth against it.

A loud howl comes from somewhere on the side of us and it startles me. Grayson smiles against my mouth and pulls back. Pointing over to where Pretty Boy is still howling while the rest of the Harbor Valley pack joins in, he explains, "In our pack, we howl when the Alpha and his mate show affection. A happy mating means a happy pack. They are letting us know that they are thrilled to witness our affection and thankful we are together."

The idea is sobering. I've heard whispers that the Pine Mountain pack was happier when my mother was still alive. That their mating was stronger than the one my father has with Sable. I always wanted a mating like the one my parents had. Looking up at this beautiful man, I think maybe I will have that after all.

The air crackles with something magical as the human howls are replaced by longer wolf howls. "Shift with me?" Grayson asks, toying with the hem of my dress. I lift my arms up and he slips it off. We undress each other until we are both in our most natural form. He gives me one more lingering kiss and we shed our human skins to run with the pack. Our pack.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 03



The day of our mating shimmers with excitement in the air. It reminds me of the human weddings I've seen in movies. A mating is usually a private event. Sometimes the couple doesn't even announce it until after and the family hosts a small party. Those are matings of love and probably happened during intercourse. A mating for an Alpha is completely different. This public affair will tie our packs together. Everyone wants to witness.

Paloma stays by my side the whole morning. She has anointed herself as my maid of honor and I think she might be a little too obsessed with human traditions. She brushes my long auburn hair and helps me dress in a cream colored dress. 

Grayson looks in my eyes and pledges to protect me, provide for me, and father any children we shall have. My words are different. I promise to give myself only to him, to obey him, comfort him, and care for him. Then together we agree to have pack safety and peace at the forefront of our minds at all time.

With an ancient knife from the Harbor Springs pack, a slice my finger and place my hand in Grayson's. He brings my finger to his mouth and places the bloody digit on his tongue. His pupils dilate. His skin shimmers and I know his wolf is right under the surface, waiting to break free. He uses a Pine Mountain pack knife to cut his own finger and I place it in my mouth. His blood lands on my tongue and I can almost feel my wolf pushing against my skin. She wants out. She wants him. I think I might too.

Suddenly there is another sense in my head. Normally there is my own voice and the feelings that my wolf sends through, but now Grayson is added to the mix. I can't hear his thoughts, but his emotions nip at the back of my mind like a nagging thought you almost forgot about. Focusing, I can better pin point his feelings. Excitement, desire, and a hint of nervousness flood into my mind. I wonder what he must be feeling.

He leans forward and captures my lips in his. Immediately, Pretty Boy, who I now know actually goes by the name River, begins to howl. The rest of the packs join in and then they are waiting for Grayson and I to shift. He sheds my clothes while I do the same to him. Like the last time we shifted together, he places a kiss on my mouth and we change into our wolf forms.

Everyone else follows and we all run off into the woods. I've already said my goodbyes and packed my belongs in bags that some of the males in my new pack are now carrying. The Pine Mountain pack follows us to the edge of the territory line. Paloma's wolf gives me an extra rub against my side and we continue, listening to the howling fade into the back ground.

Next the Harbor Springs Pack branches off and continues on to their land. They still have another two days of traveling before they will be home. I offered to have their pack rest with ours, but Yara declined and told me that my pack needed this time to bond.

We approach the familiar cabin that will be our new home base. It is large, with ten bedrooms and plenty of space for our new pack of seventeen. Since all of our pack members are unmated, with the exception of Grayson and myself, we will all be living together. Eventually, pack members will start building their own smaller cabins around the picturesque lake.

The wolves with the packs shift first, pulling out clothing for the rest of us. Griffin stands in front of me while I shift and quickly change into my clothes. Werewolves and nudity go hand and hand, but being raised as an alpha's daughter I learned to conceal my body when its not absolutely necessary. Being an alpha's daughter is a little like being a bargaining chip. Virginity is essential, being the only way to promise there aren't any pups from other lovers already growing in the womb. The pack attempts to remove the temptation by sheltering the daughters.

Living so close to the human world aided in my modesty. I've heard stories about the Harbor Springs pack where sex in public and/or with multiple partners is completely normal. I'm hoping to find some middle ground with our new pack.

Once dressed, Grayson takes my hand, a gesture I can only describe as romantic. His emotions swirl through my mind. Exhaustion, anxiousness, and still a hint of desire. He leads me up the front steps and into the beautiful cabin. We silently take the stairs and when I go to turn right, towards the alpha suite, he guides me left.

"I have a surprise" He winks at me when I start to protest. I let him lead me down the hall and we go up the attic stairs. At least, it use to be the attic stairs. Now the whole attic has been transformed into a suite that makes the old alpha suite look tiny. It spans the whole house with an area for sitting, a gigantic bed covered in blankets and pillows, and a walk-in closet.

"How did you..." I start to ask. I was here just last fall and I didn't notice anything different in the attic.

He smiles. "I spent the last six months getting ready for you. I changed a few other things too, but I wanted a bigger suite for us and more privacy."

Grayson sets my bags down and turns to me, "Get settled in. I'm going to make sure that everyone is finding a room alright."

When he leaves, I take a few more minutes to explore the room around me. There are gigantic bay windows on either side of the room and right now the sunrise is visible through the window facing the woods. We ran for a little over eighteen hours and I realize it has been almost a day since I've been mated.

I check out the other bay window and an amazing view of the lake. A door to the left leads into a master bathroom fit for a king and queen. I think of River's nick-name for me and giggle. There was a walk in shower with intricate stone work and multiple shower heads. Double sinks ran along the opposite wall. To the side a tub large enough for two. I noticed the shower was already stocked with my favorite honey almond shampoo and lavender soap.

Feeling achy and dirty from the run, I stepped out of my clothes and turned on the shower. It felt wonderful. A felt like a whole new woman when I emerged and covered myself with a plush gray towel. Yawning the entire time, I put on a loose t-shirt and comfortable shorts and climbed into bed. The bed smelled faintly of Grayson. He must have slept here while renovating. Just before I drifted off, I wondered where my mate was. I could feel that he was happy, but he was tired too. I hoped I would wake with him next to me.

~

I woke alone to the sun setting in the window closest to the bed. Leaning over to sniff the other side, I learned that Grayson hadn't been there recently. A thought nagged in the back of my mind, thinking about his threat of filling his bed with other women and wondering where he had been all day.

I padded down the stairs and into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. The cabin seemed empty. I felt strange and awkward in my own house and it was putting me in a sour mood. I stepped out onto the porch in an attempt to shake it. Remembering the bond, I searched my head for Grayson. I could feel joy, passion, and... arousal.

Just then I heard him laugh. It was a sound I hadn't heard nearly enough. He walked around the side of the cabin with River, the raven haired girl, and another girl with sandy blonde hair swept up in a pony tail. The raven haired girl had her hand wrapped around his forearm and was whispering in his ear.

River spotted me first and called out, "Good morning Sleeping Beauty. I think you slept the day away."

I nodded and covered my mouth as a yawn slipped out. River shared a smile with Grayson and said, "She's adorable. Can we keep her?" I blushed and hid my face in my hands. When I peeked out, the raven haired girl was pulling on Grayson's arm and whispering adamantly.

"Have you met Raven and Iris?" River asked, gesturing to the girls. The blonde gave me a half smile and waved, while the dark haired girl just looked the other way. Raven. I can't believe her name is actually Raven.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Clara."

"We know" Iris giggles and then asks, "We are going swimming at the late. Do you want to come?"

Raven let's out a huff and impatiently starts pulling Grayson again and he's doing nothing, just letting her. If I had to guess, this must be one of the women that he used to fill his bed. I wonder if that's where he was while I was sleeping.

"Sure. I'll be down there in a few minutes" I say with a smile. Walking away, Raven loops her arm through Iris's and I hear her whisper, "She's probably going to come out with a human bathing suit on." They both chuckle.

I was going to go down there with a bathing suit, but now I know that must not be the right thing to do. I hate that this girl is making me feel self conscious. I'm the mate of the alpha. This pack is mine. With renewed confidence, I march down to the lake.

I strip my clothes off and drive into the water. Holy shit! That was a mistake. It's late spring, but the water feels like it must be around 30 degrees. My nipples pebble and goosebumps pop up all over my arms and legs. I look around for Grayson and River, but they aren't here. There are a few other park members playing in the water, but none of them are from the group that just invited me. I spend a few more minutes in the icy water, waiting to see if they'll come, but my fingers and toes start feeling numb.

Feeling stupid, I put my clothes over my wet skin. My hair is dripping down my back and I'm chilled to the bone. Someone built a fire closer to the house and I see silhouettes of people sitting in chairs and standing around. I make my way over to the fire and spread my hands out to warm them. Looking across the flame I see Grayson sitting in an adirondack chair with big comfy pillows. Raven is sitting on one side and Iris is on the other.

Iris catches my eye and has the nerve to look sheepish. "Hey Clara, the water was too cold to swim. We came over here to keep warm by the fire."

Again, I'm feeling self conscious with these girls. They are sitting on either side of my mate and there is no room to add another chair. Considering my options, I'm startled when Grayson takes my hand and pulls me into his lap. He's wearing a soft sweatshirt, but I can feel the heat radiating off his body. His warmth on my cold skin makes me shiver. He asks, "Are you cold, Baby?" but doesn't wait for my answer and strips off his sweatshirt, places it on my head, and helps me feed my arms through the sleeves. I groan as the heat infiltrates my bones and snuggle up closer on his now bare chest.

River comes by with two bottles of beer, hands one to Grayson, and asks, "Can I get you something, Princess?"

I scrunch my nose and shake my head. Ugh, I drank too much the night before our mating and I still feel like I'm paying for it. He chuckles and says, "Aw, but you're a fun drunk. You give cute little sloppy kisses and dance so dirty."

I squeak and cover my face in embarrassment. Oh God, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I know I have to live with this boy and he's never going to let me live this down. I feel the rumble of Grayson's laughter under me and give him a sharp look.

"Don't look at me like that. I like your kisses and the dirty dancing, as long as it's with me" He says, kissing me on the head. River walks over to Iris's chair and nudges it with his foot. She gives him a dirty look before going over to squeeze in next to Raven. So that was all it takes to get them to move?

I lean my head against Gray's chest so I'm facing toward River. He's talking to Griffin and a few other men, but I'm not really listening. Grayson is rubbing his thumb up and down my jaw and nuzzling into my neck. I feel warm and content.

Placing a kiss beneath my ear, Grayson says, "This is my favorite place to be, right here." Inwardly, I swoon. That is the sweetest thing anyone has every said to me. 

Then I hear Raven's voice, "He use to say that about my pussy." She sounds drunk. Sounding equally wasted, I hear Iris try to whisper, "Don't worry, he'll probably be saying that to you again later tonight."

Gray says nothing. It's Griffin that speaks up. "What the fuck? He's just going to let them talk like that? Right in front of her?" He starts standing up like he's going to confront Grayson, but River blocks him.

"This is fucking shit. They are disrespecting her right in front of him and he's doing shit" He continues, his voice growing louder.

River's voice is low and calm in comparison, "Stop. Just look at him. He's not paying attention to them. He's so lost in her, he's not even listening to us right now."

I notice that he's right. Grayson is still stroking my face and seems completely oblivious. I glance up at him and he's just staring at my face like he's trying to memorize it. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a tender smile. Enamored, I take the hand that has been making a path along my jaw and pull it to my lips. It's the hand he used for our blood bond and his finger tip has a faint white line going down the middle.

I put the finger in my mouth and swirl my tongue around it. It tastes salty and warm. Grayson's breath hitches when a graze my teeth along the pad. I nip it hard. Hard enough to draw blood. Sharing blood between mates like that is erotic. My thighs instantly become slick with my arousal and my breasts feel heavy against my shirt.

Grayson growls and shifts me so I'm straddling his waist. I can feel his long, hard, shape against my belly. I feel frenzied. He kisses me, tongue sliding in my mouth and gliding along my own. I grind down into his erection, completely forgetting the fact that we are surrounded by people. He slides a hand down my back, grabs onto my ass, and lifts me up.

This time, I barely hear the howling as he carries me toward the house. We're lost in our own little bubble of lust. My hands are around his neck and I'm dragging my body up and down his shaft, trying anyway I can to get friction.

Grayson groans and stumbles toward the ground. He twists last minute so that I land on top of him, straddling his hips. He catches the hem of both his sweatshirt and my t-shirt and pulls them off together. He leans up to capture a naked breast in his mouth and I frantically rub against him.

Somehow, he gets us up again and makes his way up the cabin stairs. The hands on my ass start creeping inward and I know the moment that he feels the wetness soaking between my legs. "Fuck" He gasps and sets my bottom on the top step so my legs are slanting down the rest of the stairs. He kneels on a lower step and pulls my shorts off my hips.

