King of the Wolves .01

They came to a stop, Sam on top of his tackled victim, and Sam propped his upper body up on his elbows on either side of their head as he stared into those silver eyes.

"Who are you?" he panted, a pine of desperation in his voice. He was confused. This wasn't right.

The boy under Sam was panting just as hard as he lay on his back in the grass. He stared up at Sam, whose thick arms and wide shoulders obscured the red glare of the moon.

"I-I'm... Reigh." he murmured, feeling the weight of this alphas anger and frustration like a hand pressing down on his chest, causing him to sink into the ground.

"What did you do to my wolf!" he bellowed. "What witchcraft or sorcery did you use to confuse him!" Sam spat.

Reigh cowered under the weight of Sams power and rage. "It's not like that!" he whined. "Th-there used to be more like us... all the time. Wolves l-like us w-would be powerful a-and bring light and balance to our pack..."

"My. Pack." Sam snarled. Nothing about what this male was saying made sense. Wolf spirits chose one another every lifetime, no matter what shifter they paired with. And it was always, first and foremost, about the progression of the species. Mating and Offspring. Wolf spirits often were quite fond of one another, and so their chosen shifters, similar and bonded as they were to the spirits, often loved and coexisted in harmony with their mate. Very rarely did a shifter not get along, or not completely accept their Wolfs chosen.

Sam heard a familiar growl and looked up to the top of the slope. Sam saw Cals fur tumbling towards them, his limbs tangled in a unusually small and petite female wolves.

Sam snarled, jealousy and rage washing through him. This was not how this night was supposed to go! watching Reigh flinch as he flexed and shifted above him. Sam landed on all fours and took off into the forest.

Cal and his new mate paused for a moment in their tussel watched him run off, clearly under the impression that he was chasing after an irritable female. But they would soon find out, once all the females and their mates have declared allegiance to their packs, or that of their partners, that there were none unaccounted for.

Maybe they would assume Sam simply didn't mate at all.

How embarrassing for an Alpha-blood. He began to understand why that girl took off last cycle, instead of sticking around. It made him sick to think he would watch Cal enjoy his days with her, while he sat on the sidelines, alone.

Sam ran in the direction of home. With the cover if darkness and just him, he might be able to make it back before sunrise. He would tell his sister and his parents that he simply stayed behind, feeling no wolf spirit urges to attend.

They wouldn't believe him. They would want a proper explanation. And how would he explain that his wolf spirit had chosen a guy? "My name is Reigh" he had said. Reigh, with his silver eyes, gentle features and soft lips...

Sam shook his head, trying to clear it. His wolf was pining, begging him to return. It took all of his effort to keep his paws pounding the earth toward ome. Once or twice, his wolf almost forced him to dig in his nails and skid to a halt, causing Sam to stumble. He was so focused on maintaining control that he didn't realize that he wasn't alone.

[H-hey! S-sam, right?!] Reigh cried in his head. Sam shook his own.

[Get out of my head!]

[Sam please!] He said. [Just wait! We can talk about it! Alpha of my spirit, I submit to you!]

Sam ground to a halt and spun around, the pursuing wolf nearly running into him. But Reigh regain his composure quickly and laid his upper body on the ground in submission, his silver eyes peering sideways up at Sam.

[Go back!] Sam snarled, baring his teeth.

[Please Sam! Our spirits have chosen one another, and I have accepted you... Please, please take me! I cannot even feel my pack anymore, I can only feel you... Please accept me!]

[I REJECT YOU.] Sam bellowed loudly. His wolf began to whine. Reigh began to shift back to human, paws becoming fingers gripping leaves below him as if he were in pain.

"I don't accept that!" he wailed, his hands shaking. "Please! I need an alpha, I need a mate, I won't survive on my own. Please... I ask nothing of you. Just accept me."

Sam forced his pelt to melt away, standing above Reigh in the moonlight. "What the hell is even happening!" he snarled, teeth still sharp and elongated. "This doesn't happen! I'm an alpha, I need a MATE. Whatever the hell this is... Whoever the hell you are, you RUINED this night!"

"We aren't unheard of! I-I read in old journals from Alpha... You can still have heirs! Alpha can claim lovers or surrogates if their mate is infertile or same gendered..."

"There is no 'WE'... He snapped. "And what do you mean, you read? You knew this would happen?"

Reigh was breathing heavily and still shaking, but was visibly calmer. "I-I've known I was gay since I could walk. I-I wanted to know my options."

Sam glared down at him. "The point of a mate is to make offspring. Wolf spirits help guide that. They ensure our survival. Our own preferences don't change that."

