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.