Instantly, his mouth is on me and I don't even care that the group of werewolves are just a few feet away, still howling. He places my legs over his shoulders and it changes the angle. His tongue flicks against my clit. I grab his hair and thread my fingers through the silky strands. He slides a hand up to grasp a breast and tweaks the nipple. I come hard, grinding into his face and screaming his name.

Breathing hard, he places a gentle kiss in the inside of my left thigh and smirks up at me. I use his hair to pull him up to my mouth and press my lips to his. Loving the way I taste on his mouth, I want more.

He carries me up both flights of stairs and deposits me on the lush bed. Just when he's about to pull off his shorts, a thought wanders through my head. "Wait!" I call out, nearly panting. "Where were you today while I was sleeping?" I'm not sure if it should matter, but it does. Do I really want to give everything to a man that was with someone else just hours ago?

He looks confused for a moment. "I made sure everyone was all set. When I came back up, you were asleep, so I took a nap on the couch. Then I went hunting and ran into Raven and Iris. Why?"

He must realize because his face softens and he pulls me into his arms. "Baby, what I said the other day about being with other women? I meant if years go by and you still didn't want to have sex with me. If you wanted this mating to be strictly in the name only. I can't get you out of my mind. I haven't even thought about anyone else."

Flustered, I stutter out, "What about when I saw you earlier? I sensed your arousal before I saw you. You were with River, Raven, and Iris."

He chuckles, "I saw the bay window from the outside and thought about my beautiful girl sleeping in the bed I want to fuck her in. It was a treat to turn the corner and find you looking all sweet and sexy with your adorable little sleepy voice."

He kisses me slowly, but it heats up quickly. His hands roam my body, skimming over the curves of my breasts, down my waist, and over my hips.

"Are you sure you want this, Baby?" He asks, nuzzling into my neck. It's sweet that he's giving me an out. If you asked me a few days ago, I never would have expected that I'd say yes. He's different than I expected. I've seen hints of his aggression in the warning growls he gives, but still he's gentle. Maybe it's because I want this mating to work, orbecause I want what's best for the pack, or maybe I just want him. The reason doesn't matter, I nod my head yes.

The sincerity in his smile makes me melt a little. "Okay. I'm going to try to go slow, but I've been warned by other mated males that at some point my wolf will take over and claim you" He warns. I heard the same thing from females in my old pack, to expect pain as he breaks through my virginity and when things get better my wolf will push me to mark him and make him mine.

I pull him down to kiss him and he groans in my mouth. My hands travel down his broad shoulders and over the hard planes of his chest to the spot where his athletic shorts start. My fingers graze the waist band and he sucks in a breath. He helps me pull them down until his manhood is standing there in all its glory. He smells all musky and manly. Drops of pre-cum pool at the mushroom tip and his scrotum looks heavy and tight.

He notices my staring and gives me a playful wink. His hands sweep down the inside of my thighs. Fingers brush over my wetness and gently stroke my clit. I just came downstairs on the porch stairs, but I'm already feeling it building again low in my belly. My hips are rising, seeking out something else, and he slides a finger into my tight, wet pussy.

I moan into his mouth. He uses that finger to slide the wetness up to my clit, giving it a few flicks, and dives back down with two fingers. It feels tighter this time. I've only ever used one finger on myself and his fingers are much larger than mine. He pumps them in and out, using his thumb to tap my clit at the same time. Dripping wet, my pussy feels greedy, slurping him in. My muscles start twitching and I know something big is about to happen, but then he just stops.

"No!" I call out, pushing my hips up and trying to get that feeling to come back. So close! He holds his cock in his hand and rubs it along my slippery wetness from clit to pussy. Every time it bumps that nub, I feel myself get even wetter until he starts slipping just the tip into my throbbing hole.

After a few times, he slides it in farther. He's met with some resistance, but pushes ahead. I can feel the moment my virginity snaps and makes room for his massive cock. It hurts and I whimper, but I'm a werewolf and pain doesn't effect me the same way it does for humans. Besides, he has already begun to push in and out. His hand works my clit again and the pain is forgotten. 

"Fuck, so tight" He says, his voice half a growl. His skin is vibrating, his pupils dilated, he's trying to hold back his wolf. He pumps harder and I start meeting him, grinding my hips into his. My wolf is pushing to come out with every stroke and I growl at him. Harder, faster, he growls back. He leans down to where my neck meets my shoulder and I tilt my head to give him better access to my throat. The new position lines his throat up with my lips and they travel there, just as the world explodes around me and I come around his cock. I don't think, my wolf just acts, I bite him. 




Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 03



He bites me back. His teeth sinking into my flesh is the best kind of pain and sets off another round of spasms. I feel his dick twitch inside and the he squirts hot cum along the walls of my pussy. I keep milking him, coming down from that second orgasm. 

He finally stills and pulls out, giving me that perfect panty dropping smile. He falls back on his back. Through our bond, which was just strengthened by the blood we just exchanged, I feel his content and adoration. He pulls me to his side and kisses my head. "Thank you. That means everything. You mean everything." He says with a yawn and we fall asleep, just like that. No cleaning up. No showers. His cum still leaking out and dripping down my leg. What can I say? We are animals.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 04



After my conversation with Yara, I expect to wake up alone the next morning, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find a warm body cuddled up against my back. Grayson's nose is pressed into that spot underneath my ear that he seems to love so much and his arm is thrown over my side with his hand splayed across my belly.

His morning erection is nestled into my back side and thinking about what happened last night, I wiggle against him. His cock twitches and the space between my legs starts feeling slippery with my arousal. Thanks to my werewolf genetics, I've healed from our escapades last night.

"Mmmm" Grayson mumbles, pulling me closer against him, "I could wake up like this every morning."

I flip over to see him better. His eyes are still closed and his face is relaxed. He looks younger. His dark eyelashes flutter against his cheek bones and I reach out to touch the scruff along the edge of his jaw. He smiles and lazily opens his eyes.

"Good morning handsome" I say, still tracing his jaw. Now I understand why he is always doing this to me. I feel like I need to memorize every inch of him. The curl of his ears. The little light brown birthmark just under them. The fine baby hairs that frame his face and lead into his dark unruly locks.

He leans forward and rubs his nose against mine. "Good morning beautiful" He says to me and his lips look so plump and inviting that I have to kiss them. Half his face is blocked by the pillow so I nudge him to roll on his back before continuing my examination of my mate.

"What is your favorite color?" I ask, moving down to learn the curves of his shoulders, the lean muscles of his arms, and his little brown nipples that harden when I run my finger nail across them. I pull the blanket that is half covering us lower and he chuckles.

"Gray" He says and my eyes bounce up to his. "Really?" I ask, baffled. He laughs.

"No. Well kind of. I like that grayish blue color, like the sky before a storm" Looking at me he adds, "Like the color of your eyes."

"What's yours?" He asks and I take hip nipple between my teeth and bite. "No," I tell him, "I'm asking the questions." His chest vibrates with his laugh and he motions for me to continue.

My finger tips graze his stomach, making the muscles tense and contract so that every little dip and bump of his abs is visible. "You have five siblings, right? What's was that like? What are their names? Where do they live?"

"Cedar is the oldest. He's heir to the Alpha, mated with five pups..."

"Five?" I ask. I thought Yara was abnormal with her six. Purebred werewolves tend to have two to three pups. The fact that he is one of six and his brother has five is a little amazing.

"Wait," He tells me, "It gets better. Quinn is next and he has six pups with one more on the way. He lives down south near the Carolinas." My mouth pops open. I can't believe this.

"Ash and Bensen are twins. Their pack is in Alaska..." He starts, but I have to interrupt him. "Wait, together?" I ask and he nods. "Like a triad?" I ask again and a slow smile develops over his face.

"Wow, I didn't think those still existed" I tell him. Triads were something that happened hundreds of years ago. In modern time, they are frowned upon. The pack shares two alphas and the alphas share one mate. "Okay, how many pups do they have?"

He laughs, "Just three, but I think they are still working on some more. I'm next and then comes Clover, who we all call Bug because she always went after bugs when she first started shifting. Your first shift is at what, thirteen? By then you are old enough to know not to eat bugs, but she still did it every time. When she'd shift back we would ask her and she'd just shrug and say that her wolf told her too. We tease her that she probably still sneaks off to eat bugs. You'll meet her soon. She turns eighteen in a couple weeks and she's going to mate with River."

"Oh" I say, thinking of my own eighteenth birthday. I wonder if she will be ask shocked as I was. Almost like he can read my thoughts, Grayson says, "She knows. We do things a little differently in Habor Springs. She found out the same time that he did. There aren't so many secrets. She will still pretend that she's put out, but she loves him. They fight like children."

I slide down so my knees are between is open legs and pull the blanket down to glance at his manhood. His half-erect cock stares back at me. "Awww," I croon, like I'm talking to a baby, "He's not very happy to see me."

Grayson raises an eyebrow. "We were just talking about my sister," He reminds me. I take this as a challenge and trail kisses down his stomach, starting at his belly button. The kisses get sloppier and wetter as I get closer to his now fully erect cock. The scent is driving me wild. Musty and manly. Wet and aching, I rub my thighs together to try to relieve some of the throbbing.

Grayson's eyes darken. His hand grips my bicep and pulls me up toward his mouth. He kisses my mouth, darting his tongue out to taste my bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth. He nips and nibbles. He chases my tongue around my mouth and I gasp when he catches it. Instinctively, I've moved to straddle his hips. His hands are all over my body, caressing a breast, tracing the curve of my hips, and then he grabs my ass and slides me so my clit glides along his hard member.

I moan into his mouth. He does it again and again until I start feeling like a rubber band about to snap. "I want you," I whisper against his lips and start to move off of him to lay on my back, but he hold my hip tightly with one hand and uses the other to line himself up at my entrance.

He helps me work it in, slowly raising my hips and sinking them back down in little, tiny increments until he's completely sheathed. We both moan in relief. I take a second to adjust to his size and start rocking. He guides me until I'm bouncing up and down and he's meeting me thrust for thrust. 

"Come" He tells me, looking deep into my eyes. His thumb flickers down and presses on my clit and I don't hesitate, I come. Hard. Clenching around his cock, I set off his orgasm. "Baby" He groans, his voice a hoarse whisper and I can feel the spurts of hot come shooting into me.

Spent, I roll off him and onto my back. We are both lying side by side when I hear his stomach give a deep hungry growl. Trying to hide my laughter, I ask, "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

He grins. "What gave that away?" He asks and I can't contain my laughter any longer. "C'mon," He says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up, "Let's go take a shower."

~

Our shower is quick, but filled with sneaky caresses and flirty touches as we wash each other. Grayson tells me he's going for a quick run and I head downstairs to check out the state of the pantry.

Having stayed at this house once before, I know there is a human town about three hours away and a farm a little closer. We eat normal human foods, but our werewolf stomaches are sensitive to overly processed foods. Paloma and I once decided to see what all the hype for Doritos was about and paid for it with a night of terrible stomach cramping.

I start with the industrial size stainless steel refrigerator. It's fully stocked. There is at least 15 dozen eggs, a draw full of bacon, raw cheddar cheese, venison sausage, bowls of spinach, peppers, and berries. The pantry is full as well with onions, sweet and red potatoes, and tons of other delicious foods. 

Based on the snores coming from the bedrooms all over the house, Grayson and I must be the first ones up. I decide to cook for everyone. Our new pack consists of seven females and ten males. The quickest way to win over half of the group is simply to feed them.

I pull out a big cast iron skillet and place it on the six burner stove. While that heats up, I dice onions and peppers into thin strips. I hear the sounds of someone waking, the door creaks, water runs, and I hear foot steps come closer.

"Good morning, Princess" River says, his voice still gruff from sleeping and his blonde hair is sticking up all over the place. He sneaks a pepper off my cutting board. While taking a chomp, he asks, "What can I do to help?"

"I think I'm all set," I tell him, dumping ground sausage into the skillet and taking another out for bacon and eggs, "Just keep me company."

"No problem, Princess" He winks, stealing another pepper slice. I point the knife at him threateningly and he raises his hands in mock surrender. We fall into easy conversation while I finish cooking a meal of sausage with peppers and onions, fried potatoes, bacon, and eggs.

He tells me about the Harbor Springs pack's home base. The structure is built into the hillside and half of it goes under ground. Caves spread out deep into the hill. There is electricity in a couple rooms, but over all it sounds very primal. The pack makes their living logging and selling the lumber to nearby packs. 

A couple other pack members wander out, led by their noses, and spread out around the open floor plan. One of those members is Raven. She greets River with a hug, then turns her nose at me before going to sit on the leather sofa in front of the fireplace. 

I'm starting to plate food when Grayson comes up behind me. He nuzzles into my neck and pushes his hips against my backside. He smells like spring and dew and wolf and it is intoxicating. I lean back, close my eyes, and take him in.

River takes a plate and sits across the kitchen island on a stool facing us. "You two," he says, pointing a raised fork back and forth between me and Grayson, "are disgustingly adorable. You make me sick."