"If that were true, wolf spirits could never choose infertile women, and bonds would break if women could no longer have kids. And every wolf would have a mate. There are some that never find theirs. My twin... She matured before me. She has been searching for a year. She's been to a dozen Gatherings... She hasn't found one. Still her spirit yearns for a family..."

"Your Spirit seems to have chosen the wrong sibling." he growled.

"No... Me and my wolf, I felt immediate kinship. We belonged together, we knew exactly who I was and what I wanted the moment we bonded." he crawled forward towards Sam, his naked body glinting in the fading red of the moon. "You don't have to love me, Sam... J-just let me submit to you."

Sams mind was working in overdrive. He didn't know what to do. To bring this wolf back instead of a mate that would bear his children and legacy and his name... And his wolf crying and howling in his belly didn't help him think. He didn't even react at first when Reigh approached him, putting his hands on his thighs. But his wolf crooned at the feeling, and he felt himself twitching when he felt Reigh's sigh brush his bare pelvis.

"Stop..." Sam whispered, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Alpha of my spirit..." he whispered again, resting his forehead against Sams chiseled hip bone.

"I said stop." Sam said again, louder, but his voice was shaking.

"Let me submit to you." He turned his head toward Sam's visibly shifting, twitching cock. Sam could feel his breath, and his eyes rolled back in his head at the feeling. Weeks of anticipation of this moment. And his wolf didn't even care that the hands that grasped Sams still human cock belonged to Reigh.

Sam said nothing this time, simply looked up at the moon which was entirely red. He wanted the silver back, like Reighs eyes... NO! He wanted this magic to be over, to stop feeling this pull towards the man kneeling in front of him. He glanced back down to find Reigh watching him as he slowly leaned forward, pressing his lips to his shaft.

In that moment, his wolf howled, ripping out of his skin. He tackled the human Reigh to the thick leaves of the forest floor before he could even shift. Sam was in a daze now from the sudden takeover, but completely at the mercy of his wolf spirits lust. It clawed at Reigh's shoulder, shoving him into the earth. Reigh groaned through his teeth in pain, red welts blooming on his skin where the wolves claws dragged against his skin. His own wolf tore into existence, raising his hind end into the air, laying his chest down on the ground in submission. His back ground up against Sams beastly cock now, and he growled in desire.

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Sam woke to the sound of a dove's morning song. They were in a different clearing than last night, surrounded by foot high grass. He didn't dare open his eyes. He could feel the hot skin of another body laying half under him, his knee between his companions thighs. Their head was resting on his arm, and both were wrapped around his neck and cheek like an embrace.

Sam slowly opened his eyes, staring at the back of Reigh's head. His long braid which was neat last night was halfway unwoven, proof of last nights adventures. Sam could barely recall. He knew they mated. He knew they ran together. Their spirits played together like they were old lovers. And yet Sam was still... a reluctant passenger.

He jerked up, straining his ears. He could hear a wolf approaching. He could hear the short, chirping barks searching, asking for a response. He pushed himself off the ground and shifted quickly, leaving a freshly woken Reigh behind.

[Cal, is that you I hear?]

[Of course. Nobody saw you return. You missed the declaration ceremony. I became worried.]

[I'm glad I don't have to say goodbye to you, Brother...] he said, knowing he would be returning home since he could still hear his friend in this mind link. He paused, and Cal trotted into view. [Listen... I...]

[Sam!] Came Reigh's voice echoing in Sam's head. Sam snarled for him to be quiet. When he came into view, he immediately laid down, crawling forward on his belly with his head low until he neared Sam, submissive. If wolves could blush, Sam would have. Cal stood silently with his own head low, looking between Sam and Reigh.

[Sam... What happened with your mating ritual? Did you...] he trailed off, confused. [Did she reject you? There were no unclaimed girls back at camp, did she leave?]

Sam let out a sigh before taking off quickly into the woods, bounding past his best friend and leaving Reigh behind. [I don't want to talk about it.] he said. Truly, he was embarrassed. Flashes of their wolves bonding last night cascaded through his mind. This wasn't what he was raised for. The classic image of him, a mate and their children was always drilled into him as the ideal life, the end goal. No matter what, children inherited the pack. That was the way. And now...

Sam heard Reigh's light footsteps behind him and automatically slowed, letting him catch up. Without even making the decision, he nuzzled Reigh's head with this nose and licked his ear a few times affectionately. No matter what he truly wanted, the time they had last night... wasn't bad.

Cal's confusion followed them at a distance all the way back to the barns. He watched them silently, how Reigh followed Sam at his heel like a pining puppy.