I hear a snort that comes from the direction where Raven is sitting. I can feel Grayson's smile against my neck and his breath tickles when he says, "Just wait until Bug gets here, you love-sick bastard." River flings a piece of potato our way, but Grayson swings to the side to catch it in his mouth. Chewing, he walks over to the fridge, pulls out a red bottle, and tosses it to River.

"Fuck yes!" River says, squirting the ketchup all over his plate. He takes a big bite and his moans rival the ones I was making this morning. I glance at Grayson with an eyebrow raised.

"He has a thing for human food" He explains with a laugh. River is still moaning in delight. "We," he gestures to River and himself, "went to human college and there was a little diner down the street. Now he thinks ketchup is a food group all of its own."

"College?" I ask, surprised. A few of the Pine Mountain pack members attended classes at human college, but I wouldn't expect that from a pack as rural as Harbor Springs.

"Mmm," He starts, his eyes sparkling with delight. River finally stopped his orgasmic noises, so I glance over to him and see him scowling at Grayson. "River couldn't keep his dick in his pants and Bug kept flipping out. My Dad sent us away and told us to come back when he learned 'not to shit where he sleeps.'"

"Fuck you. She was, like, fourteen! What did he expect from me?" River responds with a sneer. I can tell this is a sore subject between the two. I can understand both sides. River is four years older. His hormones were probably raging and he couldn't control himself. Clover knew they were to be mated, so I can just imagine the way she would feel anytime he even spoke to another girl. For the first time, I'm a little happy that I didn't know who my mate would be. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.

The tension is running high in the room as Grayson and River glare at each other across the kitchen table. The pack members that were loading up their plates have paused and are staring at the duo. 

"How long were you gone?" I ask River, attempting to break some of the tension.

He runs his hands down his face and looks exhausted for a minute. "Six months" He says with a self deprecating smile. "I missed that little brat."

"She was, like, fourteen" Grayson says with a false soprano that I think is suppose to imitate River, then his voice deepens to his regular octave, "Fuck you. The day we came back I found you pinning her against the wall with your tongue down her throat." 

River gives him a smug smile. "She can't keep her hands off me." One of the former Harbor Springs pack members shouts, "I think you mean it the other way around!" and the room erupts in laughter.

The pack filters in and out, grabbing food and drinks while stopping to introduce themselves or compliment the meal. A couple walks up to me hand in hand and I immediately notice the twin bite marks on their necks. The girl blushes and rubs her hand over the spot when she notices my stare.

"Hi! I'm Mandy and this is Abram," She says, gesturing to the man to her left. "I hope its okay, I mean..." She looks nervous and glances down at her shuffling feet. Abram gives her hand a squeeze and continues for her, "We mated last night."

"I hope you don't think that's in poor taste or disrespectful or anything" Mandy blurts out. "We heard you guys mated and we thought it would be okay, but maybe we should have talked to you. We've wanted to for a while and it just seemed like a good time, but now I'm not so sure..." I cut off her ramblings with a hug.

"Congratulations!" I tell her as Grayson places a hand on my waist and shakes Abram's hand. She outwardly sighs in relief. I notice the way her mate stays by her side, like there is a gravitation pull that keeps them together. I wonder if Grayson and I look like that.

"Great!" She tells me with a sincere smile, "Hopefully you will get pregnant soon and then I could try and then we could raise our pups together!" Shocked, I notice this girl has a tendency to ramble. She must see the change on my face because she steps back and blushes again. She rambles some more about being sorry and hoping we can be friends before walking away to enjoy her meal. 

Grayson gives me a concerned look and wraps me in his arms. I lay my head against his chest and just absorb his strength. I feel weird, like this is something we should have talked about together and now I'm being forced to think about it in a room full of people. Also, I never considered that my choosing to get pregnant or not would effect anyone else, but Mandy was right. They will be looking for me to start before anyone else feels like they have the okay to continue.

I step back and say the first thing that pops into my head, "They heard us?"

It's River that answers me. With werewolf hearing, my quiet voice is still loud enough for him. "Of course. You are fucking loud." He gets up and clears his plate. I nestle into Grayson chest again, but when I finally have the courage to look up at him, he's smiling.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment" He tells me and I blush further. He dips down to taste my lips. A door to our left squeaks open and we both turn towards the noise. A disheveled looking Iris peeks out wearing a mens t-shirt and nothing else. Meeting my eyes, she slumps in defeat and walks out. Griffin steps out behind her, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. He's bare chested and I think I know what happened to his shirt. He gives Iris a playful slap on the ass and she yelps, skitters down the hall, and bangs the bathroom door shut. With a raised eyebrow, I cross my arms, square off my shoulders, and give Griffin a look.

"What?" He asks, stealing a piece of bacon from the pan. I have half a mind to slap his hand away. I'd say who knows where his fingers have been, but I think I have a pretty good idea now. "I have a thing for blondes" He tells me with a wolfish grin.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 05



It takes a few days, but the pack falls into an easy rhythm. Our second night there, I walked into the formal dining room to see the plain table had been replaced by a long, hand carved masterpiece with an intricate design. There's a full moon over an expansive lake. I realize immediately that it is meant to be the lake right outside the cabin. The pines surround, looking impossibly realistic. Facing the lake is a wolf pack. There's a knot in the wood at the forefront of the pack, obscuring the wood into a deep reddish brown. There, carved inside the knot is a little wolf and beside her is a larger wolf. The wood on that wolf has been burned, giving the wolf an ashy gray color. Tears form in my eyes, knowing for certain who those two wolves are.

I back up and turn to leave the room, a little too quickly, I guess, because I slam into Grayson who is standing in the entry way. I see the concern in his face and then remember the tears in my eyes. I brush them away, giving him a shaky smile. "It's so beautiful" I tell him, gesturing to the table behind me.

He beams. "I'm glad you like it. It took me a long time to find the right piece of wood. I needed that knot in that exact spot."

My mouth pops open. "You made that?"

He nods and looks a little bashful. Wrapping my arms around him, I say, "I love it" and I wondering if I'm just talking about the table.

We spend every night eating at that table with the whole pack. I stick with the kitchen when tasks are divided amongst the pack. Abram ends up being my biggest helper there. Mandy stays close, but usually ends up being more trouble than she's worth. The first day, she nearly gave us all food poisoning. A day later she just about cut off her finger.

After a week of preparing every meal, Grayson suggests having a day each week that we grill outside instead. He thinks I need a break and I appreciate it, but I really love the kitchen. As the central hub of the house, there are always pack members filtering in and out. I feel like I get a chance to speak to each one. 

While I'm preparing beef stew for dinner, Griffin saddles up next to me with a carrot hanging out of his mouth. "Every memory I have of your mother are of her standing in the kitchen. You look so much like her" He tell me.

Instantly, my eyes fill. I put down the knife I was using to chop potatoes and wrap my arms around his waist. He gives me a few awkward pats on the back before wiggling away. He glances at the space behind me nervously and I'm confused until a warm hand touches my shoulder.

I instantly recognize Grayson's scent. He wraps me up in his arms and carries me upstairs to our loft. We lay on the bed as my tears turn to sobs and quiet back down into snuffles. He's stays with me the whole time, stroking my hair and holding me close.

When I finally feel like I can talk I ask him, "How can you miss someone so much that you barely remember?"

"How old were you when she was killed?" He asks me and I'm not surprised that he already knows who I'm talking about. He just seems to have this uncanny sixth sense about me.

"Three" I tell him.

He caresses my face gently. "Barely weaned" He mumbles and he looks sad for me. It is sad and he doesn't even know the worst parts. Looking into his eyes, I know this is the right moment to tell him everything.

"I was there" I whisper and he stops his movements for a moment. With wide eyes he asks, "What?"

"I was there when she was killed" I tell him and go on to explain, "She was pregnant. Very pregnant. So close to the end that she couldn't shift anymore. She took me for a walk to a shallow stream so I could splash around and cool off on a hot summer day. The wolf came out of no where. It was rabid, I think, and there were hunters in the area that I were probably harassing it. She pushed me up in a tree and stood in front. I screamed and screamed for help, but it didn't matter by the time anyone got there."

My sobs start up again and it takes me a moment to catch my breath. Grayson has moved us so that he's sitting upwards against the headboard and I'm cradled in his arms. He rocks and shushes me, kissing my head and wiping away my tears. "It was awful. She kept trying to shift, but the baby was too big. There was blood everywhere. The baby was ripped out of her womb and flung a few feet away." My stomach rolls. I never told anyone that last part. I jump off Grayson's lap and run for the bathroom. I make it just in time to be sick all over the inside of the toilet.

Grayson follows me in and holds back my hair. When I'm done, he uses a damp washcloth to cool off my face and neck. Embarrassed, I brush my teeth while he runs the bath behind me. When I'm done, he strips off my clothes and his and leans back in the tub with me in front of him. I relax back into him.

"There's one more thing," I tell him, my voice just a whisper, "The wolf was gray."

I feel him tense behind me and breathe a curse against my hair. I know what he must be thinking about. When he found me alone in the woods. Him in his wolf form and me in my human. He tackled me to the ground and snarled at me until I submitted, then just ran off into the woods he came from.

"It's okay," I soothe, reaching behind me direct his face towards mine. His eyes are full of regrets. "You were just a child."

He scoffs. "I wondered for years why you were so afraid that day. I thought you knew I would never hurt you. I was just so mad and I wanted you to... fuck," He stops and turns me around to straddle his lap. "That was the day I found out about our mating. When I shifted and ran out of the meeting, I ran into you. Cedar had just taken his mate and it seemed like they could never be apart. Days before that, we had plans to go into town. He promised to get me a new wood-carving knife. Then she went into heat and he was gone with her for three days. I thought I was showing you who was in charge. I wanted to show you that you would never own me."

I cup his face in my hands and ask, "Did it work?"

"Hmm?" He says, still contemplating his past actions.

"Did you show me?" I ask, licking my lips slowly.

"Baby, you completely own me" He growls against my lips before crushing his mouth to mine.

Our movements are fast and frenzied. I know he's seeking approval that we are still okay and I don't care. I just want him. Water sloshes out of the tub as he directs me over his hard cock. I sink down on him and start to ride him hard. Water pouring over the edges, we are rocking together. I feel my pussy starting to contract as he wiggles his hand between us to rub against my clit. I find my spot on his neck, the one that wears the mark from out first mating. Call it magic, but that first mark will stay forever while the rest of our bites, bruises, and scrapes will heal super fast with our werewolf genetics.

I lick the skin around the bite mark, then suck it into my mouth and nibble on the tender flesh. I'm teasing him and he doesn't like it. He thrusts up harder, hitting a whole new spot, and I feel my orgasm approaching. He bites first, coming inside me and I milk him with my own release, biting him harder and drawing his blood into my mouth.

When the spasms stop, he slides out of me. "Baby, you fucking little tease," He says against my mouth before kissing lower, down my chest, lifting me slightly so my breasts are mouth level. "I didn't even get a chance to say hello to these two beautiful peaches." He leans to take a nipple into his lips and I arch into his mouth. He pays them equal attention, lavishing both breasts. He releases one with a pop and I whimper, grinding myself against his leg.

"Again?" He asks with a smirk. "Baby, you're going to have to give me a couple minutes."

I bite my lip and slide my hand down my stomach. His eyes follow and widen. "Fuck, Baby, yes" He coaches me on. I flick my finger over my clit, but when I go to slide them inside, it feels too weird. The bath water is slipping in between my fingers and washing away the natural lubricant I'm making. The tight fit around Grayson's cock must be the difference of why that worked and this isn't.

Frustrated, I put my knees on his legs and raise myself up so that I'm kneeling with my pussy just above the water level. His eyes are on me and it makes me wetter. I continue my flicking and when I swoop down inside, I gasp. I push two fingers in and out, hitting my G-spot, while thumbing my little nub. Grayson's hands are all over me, caressing my hips and ass. I come quickly, using my hand to steady myself on the wall behind Grayson's head.

He pulls me closer and guides me knees to the flat spots on the edges of the tub that are meant to hold shampoos and soap. He sinks deeper into the water, so that his face is right between my legs. His large hand settles on my hip and guides me down over his mouth. Already sensitive from two orgasms, I squeak when his tongue touches me. 

Its strangely erotic, the way I'm sitting on his face and the intimate view he must have right now. It brings a renewed sense of lust that tingles throughout my body. His tongue is hot and a little rough. He just works my clit and I find myself moving so he can have better access to the rest, but he avoids penetrating me with that delicious tongue and, instead, just teases along the outside.

My orgasm sneaks up on me. One of my hands sinks into Grayson's hair while the other continues supporting me against the tile. I rest my forehead on my arm, completely and utterly spent. I'm vaguely aware of Grayson standing up and turning me around to face him. I don't say anything, just switch my resting position from my arm to his chest. I can feel the rumble of the chuckle running through him, but I can't be bothered to look up at his face right now.

"Do you want to take a nap, Baby?" He asks me and I nod against his chest. He laughs again when I fail to move my body. My legs feel like jelly and I can barely keep my eyes open. He scoops an arm under my knees and lifts me up. He brings me to our bed and tucks me under the covers. When he turns to leave, I snake an arm out to grab him.

"Mmmm" I say, unable to form words. 

"I have some work to do, Baby" He tells me, but I don't care. I just want him. A low growl comes from deep in my throat and I grip him tighter. "Okay, Baby" He laughs, climbing into the bed next to me. I snuggle into his side with my head resting on his chest. 

~

I wake up alone and in the dark. The alarm clock reads 9:55 PM. I slept away the entire afternoon and part of the evening. Pulling one of Grayson's shirts over my head, I padded down the stairs and into the open kitchen and living room. The room was dark. A projector lit an empty wall and it took me a minute to realize that there was a move playing. Twilight! The movie was Twilight! It must have been the second one because there were big fury wolves that looked nothing like our real wolf forms.

It appeared most of the pack was here, sprawled out on couches or snuggled up together on bean bags covering the floor. I found Grayson quickly. He was sitting on the leather love seat next to River. My eyes immediately searched for Raven, knowing she wouldn't be far and of course, I found her on a bean bag on the floor so close to Grayson's leg that her hair was brushing against his jeans. As usual, he was paying her no attention. Instead, he and River were whispering back and forth while occasionally glancing up at the movie.

I made my way over to the two men, but Iris, who was seated on the couch beside the one that held Grayson and River, jumped up. "Hey Clara!" She said, smiling nervously, "Do you want to sit here?"

I glanced around, trying to figure out her angle, but I couldn't see why she was being kind to me. Maybe she was trying to keep me away from Grayson? Maybe she was just trying to be nice? It didn't matter either way so I told her, "No thanks," and finished my route to Grayson.

"Hey Baby," He said, reaching out and pulling me into his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. I lean into him, my back against the arm of the couch and my legs stretching out toward River. River takes one of my feet into his hand and measures it against his palm. "Are you feeling better, Princess?" He asks me while Grayson takes my foot out of his hand and gives him a slight growl.

I nod against Grayson's chest and feel my cheeks heat. I'm embarrassed by my reactions lately. I'm emotional and I know why. My heat cycle is going to be starting up. I know I need to talk to Grayson and decide if we are going to try for a pup this cycle, but that isn't a conversation we should have here.

"Can I talk to you?" I whisper to him. Getting up, he takes my hand and kisses the palm before intertwining our fingers. He grabs a thick knit blanket from the back of the couch and leads me on to the porch. It takes a minute for us to get adjusted. He wraps the blanket around his shoulders and settles me into his lap. The moon is high and nearly full, lighting our faces just enough that I can see any expressions he makes.

"Thank you for earlier," I start, but his slow smirk makes me think he is misunderstanding and then I laugh, realizing he thinks I am thanking him for he amazing sex. "Well, thanks for that too, but I meant thank you for pulling me out of the kitchen. I don't want the pack to see me like that."

"Of course. I know that's not like you. You have something else to tell me, don't you?" He asks with a small smile.

"My heat cycle is going to be starting soon" I confess.

He nods. "Do you know what you want to do yet?"

"No" I whisper. I look down so I don't have to see his face. I don't know what he's thinking and it's driving me crazy. 

His hand caresses my neck and tilts my face up to meet his eyes. "We can do whatever you want. I'm ready. I want to put a baby in your belly. I want to be a father. I want you to be the mother of my children..." I bite my lip and try to look down again, but he's not allowing it. "But, I know how difficult this must be for you. We can wait as long as you like. I will do the runs at the border of the property and you can stay in our room. You are mated now, so the other males will stay away from you. Just in case, I'll have the women and Abram check on you and bring you what you need."

My shoulder slump in relief. I'm not sure if I was more worried that he would say he didn't want to take advantage of this cycle or if he did. His answer was perfect. He's perfect. I smile at him and the way he is looking at me makes my heart skip a beat. I snuggle into his chest and feel something hard poking my bottom. I attempt to stifle my giggle, but I guess it doesn't work because Grayson tickles my thigh and asks, "You think that's funny do you?"

That hand that was tickling glides seductively up my leg while he says, "You come down here dressed in my shirt, with your hair all messy and smelling like sex and you expect me not to be hard? Baby, I had a hard time not throwing you down on the living room floor and sinking into you in front of the whole pack."

I gasp. Tingles spread down my body and I know I'm getting wet. His roaming hands are now at the hem of the shirt and he slips one up and over my hip. Now it's his turn to gasp. "Where are your panties?" He asks, while sliding to the front. He groans when he's greeted by my wetness. I move to straddle his legs and kiss him hard on the mouth, sucking and biting his lower lip. 

While one hand continues to massage and tease between my legs, the other moves over my belly and up to my breasts. He thumbs my nipple, hardening it into a little peak before moving over to give its twin the same treatment. 

I'm getting braver at exploring his body. My hand sneaks up his shirt to rest on the planes of his stomach. His body is so hard everywhere mine is soft. I never knew touching someone could feel so amazing until him. I grip the hem of his shirt and a short whine comes out of my mouth. He chuckles and pulls his shirt off with one arm in a way that makes me want to lick every spot on his chest. So I do.

Starting behind on ear, I make my way down his body. Sucking, kissing, and nipping his skin. He smells so amazing, like man and forrest and rain and sweat. I want to taste him everywhere. By the time I get to his jeans, my mouth is watering. My tongue is aching to wrap around something. My taste buds are begging me to put him in my mouth.

That same little whine comes from my mouth when I try to get his pants off. It is so animalistic and I'm surprised by how much my wolf wants him as well. She recognizes her mate and wants to do anything she can to please him. He gets the picture and pulls off his jeans, but not before ripping my shirt over my head. Now we are both completely naked on the porch and I just don't care. I want him.

I get down on my knees in front of the chair he is sitting on. "I've never done this before" I confess, searching his eyes for approval and I see it there. The lust is making his dark eyes so much darker. Through our blood bond, all I can feel is desire, hunger, and longing.

"You don't have to..." He starts, but I stop him licking the underneath of his cock. He groans. A little bead of precum drips out of the hole on the tip. I bring my tongue to it and give it a taste. It taste salty and earthy and I want more. I put the whole thing in my mouth. The way it massages my tongue makes me moan. Wetness pools between my legs, making my thighs slick with my desire, while I bob my head up and down on his cock, taking it deep into my throat. One hand travels to his sack, where I caress and squeeze. With the other hand, I feel the ripples of his stomach muscles. The way the V shaped muscle between his hips feels makes me moan again, this time against the head of his cock. 

His fingers weave into my hair and he grips my head, not pushing, just giving himself some control. I take him deeper into my mouth. He pulls up on my hair and I let go of him with an audible pop. He pulls me up to standing, then stands himself. He looks so big and predatory. I back up and I'm not sure why. I want him, but my body isn't sure if he's dangerous. He stalks toward me and keep backing up until my back hits the railing of the porch. My legs are telling me to flee, but my pussy is telling me to fuck.

He grabs my jaw and claims my mouth. I wrap my arms around him. My hard nipples rub against his chest and my breasts feel big and full. They are aching to be touched and Grayson doesn't disappoint. He pinches the nipple, then snakes his hands down to grab my ass. He lifts me up, lines himself up, and sinks into me in one swift move. I cry out. I was ready, but he's huge and it still takes a moment to get use to the size.

He doesn't give me that moment. He pounds into me, relentlessly. My body is trying to figure out the boundary between pleasure and pain until it all just falls over and I come around his cock. "Again" He murmurs against my lips, then slides nearly all the way out before ramming back in again. I whimper. His teeth run along my jaw. "Come" He tells me, nipping the skin on my neck, and I do, throwing my head back in ecstasy. He pumps his cock into me and I feel it erupting, hot come squirting out and coating my inner walls. He bites me and I turn my head to bite him back. Breathing hard, he rest his head on my shoulder.

I hear the door open and my body freezes. "Fucking rabbits" River mutters, pulling off his t-shirt. I hide my face in Grayson's chest. He must give River a dirty look because River says, "What? I waited until you were done! I'm going to go check the perimeter. Have a nice night Princess." I squeak out something that sounds like, "You, too" and then hear the tell tale sounds of shifting. River bounds away and into the moonlit woods.

~

The next morning at breakfast, Grayson tells me that he and River are traveling to town. The trip is a little long, but I miss the human town we lived next to in the Pine Mountain pack. "Can I come?" I ask.




Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 05



"Of course" Gray murmurs, nuzzling my neck. River walks by and says, "If you come, promise I won't be listening to the sound track of you two swapping spit the whole ride" but he says it with a smile, so I know that he's happy for us.

"I'll drive" Grayson says, pulling River into a headlock and giving him a noogie. River tries to kick Grayson leg out from under him and eventually they are wrestling on the floor. Iris walks in and snorts. 

"Is this normal for them?" I ask the blonde. She was friendly towards me last night and I want to extended the olive branch. She lights up when she hears me speak.

"Very. This pretty much sums up our childhood. Wait until Bug gets here, she'll just jump in and start beating the shit out of them both until River tries to hump her leg."

"Literally?" I ask and she spews a mouthful of orange juice. I grab the towel and dry my face and then the floor. Coughing she says, "Sorry!"

She gets bumped from behind when someone brushes past her to make a plate. I tilt my head to the kitchen door and she nods. We both take our plates to the small eating area on the deck outside. Sitting down, it feels weird to be talking to Iris, but good to talk to another female. I miss my best friend and I can't wait until she turns 18 and joins us in a few months.

"Do you know Clover well?" I ask, taking a fork full of eggs and sausage.

"We grew up together. She doesn't like Raven very much, so you two will probably get along well. No one calls her Clover though, just Bug."

"She sounds fun. I'm excited to meet her. She'll be here in a couple days. I think some of the other pack members are escorting her. Do you miss it?"

Her eyes take on a far away look and she blinks rapidly. I take her hand in mine and she bites her lip and shakes her head like she can shake her eyes clear. "I just miss one person."

"Oh" I say, surprised, just the other morning she was trying to sneak out of Griffin's bedroom. She must read my mind because she laughs. 

"Yeah, the best way to get over a guy is to get other another?"

"Did it work?" I ask and her smile drops. "Oh, no" I say, "Tell me about him."

"His name is Niko. We were in love. We were waiting until I turned 18 and we were going to mate and then the Alpha dropped this bomb on us. I was on the list to come and he was on the list to stay. He broke up with me the next day and told me 'a clean break will heal quicker'. I went to his house that night to try to get him back and there was another girl there..."

"Asshole!" I say, interrupting her.

"No, not really. I talked to the girl the next day. He asked her to come over, but then got so drunk that she just put him to bed and left. She said that she didn't want to take advantage of him and he wasn't over me. Apparently, Griffin did not feel the same way."

"He would have, if he knew all this. He's a good guy. His little sister is my best friend. You were really drunk that night and you didn't make a good impression."

She winces. "I'm sorry about that. Raven is my friend, but she can be a bitch. She needs to get over this thing with Grayson. You guys are amazing together. The perfect Alphas."

"I get it. Scorned lover? I'm not sharing though."

Iris laughs, throwing her head back. Her blonde curls bounce and she looks so young and carefree for a moment. "Lover? Psshhh. They were never together. Though no one else knows that by the way she talks."

"What?" I ask, my mouth gaping, showing off a lovely bite of my breakfast, I'm sure.

"Yeah, she wishes. Her older sister and Gray were...um..." She hesitates and gives me a sympathetic look.

"Go ahead and say it," I tell her, "I know he wasn't a virgin."

"They were fuck buddies." She says quickly and, although I shutter at that hard pill to swallow, it actually is better than I thought. I expected a real relationship.

She continues with the story, "She ran off to Oregon a few months ago. They have family there. I kind of thought Raven would go too, actually, but she seemed to get it in her mind that once her sister left she would have Grayson all to herself. By then, he was already living here, getting this place ready for the new pack, and she came to try to seduce him. I came with her, just to check out the area. When we got here, River told us they had to air out the house. You had just left after spending your heat cycle here and Grayson was going crazy over your scent. Needless to say, she didn't make any headway with him that day or any day after."

I smiled. "You love him, don't you?" She asked and I looked away, blushing. She smiled too. A real, honest, happy smile. Grayson was right. Our pack does want their Alpha couple to have a strong relationship.

Of course Iris was right about loving him too. I'm not sure when it happened. I went from being terrified of him to missing him every second he was away. My body ached for him, but my heart wanted him close even more.

By the time Grayson and River pulled up in a pick up truck filled with their hand carved wood items, I felt the beginnings of a fragile friendship growing between Iris and I.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 06



The ride to town is a long one. I sat in the middle, between Grayson and River, messing with an old iPod shuffle that plugged into the radio via cassette adapter. The iPod was a throw back from their college days and it was exciting to see what kind of music Grayson liked. Apparently, he is a 90s punk and grunge lover. The playlists are filled with Sublime, Weezer, and Ben Folds.

Before we left, we went around to the pack members and asked if they needed anything. Now I'm rewriting their personal lists into separate lists for each store. 

"Are you excited that Bug is going to be here soon?" I ask River, using the nick name that everyone else seems to use.

His face lights up immediately and Grayson laughs at him. "So, just a little bit?" I ask, holding up my thumb and pointer finger to indicate the small amount.

"What do you expect? Mama Yara put us together with her voodoo magic?" River says.

"What?" I laugh. "What does that mean?"

River goes wide eyed and looks to Grayson. "You never told her?"

"Told me what?" I ask impatiently.

Grayson is laughing, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the seat behind me. "No. Go ahead and tell her."

"Yara is part human."

"What?" I gasp.

Grayson laughs again and River continues, "Yeah, like a quarter..." He looks to Grayson, who nods. "Doesn't matter anyway, all that matters is that her human grandmother was some kind of witch and Yara inherited some of her powers."

"Really?"

This time Grayson speaks up, "Who really knows? I have no idea if it is that human part of her, but she is able to recognize perfect mates. Mates that compliment each other completely, their pack prosperous, and their children bountiful. She can't tell you who your mate is, but if she thinks of two wolves and they are perfect, something just clicks."

"And you and bug are a perfect mates?" I ask River, then I jump to look at Grayson, not bothering to wait for River's answer. "Are we perfect mates?"

He gives me a silly smile, "Of course, baby."

"And all your brothers?" I ask, thinking about the crazy amount of children they each have. Shifters tend to have a hard time getting and staying pregnant, so one or two pups are normal. Grayson comes from a huge family and then each one of his brothers is hard at working creating their own extensive brood.

"Yep."

"Oh shit," I say, not filtering my thoughts, "We are going to have a ridiculous amount of pups too, aren't we?"

River and Grayson roar in laughter. "I can't believe how much shit your pack kept from you. You didn't even know about you and Gray. That match was made when your mother was still alive."

My brows knit together. Seriously? It's bad enough when I thought they kept it from me since I was nine, but now we are talking younger than three? Grayson sees my face and leans in for a quick kiss. "That isn't her pack anymore. I'm not keeping her in the dark. We get to decide how we want things done now."

I'm so in love with him.

"Do you want to hear the story of when my mom first matched us together?" He asks.

"Please" I say, leaning into his side and breathing him in. He smiles down at me and I search for his lips for a little peck.

"A pack to the east of Pine Mountain, where your father's mate is from..." He starts and I interrupt him to supply him with a name, "Monadnock?"

"That's it. Their Alpha wanted you for a mate. Your father was interested because it would tie together the two packs closest to civilization on that side, but your mother was hesitant. You were a baby and the Alpha was already in his twenties."

I blanched, realizing who he was speaking of. Sable, my father's mate, has a brother that is in his forties and has been alpha for some time, having stepped up when his father was killed in a freak hunting accident. When the Pine Mountain pack meets with Monadnock, they usually go to Monadnock's land, but I have seen him a few times. Large and burly, with eerie wolf-like yellow eyes, the Monadnock's alpha is nothing like my muscular, handsome mate.

"My Mom says that your mother convince your father to hold off and see if there were any other potential suitors. When the Harbor Spring pack and Pine Mountain pack merged for their biannual meeting, she pulled my Mom aside and asked her to feel out the match. Of course, there was nothing there. My Mom had never considered matching us together, but after seeing your mother so distraught, she thought of us together and we were perfect. Your father wasn't convinced. I'm the youngest and so I should have to go start another pack or mate with an Alpha's daughter to gain his pack. At that point, your mother was pregnant and your father was adamant that it would be a boy and his heir. Bug was just a little thing and my mother couldn't stand the thought of either of us being so far away. My Mom and your worked out all the details, then got my father in on it. Finally they brought it to your father and he agreed. The rest was history. All the fine details were worked out before they informed me."

I snuggle into his side and he looks down at me with those beautiful brown eyes that are so dark you can barely tell where his irises end and his pupils begin. "I'm glad my mother had the insight to speak with Yara," I tell him.

"Me, too," He smiles and gives me a loving kiss on the top of my head.

I drift off for the rest of the drive, dreaming of sinister yellow eyes, warm dark brown ones, and even affectionate grayish blue that look just like mine, but I know they aren't. They belong to my mother, my angel, who saved me the day she traded her life for my own, but also saved me long before that when she fought to give me my perfect mate.

~

The town we arrive in is smaller than the one adjacent to Pine Mountain. It's just a little tourist trap, really, with one long strip of stores, a playground, and a bar. Grayson parks in front of a building with a grand log porch. The sign above has Wapack Woodworks carved into a large plank of wood, similar to the dining room table Grayson built.

As we step out of the truck, an old man with a long white beard and a red flannel shirt comes out to great us. "What are you doing here, boy?" He asks, glaring at Grayson. "Did you bring me some more shit? I barely sold the last batch!"

I look to Grayson, assuming this crazy old man is offending him, but he's just grinning. "I bet you sold out in a week, old man."

"Cocky little shit," the man mutters, then peeks in the back of Grayson's truck. "Did you get those custom pieces done?"

"Of course," Grayson says, pulling out a large plaque etched with the name Carson and surrounded by skiers flying down the mountain in a cloud of pines. The man gives a low whistle. "Ain't she a beauty. We are going to get a pretty penny for this and I saw that Carson lady looking at that fancy table in your book the last time she was in. Wouldn't be too surprised if they ordered one of those to be done by the winter when they come pick this up."

When the man looks up from the plaque, he seems to notice me for the first time. "Well, well, what do we have here? Who's this pretty little thing?"

Grayson wraps an arm around my waist. "This is my wife, Clara. Clara, this is Billy, the owner of Wapack Woodworks." The way he says wife makes my heart melt a little. Really, mating is even more permanent then human's marriage, but the ease and swiftness in which he dropped that word makes me happier then he could ever imagine.

"Wife, eh?" Billy asks. "You too look mighty young to be married."

Grayson smirks and pulls me even tighter against him. "We got married the day after her eighteenth birthday."

BIlly chuckles. "You dog! I remember what that feels like. I knocked my wife up when she was seventeen, so her daddy let us have a quicky wedding. He didn't want no bastard grandchild. Best thing that ever happened to me."

He congratulates us and goes back to looking through the bed of the truck. Grayson lines our hips up and pulls me so close that every inch of the front of his body is touching every inch of mine. He leans in so close that I can taste his breath on my lips. "I'm going to be here for a couple hours getting things priced. Stay close to River. I know you can take care of yourself, but I worry about you when your not right next to me." He hands me an envelope of cash. "This will cover what everyone asked for and more. Get anything you think we need. Maybe some more books or games. If we don't keep this pack occupied, we are going to end up blowing all our money on alcohol." We both laugh.

My lips are tingling from being so close to his so when he finally gives me a sweet kiss goodbye, I'm not ready to let go. I grip his jaw and pull him towards me, sneaking my tongue into his mouth and sucking on his soft lower lip. He growls into my mouth before pulling back. "I'll see you later," He says with one last kiss.

Our last stop is a little bookstore across the street from Wapack Woodworks. "This took way less time with the way you organized the lists. I'm going to go check on Gray and see if he's almost done," River says, hooking his thumb behind him.

"I'll be in here," I say, pointing to the bookstore door. He walks across the street and I enter the store. That powerful smell of books hits my nose and I cough. There's a petite girl standing behind the counter beside the door. She's my height, but much thinner and I wonder if she's naturally thin or if the human ideals have led her to look this way. She has should length blonde hair and blue eyes that fade to hazel around the pupil. Its intriguing and beautiful and I can't help but to stare for a moment. 

"Lucky girl, he's a hottie," she smiles and I don't understand what she's talking about. Noting my confusion, she points out the window to where River is walking up to Wapack Woodworks.

"Oh, he's not mine," I say surprised. Despite the little conversation I had with Iris, I haven't had any girl time where we just giggle over boys since I left my best friend, Paloma, at the Pine Mountain pack.

"So, is he single?" the girl asks with a raised eyebrow and half a smirk.

I laugh. "No, he's with my husband's sister," I tell her, feeling a smile come to my face when I call Grayson my husband.

"Ugh! The good ones are always taken!" She says with a false pout. "Husband? He must be pretty cute if he is related to the girl that snagged that hunk of man."

"Mmhm, tall, dark, and handsome."

She brings her hands to her chest and crosses them. "A girl after my own heart! Does he have any brothers?"

"Four of them, but they are all married too."

"Boo!" she cries and I walk away laughing. 

I pick out some new reads and I grab the Twilight Saga because of the movie the pack was watching. I go back up to the counter where the girl is arguing on the phone with someone.

"I'm at work, Pete, I can't just leave. There are customers here. I have to go," she says, sounding distressed before she hangs up the phone and places it to the side. She takes a deep breath and turns to face me with a shaky smile on her face. I don't know what to say, so I just place my books on the counter.

When she gets to Twilight she asks, "So, team Edward or Jacob?"

"Uhhh..." I start, shocked by the sudden change in her attitude. "I'm always team werewolf, no matter what."

"Mmmm, yes. I want me some werewolf abs. Yum, yum. I'm Ariella, by the way, if you ever find yourself around here again, make sure you stop by."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Clara. My husband is doing business across the street so I'm sure I'll see you again."

We say our farewells and I leave to find River sitting on a bench outside. He offers to take my bags for me and I hand them over. "Ooof! What did you buy in there? Bricks?"

"Books!" I laugh.

"It feels more like bricks. I'm going to bring them to the truck. Gray needs another half hour so we can hang out in there or go to Zeb's," he says, pointing to a building across the street. The sign says Zeb's General Store, but it's two stories tall and looks like the biggest tourist trap I have ever seen. I immediately choose to browse over there, thinking of the board games Grayson suggested.

I tell River and he tells me that he'll meet me over there after he drops the books off at the truck and tells Grayson where we are going. The wood porch is painted yellow and there's a tall stuffed bear greeting me at the door. I walk through and I'm bombarded by delicious smells. Glass encased counters line the right side, filled with fudge, cookies, and other treats. Rows of candy, cooking mixes, and novelty kitchen supplies line the other side. A steep staircase sits in the middle of the store and I decide to venture up there first.

It was a good decision because I can see board games ahead of me, but for some reason I keep walking. I pass a sweatshirt with the name of a popular skiing mountain on it. Another that just says New Hampshire. One that says "honk if you love moose" makes me laugh and before I realize where I'm heading, I find myself in a little corner filled with baby outfits.

I'm drawn, like fish to the water, to a little set. My eyes water as I take it in. The newborn sized onesie is a light gray and has white print that reads "I'm being raised by wolves" on the front. Attached are little matching gray and white striped pants with an all gray wolf embroidered on the bum.

I can't stop looking at it. Visions from the past and visions that I hope are for the future pass through my mind. Grayson's and my first mating. Laying in bed talking about his brother's children. The look in his eyes when he told me he wanted me to have his. Then I imagine my belly growing big with his baby. The way his large hand would hold it protectively while he listened to the heart beat. I picture a tiny newborn with his dark hair and my light eyes dressed up in this outfit.

I'm startled when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up at River, who wipes away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. "I know Gray probably gave you some speech about him not caring either way, but that's a lie. He wants this with you. So badly. It was all he could talk about when we were renovating the cabin. I know he must want it even more now that he loves you."

That does it for me. I grab the outfit and hold it close while we pick out board games. When we check out, I ask the cashier for a paper bag for the outfit so I can hide it from Grayson. She smiles and gets one from behind the candy counter. We meet back up with Grayson and stop by the farm before heading home.

The ride seems shorter or maybe I'm just too lost in my own head with dreams of baby socks and sweet little feet. Unloading the truck, it's Grayson that grabs the paper bag. "What's this?" he asks, looking at River, who is half out of the truck. "If this is that peanut butter fudge, I am going to throw it away. You are going to make yourself sick. Wolves are not suppose to eat that kind of food," he says, giving River an accusing glare.

"It's mine," I say with a shy smile. He looks over at me and I nod, "Go ahead and open it."

The bag crinkles as he pulls it open. He takes out the outfit and I can tell the exact moment when it stretches out and he can tell what it is. I will never forget the look on his face. It is a look of pure bliss. I have never seen him happier than he is at this exact moment. With his full megawatt grin he asks, "Does this mean what I think it does?"

I nod again and I can't help the giant smile on my face. He looks like a little boy on his birthday. "Yes!" He shouts, his fist pumping into the sky. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He continues, getting closer and closer to me until the final word is whispered against my lips. My arms wrap around him. My fingers tangle in his hair. He groans and pulls me over to straddle his lap.

I hear River laugh. "I'm gonna go check the perimeter. You two have fun. Congrats!" He says before shutting the door.

We're frantic as I unbutton Grayson's jeans. He slips a hand up my leg, starting at my knee and ending on my ass so that my dress is bunched up around my hips.

"Panties?" He growls before sliding the offensive offensive material to the side and plunging a finger deep inside me. I moan, finally getting his pants undone I pull out his hard cock and line myself up over it. We both watch as I sink down, his thick shaft disappearing into my wet heat. Grayson puts his hands on my hips and guides me up and down aggressively.

"You're scent is already changing," he says, thrusting up and hitting just the right spot. "So tight and wet. You feel how hard I am baby? Do you feel how much I want you? I'm going to come so deep inside of you. I bet by the end of next week, you will have my baby growing inside of you."

His words lead me to completion. "Gray!" I yell out as my pussy spasms around his cock. He pumps a few more times before I feel him shooting his hot come inside of me. He pulls my head down to rest on his forehead. "Fuck," he laughs, "you make me really happy, incase you couldn't tell."

~ The house is empty as we walk through. It was late when we got home, but its even later now that we spent some time having a little romp in the truck. Sitting in the kitchen, hunched over a bowl of leftover beef stew, is a girl I have never seen before. She looks up after hearing us come in and motions to the bowl with her spoon. "This is really good," she mumbles, trying to keep the stew in her mouth.

Gray drops the bags he was holding and walks over to her with open arms. Seeing them next to each other, it finally clicks. This is Clover, or Bug, as everyone else calls her. They look so similar with dark hair and deep brown eyes. She's beautiful wearing just a t-shirt and little jersey shorts, long legs stretched out onto the bar stool next to her.

I join them and wrap my arms around her too. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you," I tell her.

"Not as much as I have heard about you, I'm sure," she says with a smile. "My brother is a little bit obsessed with you."

Grayson gives her a warning look and asks, "Where is mom?"

"She has retired for the evening," Bug replies in a false English accent. I think she is pretending to be a butler.

"And why are you not sleeping, little sister? Waiting up for someone?" He asks with a smirk.

Her cheeks turn pink, but then she scowls. "No. Just tell me where my room is and I'll be on my way. I'm exhausted."

"Sure, it's the master bedroom on the second floor," he replies, giving the location of River's bedroom. Our room is in the newly remodeled attic, so we gave River, the Beta of the pack, the old master bedroom.

"Fuck you, big brother," Bug growls.

"Why are you going to pretend? Just to piss him off? Just to hurt him? He loves you and you love him. Grow up and cut the shit."

Bug's spoon makes a loud clank as it falls into the empty bowl, then the stool screeches as she pushes it away from the island and gets up and stalks off into the dark living room.

I glare at Grayson and he gives me a "what?" expression. "It's her first day here. Be nice!" I snarl before walking away to join Bug.

I flick on the little light on the side table and the glow illuminate the tears on her cheeks. I sit down on the couch next to her and give her a side hug. "I'm sorry that your brother is an asshole," I whisper to her.

She laughs loudly. "Oh God, you are so perfect for him. No one puts him in his place like that."

I smile. "And you are perfect for River. He hasn't stopped talking about you, you know."

She hiccups and wipes the tears off her cheeks. "Did he sleep with anyone else since you guys got here?"

"Of course not," I answer immediately and its true. River hasn't so much as looked at another girl. That, combined with the glassy look his eyes get whenever he talks about Bug shows how much he cares about her.




Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 06



"Are you sure? Because Raven said..." she starts, but Grayson cuts her off, handing us both a glass of wine.

"Raven is full of shit and she's getting on my nerves. She keeps trying to start trouble with Clara and I'm trying so hard not to lose it on her." He looks to me, "I want you to fight your own battles, but she's making it really hard."

"Seriously?" Bug asks, with a face like she tasted something bitter. "Fucking with your Alpha's mate? She has balls. She probably thinks that because you are this tiny little thing that she could take you, but I know your family history. You are full blooded Alpha. You just need to shift and you can hand her her ass."

I nearly choke on my wine, laughing so hard. I'm still sputtering when the side door opens and River strolls in. The moment he takes his first breath in the room, he pauses and turns. His eyes light up and his nostrils flare.

He pounces on Bug and they would have knocked me over if Grayson hadn't wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me up towards him. River buries his nose in the crevice between Bug's neck and shoulder, taking deep breaths and enjoying her scent. "I missed you so much," he mumbles against her skin.

"Never again," he whimpers before capturing her lips with his own. Grayson pulls me around the couch and we back into the kitchen. "Never," Bug agrees.

"Do you think they will end up mating tonight, even after Bug's little freak out?" I ask, far enough away from the couple that they won't hear.

"Definitely," Grayson says, looking into my eyes. We share a secret smile, both of us thinking of our own mating and how wonderful it was.

You would think that with all the excitement, we would go upstairs and renew our blood bond and we did go upstairs, but instead of passionate love making, we both crawled into bed. Grayson's front spoon against my back and we fell asleep, almost instantly, wrapped up in each other.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 07



I woke up to a slow burn baking the insides of my lower belly. Grayson's chest pushed against my bare back. His arm left a searing trail where it laid against my side leading to his hand, which was cupping my breast. The more I woke up, the hotter the blaze inside me burned until I felt my pupils dilate and my wolf brushed against the inside of my mind, bursting my body into a fiery inferno.

I finally understood why they called this the heat. It wasn't like this before. My last cycle I felt agitated and restless, but I was able to have rational thoughts and my body never felt like it was melting. But now, with my mate's scent seeping into my nostrils, I couldn't contain myself.

I rolled over and pushed Grayson to his back. His eyes popped open when I straddled his lap. They darken to the nearly black shade I love so much as he takes me in. I can imagine how wild I must look, naked, eyes dilated, panting and grinding on him with my hair falling wildly around my shoulders and down to my waist.

He starts a slow pursuit of my body, starting at my hands that are braced on his pectoral muscles, smoothes his hands up my arms, over my collar bone, and down to my breasts. He cups each one, testing the weight and feel, before brushing his thumbs over my taut nipples. They harden even more and I push my breasts into his hands. They feel heavy and ache with need. His hands slide down my stomach, making me whimper and grind harder onto his fully erect cock. His touch somehow extinguishes the fire burning inside of me while simultaneously stoking it back up to a scorching heat.

His hand stills just bellow my belly button and he flattens his palm. His lips twitch, then spread to a full smile, one that I can't help but to mimic. I know what he's thinking, but he tells me anyway in a deep whisper. "I'm going to put a baby in there," he says, stroking the smooth skin and making me groan.

He pulls me down and sweetly rubs his nose over mine. He presses his forehead to mine as he looks deeply into my eyes. I try to pull away, whimpering and frantically rubbing myself against him, but he pulls me back by my neck roughly with my slight growl. I submit, resting my head against his and locking my eyes on his. The connection makes are bond flare to life. His emotions run into mine. Hope, arousal, but most of all, love.

He's in love with me.

He hasn't said it yet, but I haven't said it to him yet either though I have known with certainty for a few days. Neither of us needs to say it when it shines so brightly through our bond.

Grayson takes my lips for one sweet, loving kiss before dropping his face to nuzzle into where my shoulder meets my neck. He takes a deep audible breath and the atmosphere of the room changes instantly.

He growls, rolling us over and then flipping me onto my stomach. His wolf emerges as he pulls my hips up and slams into me, making me cry out. He pauses, fighting with his humanity to make sure I'm okay, but when I push back into him, he transforms. His shape is still very human, but it is obvious that his wolf has taken over completely on the inside.

My human side submits to the inner shift as well and I growl. Grayson's hands are everywhere, running up my back, gripping my hips, pinching my tight nipples, flicking my clit. He pounds on and on, not stopping when I come the first time or the second. Finally, as my third orgasm melts into a forth, I feel his cock spurting hot semen deep inside me. Exhausted, we both roll over and burrow into each other before falling asleep.

~

We woke, only to have wild animalistic sex over and over again and falling back asleep. Someone kept us supplied with water and snacks by leaving a tray outside the attic door, but other than that, we had no connection to the pack for three days.

When we awoke on the forth day, the burn was gone. Grayson pulled me close and nuzzled into my neck. "It's over," he whispered into my hair, "Welcome back."

I smiled and rolled over to face him. He gave me a boyishly happy grin while placing his palm on my lower abdomen. My smile faded. "I might not get pregnant this time," I warned him, my voicing sounding sad even to me.

"Then we get to try again," he said, punctuating his statement with a kiss. "And again," kiss, "and again," kiss, "and again..."

"Okay, okay!" I laughed, "I get it! Let's go take a shower and make sure the pack didn't kill each other."

All was well with in the pack. We congratulated not just one, but two newly mated couples. River wore his mark proudly, while Bug ducked her head and smiled shyly when Grayson pretended to be disturbed by the thought of his sister and best friend together.

The other couple was Iris and our newest pack member, Niko. I don't know what I expected from him, but I never guess he would be this big, hairy, bear of a man. Shorter than Grayson, but just as wide, with an unruly mop of curly black hair and an even more unruly black beard, he looks like the definition of a mountain man. It is almost comical to see Iris, with her honey blonde hair and petite features, sitting on his lap and gazing up at him adoringly.

I watch them for a moment, completely intrigued by this odd couple. She whispers something to him, her lips brushing his ear with every word. His mouth quirks up at the corner forming a small smirk, the only expression on his otherwise stoic face. His hand travels from the spot low on her back to the hem of her short dress, which is bunched up around the tops of her thighs. His hand sneaks in and I watch as it makes contact with her ass and she grinds into him. It is strangely erotic to witness their intimacy.

They untangle themselves as we get closer and get up to great us. "Hello, Alpha Grayson. Thank you for requesting my transfer," Niko said, surprising me when he spoke with a very strong Russian accent.

"You have my mate to thank for that one," Grayson replied with a smile, throwing his arm around my waist and pulling me in tight. "I don't think anyone from the Harbor Springs pack realized the extent of your relationship. I see congratulations are in order."

Iris stepped in then, to give me a quick hug and a whispered "thank you" in my ear. "Niko, this is Clara, Grayson's mate."

Later, when we are alone, I ask Grayson about this mysterious Niko, "So he is a transfer from Russia?"

Grayson takes a pull of his beer and props his feet up on the rail of the deck where we are relaxing and enjoying the sunset. "Yep. His whole family. There are six of them in total in Harbor Springs. That's one of the reasons he wasn't added to the transfer list."

I nod, understanding. Most wolves spend their entire lives in one pack. Occasionally, they switch packs once, but switching more than that is frowned upon. They get called pack hoppers, wanderers, nomads, or the worst, deserters.

"My Dad spoke openly with him. He admitted that he was planning on mating with Iris and the move changed his plans. We all thought it would be for the best if he switched with one of our pack members. Eric, one of our youngest males, was having a hard time without his family. He was eager to go back and offered when he heard that we trying to get Niko. This all happened because of you. An Alpha is in charge of his pack's happiness. This is why you are the other half of my soul."

His pride and love showed through the bond. "Things will be interesting between Niko and Griffin," I said.

Grayson laughed. "They will. Niko is all about honor and obeying his alpha, but I can't imagine having to be around someone who fucked my mate. I'm glad the Pine Mountain pack went though so much to keep your virginity intact."

"What?" I asked playfully, "You don't want to share?"

"Never, ever, ever," he mumbled against my lips.

~

The pack was back to business as usual. I couldn't get through a day without someone giving me a good sniff. Mandy and Iris were the worst, but Grayson scared them off with a threatening growl. It didn't really stop them, now they just try to be stealthy. 

The last person I was expecting it from was Bug, but she cornered me in the kitchen and took a deep breath. "Really?" I asked her, quirking an eyebrow. Over the past couple weeks we have developed a strong friendship, which pleases both Grayson and River. Not only do we have a strong mated alpha couple, but a strong mated beta couple too.

"What?" She shrugs unapologetically, "My heat cycle is starting soon and I need to know if we have the go ahead to make a pup. You have to go first, oh alpha, my alpha."

I laugh at her sense of humor, which is bizarre to say the least. Growing up with five older brothers, Bug developed a shocking sense of humor and an attitude that can keep up with those five full grown alphas.

"I didn't know you wanted a pup!"

She tries to look indifferent, but fails and covers her face with her hands. "Yes, I do, and you have to know that's why Mandy and Iris are always sniffing around you too. We all want this pack to grow. We are waiting for you to start the next generation. Your baby will grow up to lead this pack."

I never thought of it that way and tears flood to my eyes. I imagined our child playing along side the children of Bug, Mandy, and Iris, but I never took it farther. To imagine them as adults, leading the pack alongside their parents.

"Aww, Princess is weepy. Does that mean she has a little prince in her belly?" River asked as he came around the corner and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. 

"You two, leave her alone!" Grayson growls, walking in behind River.

Bug, not intimidated by the looming alpha in front of her, pokes him in the chest. "Don't act like your not trying to catch a new scent every time she walks by too."

Grayson growls again, but River completely interrupts him by changing the subject. "So, we have some good news and bad news, what do you want to hear first?"

"Good," I tell him.

"We have three clients asking for personalized pieces. The revenue from those pieces alone can fund the pack for the rest of the year, never mind the stock items that are selling like hot cakes."

"What are hot cakes?" Bug asks.

"And the bad news?" I ask, ignoring her.

Its Grayson that answers this time. "The clutch is burnt out on the truck. That's what I get for letting a Russian drive. It's going to be a few more days before the part we need comes in, so I'm going to have to run to town."

"Run?" I ask, "but that will take all day. You have three clients? How long are you going to have to stay?" The pitch in my voice gets higher as I trail off.

Grayson winces. "Five days. I need to wait for the clutch to come in too, so it might end up being closer to a week. I'm going to leave you here with River and Griffin is stepping up to help lead."

"I can't come?" I ask hopefully.

He shakes his head. "I need you here. You are the glue that binds this pack together." Pulling me closer, he continues in a low voice, "I know this is not a good time, but these clients could make or break us. We need this business to fund the pack. It will go by fast and maybe when I get back, you will have a happy surprise for me." He says the last part with a gentle rub of his thumb against my lower abdomen.

~

A couple days later, Grayson is gone and I'm hanging out at the kitchen island with some of the pack members. Raven walks by and acknowledges me with a glare. Things haven't gotten better between us, but they aren't worse either. The stand still is driving me crazy. I feel like she's plotting.

River walks in and tries to give me a discrete sniff, but everyone catches it anyway. "I don't know why you are all walking around with your noses stuck in her ass. She's not pregnant. Get over it. She probably can't even get pregnant. Look at the size of her hips," Raven grumbles with a arm swinging out to point out my flaws.

Taking a breath so I don't strangle her where she stands, I decide to educate her. "Human women have hips that widen during child birth, but since I'm a shifter and my body is already use to changing, my hips will definitely allow for a child."

I swing around to face River and the girls. "And you guys, I don't mind if you check my scent, but you don't need to look so sad if nothing changes. It's okay. I don't mind. That just means I get to try all over again with Grayson."

I'm just repeating what Grayson said to me, but when I look to Raven I see that the trick worked. Her smug smile is gone. "What is it like?" Mandy blurts out.

"Intense," I smile, "I don't know how it was for Grayson, but the best word to describe it for me was intense."

River chuckles and I raise my eyebrows at him. "What? What did he tell you?" I ask punching him in the shoulder as he shakes his head still laughing.

"I can't..." He starts, then bursts out laughing again.

"River!" I yell with another hit to his shoulder.

"Everything Grayson tells me is confidential!" He yells back, still shaking with laughter.

My hits continue and Bug joins in until River folds. "Okay, okay!" He says with his hands raised, "but, I swear to God, if this gets back to Grayson I am going to tell him that you tortured it out of me."

He runs his fingers down his face to calm himself. "I brought up some dinner for you and when I went to leave it at the door, Grayson opened it like a wild animal. Seriously, he was like half shifted, panting, and completely naked.

"He scared me a little bit so I was like, 'What's up, man?' and he starts freaking the fuck out about how crazy he is going, how hard his dick is, how much your scent and the sight of your naked body is effecting him."

"Where was I?" I ask, confused because I never stepped out of the room during the days of my heat.

"Sleeping. He didn't want to wake you."

"Awww!" Mandy and Iris both call out. I look up and notice that Raven is still there, listening to the story, her face pale.

"I'm pretty sure I don't want to hear about this, but what did you say to him?" Bug asks.

River chuckles. "I told him to wake her up and fuck her, of course."

"Did he?" Mandy blurts out and I'm beginning to realize that this girl has absolutely no filter on her mouth.

I open my mouth, but River beats me to it. "She was moaning before I even got down the stairs."

That comment gets a series of whoops and hollers. My cheeks tint pink. "Don't be embarrassed, Princess," River says, sincere expression cloudy his normally goofy face.

"No, don't be," Bug says, giving me a sideways hug. She doesn't let go as she continues speaking, "As wolves, we love intimacy. We like touching, we like watching other touch. I saw you watching Iris and Niko. That feeling you felt, multiply that by five and that's how we feel when we see you and Grayson."

I smile just as Griffin walks into the kitchen with a stranger. As he walks closer, I realize it's not a stranger, but Griffin and Paloma's father, from the Pine Mountain pack, but the solemn look on his face is something I've never seen on him before.

I stand up to greet him with my pack flanking my backside. "Clara," he starts, "I'm so sorry. Your father..." His voice chokes out, but I still understood the message.

"He's dead?" I ask, my voice void of emotion.

He nods and my stomach sinks.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Hunters. He was on his way back from visiting with Monadnock with Sable, Snow, and Aspen. He sent them ahead and he was shot. It was too fast. They shot to kill."

I feel the hands of my pack members rubbing my arms, holding my hands, touching my back. They are all behind me. Supporting me. "I need to go... I need to see my sister. I need to bury him." My throat is thick with emotion.

"Wait for Grayson to get back. I'll send someone to get him," River says.

"I can't. Have him meet me. I have to go."

River tries to get me to change my mind, but I won't. "I'll go with her," someone says and I look up, meeting Griffin's eyes. I nod at him and he nods back. We'll go back. I'll see Snow and I'll bury my father. Then I'll get to the bottom of this because there is no way that my father would let a hunter trail him without noticing. The facts aren't adding up.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 08



Griffin and I tear off through the woods. A pack tied to his back houses the supplies and clothes we will need once we get to Pine Mountain. Somewhere in the distance, birds chirp and water trickles through hidden creeks. I'm aware, yet distant from it all. My wolf is pushing me hard. She's in charge. Lean legs stretch and retract as sharp claws dig into the warm summer earth, gaining purchase only to push off and into the air.

When we reach the Pine Mountain territory, a little white wolf races out of the trees. My baby sister, Snow. Her wolf rubs against mine as we continue to the cabin I grew up in. More wolves join us as we run along. Paloma, Aspen, and others take turns brushing against me and Griffin, telling me what they can't say without their human mouths. They miss us. They're happy to see us. They are sad for my father. It's a bittersweet homecoming.

We arrive at the cabin, where we shift and Aspen quickly ushers us in to see Sable, my father's mate. "What happened?" I ask after we exchange greetings.

"We were on our way back from meeting with the Monadnock pack when we heard something following us. Your father looped around to check it out, we heard the gunshots first, then we ran after him. It was too late."

"I'm sorry," Sable says, holding back tears, "I need a few minutes to myself, I'm going to go lay down."

She walks out of the room stiffly while Griffin comes up beside me. Ruffling my hair, he asks, "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm still in shock."

"We had a long, hard run. Why don't you get a bite to eat and catch some sleep?"

"That's a good idea. You should go spend some time with your parents and Paloma. I know your mom must miss you," I tell him and he smiles.

"Are you sure?" He asks, but I can tell he really wants to go, so I nod. "Aspen, take good care of my alpha's mate."

Exhausted, I sit down at the kitchen table while Aspen heats up some casserole he found in the fridge. I'm sure it would normally taste great, but I have to choke down the bland lump. I excuse myself to take a shower, excited to feel the hot water run over my aching muscles.

I shower until the hot water runs out, drag a comb through my hair, and dress in pajamas. It's strange, I think, as I sit on the bed in my childhood bedroom, this room houses the fondest memories of both the people I lost. I remember my mother, with her long red hair that was so much like mine, laying me in bed and telling me stories of wolves that ate dragons and learned to fly. I remember my father sitting in that spot too, as I got older, and recounting pack history.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I wish that Grayson was here. I dip my head into my hands and cry. I cry because both my parents are dead. I cry because I didn't get to say goodbye to either. My cries turn to sobs and I struggle to catch my breath.

"It's going to be okay," Aspen says, wrapping me up in his familiar arms. His scent surrounds me and reminds me of simpler times. I lean into him and let it all out.

~

I wake up with sore, swollen eyes. I'm tucked into Grayson's side, his arms enveloping me, but somethings wrong. His scent isn't right and his chest isn't as hard and wide. "What the fuck?" I hear Grayson say, but something is definitely wrong because that voice didn't come from the body next to me. That voice came from the open doorway.

I shoot up, my body tripping over itself, but Grayson is already walking away, slamming the door shut. I look back at the bed, Aspen is stretched out across my bed. I must have fallen asleep last night and Aspen covered us up. I follow Grayson out of the room and keep following him as he walks out of the house.

"Grayson!" I yell, "you have to know that nothing happened. I was just upset and he comforted me. We fell asleep."

He stops walking, but doesn't turn around. His hands run through his dark hair a few times before he finally turns around. His body is tense, but his eyes are soft. "I know, baby, and I'm sorry I wasn't that one that was there for you, but you have his scent all over you and I'm having a hard time convincing my wolf that we shouldn't go in there and kill that pup that's sleeping in your bed."

The wind shifts and Grayson's eyes turn feral. A low growl escapes his throat and his skin shakes and bristles. "Get away from me!" he calls out, already backing away. "I can't control it right now. I'm going to go home. I...I can't stay here. I can't be around him."

"Grayson!" I cry out, but he's already stripping, then his bones crack and shift, revealing the giant grey wolf that resides within. The wolf growls a low warning at me, then bounds off into the woods.

I fall to the earth and cry. That's where I am when Griffin finds me and pulls me off the ground. Patiently, he waits as I hiccup out the story. "He'll get over it. He loves you, Clara," He tells me, rubbing my back gently.

I shower the scent of Aspen off my body as Griffin puts together a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sausage. "Woah!" he gasps out as I step into the kitchen.

"What?" I ask, biting into a piece of bacon.

"Your scent! I couldn't smell it before because Aspen's was masking it, but Clara, your scent changed!"

"What do you mean..." I start, but realize what he means as soon as the giant grin forms over his face.

I grin back. "Are you sure?"

Griffin steps closer to smell my neck. "There's no doubt about it, Clara, you're pregnant."

~

My father's death is almost forgotten as everyone learns of my scent change, but the somber mood returns as we gather around to burry him. Aspen's father, the beta of Pine Mountain, says a few quick words before we all shift, shedding our human skin. Our wolves howl long mournful calls at the moon.

Griffin and I decide to head back after the burial, despite the late time, because I'm anxious to get home, see Grayson, and share my news with him. We say goodbyes. Paloma holds me tight, promising she will see me soon. Her birthday is coming up and she will be moving to our pack.

We head off into the night. Griffin directs us to the easier, though slightly longer, trail, already feeling protective of the soon to be newest pack member. We still make great timing. Exhausted, I murmur greetings to the few people I see on my way to Grayson and my attic bedroom. 

I take the stairs two at a time, thinking about what his face will look like when he catches my scent. I smile to myself, but it quickly drops when I see the black hair sprawled across my bed.

Raven lays there, eyes wide and surprised when she sees me, but narrow as a smirk forms on her lips. "What are you doing in my bed?" I ask, my voice not quite a yell, but not anywhere close to my normal speaking voice.

"Oh, you thought that just because Grayson was your first, you were his first too? That's cute. He marked me long before he marked you, we just kept it somewhere you wouldn't see. Then last night, he marked me again," she says, turning so I see the bright red mating mark on her neck.

"He caught you in bed with another man. The treaty is over. You can go back home now," She says, her voice icy cool.

I lunge at her grabbing her by her shoulder length black hair. "Clara!" a deep voice yells from behind me. River rushes out and into the room. "She's lying Clara, Grayson came back, just to turn around and go back to be with you and..." he pauses, gulping in air, "Holy shit! Your scent!"

I push past him, Raven's hair still in my grasp, dragging her along the ground as she howls. "I know she's lying, River, but this has gone on long enough. It's time that she learns why I am the alpha's mate and not her." I turn to Raven, "let's go!" I yell, pushing her down the stairs.

This spectacle gains everyone's attention as I pull her through the house. She's yelling, cursing, and growling at me, but I'm not intimidated. The entire pack follows us out when I shove Raven out the door and down the porch steps.

"Stop this, Raven!" Iris calls out, rushing to her friend. "She's our alpha's mate! She's carrying his pup! Stop this nonsense!"

Raven's eyes widen and I know she's taking in the change of my scent. "No," I tell her, "you started this and I'm going to finish it." I whip off my dress and shift instantly. Everyone gasps. My strong alpha bloodline allows me to shift faster than any of them every could.

I snarl at Raven, nipping at her heels and running her in a circle before she finally stops. Panting, she shrugs off her clothes and falls into her wolf skin. The back has formed a semicircle around the two of us, caging her in with me.

I don't want to play around with her. I don't want to give the crowd a show. I was to assert my dominance over her. She might be the queen bitch in the pack, but I'm the queen. Period. Her time of reining horror over everyone has ended. I'm done. She leaves the pack tonight.

I pounce on her, my superior strength pushing her to the ground. Her wolf struggles to get back up, but it's over before she even knew it began. I have her pinned to the ground, my sharp canines digging into the skin covering the main artery in her neck. She whimpers, defeated, and submits.

I slowly back off her and change back to my human form. Standing there naked, I stare her down, willing her to shift and she does. Bones snapping and skin stretching, she shifts with the will of my alpha dominance. "I want you gone within the hour" I growl at her, walking off into the woods.

~

The sounds of twigs crunching alerts me to River's presence. "She's fucking crazy," he mumbles, walking over to join me where I'm perched on a large rock overlooking the lake. "She must be crazy. I don't understand how her brain works. First she thinks she can break up an alpha couple, then she thinks she can take you. I know you already told her to leave, but the whole pack is behind you. It's unanimous. They all want her gone. She's snapped. Completely. Totally. Fucking crazy."

I lift one shoulder and nod. I almost get where she's coming from. She loves Grayson, or at least she thinks she does. She loves him the same way I thought I loved Aspen once upon a time. That total hero worship, childhood crush, and jealousy all mixed together in a big pot of crazy.

It's not true love, but your heart doesn't know the difference just yet. I hope someday she will find that for herself, but she will never find it here. Not with her pining over Grayson every second of everyday.

"Griffin is going to join us and we are going to head back to Pine Mountain, if that's alright with you. You just missed Gray and I'd like to come along in case he needs help keeping his paws off the little asshole they call their heir."

I nod blankly and shift to my wolf form. "Woah, I meant after you got some rest. You can't push yourself this much when your..."

I cut him off with a quick nip to his ankle and a low growl. "Alright, I get it," he chuckles, "you're the alpha. Lead the way."

We start off making quick work of the path to Pine Mountain, but before long the wear of the past few days starts to drag on Griffin and I. Only a few miles into the Pine Mountain territory, we catch the distinctive stench of blood hovering in the ear. I quickly shift to communicate with River and Griffin.

"That's wolf blood, a lot of it too" River states, taking in another big whiff. "It's not Gray's, I know that for a fact, but the smell is too strong for the person to be okay. They are either mortally injured or already dead."

Griffin walks a little ways into the woods, stopping to sniff every few minutes until he pauses and let's out a high pitched whine, followed by the tell-tale crack and shimmer of shifting. His wolf stands where he just did, restlessly pacing and whining mournfully.

We race over. River stops to calm the wolf while I focus in on the smear of rust colored blood running along the tree trunk. Griffin's wolf gets even more manic, now growling and snapping at Griffin between howling a somber song.

"What's his problem?" River asks.

"It's his sister's blood" I reply somberly.



Gray Lake Wolves Pt. 09



River and I shift simultaneously and dash off after the big brown wolf. The entire way I pray to whatever God exists to let me best friend be okay. Maybe it's not her blood or maybe she's not as injured as we think.

The tang of blood thick in the air, we crest over a small hill. Laying on the other side is a small body with medium brown hair that is so caked with blood it almost looks the same color as mine.

Her body is broken. So broken. I know she can't be alive.

Griffin shifts and tried to cradle his younger sister is his arms, but her body is so mutilated and torn apart that he can really only hold her head in his lap. He lets out a heartbreaking wail and sobs into her hair.

I remain in my wolf form. She's giving me the order and control I desperately need right now. I scent the scene around me, taking in the spring grass flavor that is undeniably Grayson, the spicy smell of Aspen, and a darker, muskier stench of a unfamiliar wolf.

My wolf growls, already hating the stranger. Griffin takes a few minutes to collect himself, then rests Paloma back on the mossy earth. She's gone now. All that's left is her broken and bloody body. He wipes his hands off on his chest and turns to me. "Let's find whoever did this" he says darkly.

~

The Pine Mountain pack is chaos when we arrive. Half the pack is shifted. Mournful howls fill the air and I know they have already heard the news. We must look like a strange sight, naked, covered in another's blood, walking purposely through the crowd.

Then I smell my mate.

A growl rips from the throat as I start to run towards him. He's in wolf form, pacing a small mental cage. His fur is matted with blood and mud. He's injured with a gash on his neck and a limp to his back paw.

"What's going on?" I scream at no one in particular.

Aspen steps forward. He's flanked by his father, Sable, and an barely familiar male. The alpha of the Monadnock pack, Sable's brother. I immediately recognize his stench as the stranger on Paloma's body.

"Your mate killed Paloma" Aspen says sternly. His voice sounds sure and sound, but the little tell-tale tick of his eyes gives the lie away. The slight shift to the left is what always made me able to win at the card game 'bullshit' as kids.

"Bullshit!" I call him out on it.

His eyes shift again. If I didn't already know he was lying, I would certainly know now. Besides, I know my mate. He wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone my best friend. Grayson growls from his cage.

Aspen looks past me. "He murdered your sister, Griffin. Erik and I were there and saw the ending."

Erik. That must be the Monadnock alpha. With a whiff in his direction I notice that he smells fresh and clean, like he just washed copious amounts of blood off his body.

Griffin storms toward them. He pushes Aspen against the outside wall of the main lodge. With a hand wrapped around his throat, he growls, "We both know that's not true. Why don't you tell us what really happened?"

Aspen's eyes shift to the alpha's and he gulps. "That's what happened. You saw him when he tore out of here earlier. He's unhinged. We need to put him down."

Now it's my turn to growl. I see River unlocking Grayson from the cage out of the corner of my eye.

The crowd is restless. Initially they believed their Heir, the boy who would be their alpha in a few short months, but now seeing Griffin and I taking the other side, they aren't sure what to believe.

Grayson draws himself out of the cage and shifts. He has a long cut running along the side of his collarbone and it looks like his foot might be broken, but still he lounges for the Monadnock alpha and pushes him so he's next to Aspen against the wall. "Try again, fucker" He breathes out harshly. He's in pain and it kills me.

"Tell them how I ran when I smelled her blood. Tell them how you told me it was another hunter. Tell them how you both jumped me when I got close enough to see the body. Tell me why she was mauled in the middle of the woods. I would really like to know that and I'm sure everyone else would too."

I watch as Griffin applies more pressure to Aspen's throat. His face is turning red and there's sweat beading at his hairline. "It was Erik!" He chokes out. "He said she couldn't live after she heard us. I didn't know she was there. Please, Griffin," he pleads, looking into his oldest friend's eyes, "Please. You know I wouldn't hurt her. It was all him. I'd never hurt her."

There's a sick crunch as Erik kicks out Grayson's wounded ankle and then he's shoving past him, shifting and turning with his teeth bared. He has Gray injured and backed up against the wall. River goes to move, but I'm so far ahead of him. Before I even heard the crack of bone breaking, my wolf pushed to the surface and I freely gave myself to her. 

Shifting, I charge at the alpha male. I cry out in joyous celebration as my teeth sink into his throat. I taste the metallic tang as I rip out his esophagus and end his life. I take my time bathing myself, cleaning off his tainted blood from my fur. I growl at the humans that try to come near me.

"Baby," a man says, sitting on the ground in front of me. I sniff him. He smells like my mate. He's my mate's human. I nuzzle my nose against his hands affectionately. "Good girl" he says, pulling me closer by the scruff of my neck.

His fingers stroke my fur. I give him another nuzzle and a playful lick on his chin. He smells like blood. He smells like my mate's blood. I whimper. "Can you change back, Baby?" he asks me. Why would I want to change? Why would I want to be human? My human is sad right now. She makes me whimper. I protect my human.

"Can you force her change?" Another man asks. He's not my mate, but he's in my pack. My beta. He's my beta. I give him a warning growl. Don't get closer. Don't come near me right now.

"I could" My mate says, "but I don't think that would be a good idea. She gave her wolf control. She needs that right now. Clean up this mess, figure out what happened here, and take care of Griffin."

He moves away slowly and I nip at his leg to gain his attention. "Come" he tells me, so I follow him. I follow him into the human home. I follow him up the stairs and into a room I don't know. It's a guest room. My human nudges at me from the back of my mind, sleepily, like she's starting to wake up.

He walks into another room and makes water come from a sliver piece of metal above him. I sit back on my haunches and watch him, curiously, with my head tilted to the side, as he washes the blood and dirt from his body. When he's done he goes back into the bigger room and calls me to him again.

He lays down and I curl up against his side. "Sleep" he murmurs and I close my eyes.

~

My eyelids feel thick and heavy when I try to open them. I feel the warm caress of Grayson's hand as he strokes over my belly from my ribs down to my hips and back again.

"Mmm" I try to speak, but my mouth is dry.

"Here's some water" Grayson says, helping me sit up and pushing a cool glass to my lips. I take it and gulp greedily.

Returning the glass, I lay back down and Grayson continues his lazy caress on my stomach. He leans in, giving a sweet little kiss just below my navel and I remember. My eyes pop open, straining in the bright morning light.

"We're having a baby" I whisper, running my finger through his dark, unruly hair.

"Yeah, we are." He gives me a small smile and just like that, the rest comes crashing back too. My father. Paloma. Aspen's lies. The taste of Erik's blood as I ended his life.

"I need to speak to Aspen" I tell Grayson.

"I figured you would. Can I get you to eat a little bit of breakfast first by chance?"

"No. I need to get this over with."

"I figured that too. Let's go," he says, pulling on shorts and passing me some clothes, "he's being held in the cell beneath the meeting hall along with your step-mother."

"Sable? Why? What's she doing there?" I ask, confused.

"I'll let you hear it from him."

~

The room Aspen is being held in is small and dark, but it looks less like a prison cell and more like a walk in closet. A cot sits to one side with a blue fleece blanket haphazardly thrown across.

Aspen is sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall when we walk in. He moves to get up, but Grayson puts up a hand for him to stay down.

"You owe her an explanation" he growls. 

I don't know what I expected, but I never thought Aspen would break down, but he does. Through tears he tells me, "It was never meant to go this far. I didn't want it to happen like this. He promised me you and you were all I ever wanted. I love you, Clara. You know that right? I love you.

"Erik approached me about taking over the Pine Mountain land. He knew I wanted you and he wanted the land. We planned..." he chokes and turns away before clearing his throat and continuing, "We planned on convincing your father that Erik should be Heir and I should be your mate, but he wouldn't hear it. He said that he promised your mother that he would mate you to Grayson. I didn't think Erik would take things this far. I'm so sorry. I see how wrong I was now."

With that, we leave Aspen to his solitary. "I have one more stop" I tell Grayson with a nod of my head toward the other cell door.

Inside, Sable is withdrawn and dirty, lying on the small cot. "Why, Sable?" I demand, but she doesn't even blink. In fact, she looks bored. She rolls to her side and stares blankly at the wall.

"Because he asked me to" she finally says, her voice void of emotion.

"Who, your brother?"

She ignore my question, but continues, "He wanted this land. The Monadnock pack is backed into the mountain. There's no land for hunting and the humans are slowly drifting in with their ski lodges and alpine slides. He tried to make an alliance when your mother was still alive, but she wouldn't go for it. We thought luck was on our side when that deranged wolf got to her, but your father gave her his word and wouldn't be swayed. Instead, Erik mated me to him. That old man, who could never bond with me the way I could with him. We were just going to use the little heir pup, but he was so eager to go along with everything we planned..."

"That's enough" I say, standing and walking out the room. I heard enough.

"What do you think about Aspen?" Grayson asks later as we sit eating with River and Griffin. I expected Griffin to want to mourn with his parents, but he said that we are his pack now and he'd rather have our support.

"We'll never know if he's lying or how involved he was" Griffin responds.

"I agree. We can't let him be alpha here. Grif, you would be strong enough to lead this pack. I already spoke to the beta about it. Are you interested?" asks Grayson.

"No" Griffin shakes his head surely. "My spot is with you, at the Gray Lake pack."

Grayson leans back in his chair and rubs his hand through his hair. "We'll have to call in Adirondack pack to take care of this. We can't leave them without an alpha and something needs to be done about Aspen."

The Adirondack pack is the closest thing we have to werewolf royalty. Hailing from the original wolves in the Algonquian Native American tribe, they're in charge of and represent all the packs in North, Central, and South Americas.

"I'll make that call and then we can head back home" River says, getting up from the table. Griffin follows him out.

Home. I can't wait to go home.

"I love you" I say, turning to Grayson.

He pulls me into his lap and places a gentle kiss on my lips. "I know. I love you, too."

"I know."

"I already love our baby," he tells me.

"Me too."

"Let's go home."

"To Gray Lake pack?" I ask with a grin and he grimaces at me. "I kinda like it" I tell him.

The End.

*****

Note from the author:

Thank you all so much for reading Clara & Grayson's story! I still have three other stories planned out set in the same "world" and including many of the characters from Gray Lake Wolves. Next up is Releasing Raven, about, you guessed it, Raven! Don't you want to see inside her head? Wouldn't you love to know where that claim bite came from? Please give me some feedback on how you would like the parts in the future. I know I started putting these out quickly, but life got in the way toward the end there. Thank you all for being so patient. Would you rather I publish the parts as I write them or finish the entire story and publish them one after the other?