Sam came to the edge of the woods and paused, his head low as he scanned the open field where wolves in skin and fur lounged and played in the grass. Sam licked his own nose nervously, and laid down in the tall grass. Reigh slid beside him, crawling on his belly before turning onto his back in front of Sam. Sam nudged him playfully before resting his head on his slowly rising and falling ribcage.

Excalibur slowly made his way into Sam's peripheral. [You chose him as a mate...] he whispered, and Reigh shifted uncomfortably.

[My wolf chose him. After considerable effort, I relented.] he muttered defensively. Reigh mewled under him and licked his maw submissively, almost in apology. Sam ignored him.

[I haven't hear about that happening in years. Let alone an Alpha... You're supposed to pass on your Alpha-blood. Can you lead a pack without offspring?]

Sam didn't want to think about it, nor did he want to announce it and all of those unanswered questions to the Gathering in front of them. Would they take his birth rights away to succeeding his father as head of the pack if he was unable to bear children? Or would his sisters children simply succeed him when it was time?

Sam stood quickly, taking Reigh and Cal by surprise. Both followed him as he wound his way back towards the smoldering black remains of the bonfire last night. He shifted back, letting his teeth and antlers fully recede. He didn't need the attention right now. Snatching his backpack from the pile, he pulled it over his back and shifted it into place. "Reigh, do you need to say goodbye to anyone...?" he said, nosing towards the frolicking and sunbathing mix of pack members.

Reigh, grabbing his own pack, shook his head. "I will send word to my sister when... well... when I get wherever I end up." he seemed a lot less confident than his wolf had been, rolling around in the grass under Sam. Now, his ears were red and he was avoiding Sam's gaze.

Sam didn't offer any consolations. He would make no promises to keep Reigh close. He didn't know how to feel about all of this. He didn't know whether he would choose his mate over his pack, or abandon Reigh in order to become the leader he was meant to be. He wasn't sure whether everyone else would judge them.

All three shifted back, and a petite chestnut colored wolf bounded up to them, nuzzling Cal affectionately. Their fur was almost the same color, it was kind of cute. Sam howled, calling Axel, who met them as they reached the edge of the woods again with his own newfound midnight black mate. Now a group of 6, they took off at a run headed home.

[We were invited to hang around until the feast tonight. Why are we leaving?] Axel asked, from his left flank, his newfound mate directly behind him.

His mate clearly agreed. [I wanted to say goodbye to my Alpha... He came with me last night, since I was alone from our pack.] There was a bitterness and disrespectful lilt in her voice.

Sam snapped his teeth together in warning, not liking her attitude or how she questioned him so casually. [I am your alpha, you will do as I say!] he snarled.

[Sam...] Reigh whispered, [My alpha, she is just curious... This isn't usually how these things go. We don't want to insult the hosts. And we are giving up so much to have our soulmates.]

Sam slowed to a halt among the trees, looking back into Reigh's silver eyes as he approached him among the bramble. He could not bring it in himself to reprimand him.

[And who is this anyway? We aren't supposed to pick up omega stragglers at the gathering.] Axel asked, peering over at Reigh.

Sam felt a sudden rage at Axel's insult to Reigh. He leapt forward, slamming into Axel and shoving him to the forest floor. A thorn nicked his nose and he huffed under Sam as Sam barred his teeth inches away from his neck. Axel didn't fight it, instead, exposed his neck to his Alpha with trust and submission. [Apologize!] he roared in their heads, and every wolf present cringed and crouched in submission as well.

[Sam, no its fine, you don't have to...] Reigh whimpered, crawling forward on his belly and licking Sams pulsing thigh.

Sam snarled again. [Apologize...]

[I-I'm sorry!] Axel said, his thoughts shaking as he responded. [A-alpha... please, I'm just confused.]

Sam lifted his head slightly, glaring around at Cal, the two new females of their pack, and finally locking eyes with his own mate cowering on the forest floor. Slowly, his gaze returned to Axel. [Reigh... is my mate.] he said. And the words dropped like a weight on his back, yet made him feel lighter at the same time. There was a shocked silence from everyone, looking between Sam and Reigh with confusion.

[I thought you were alpha. I mean, I've heard it before, but how will you command a pack with no children?] one of the new females said, cocking her head to the side curiously. A pointed glare from Sam had her ears flat against her head.

[Do you have a problem, right now, following my orders?] he asked rhetorically. [No? Then you have your answer.] He stepped back off of Axels neck, letting him return to all four paws. He looked around. [This changes nothing. I bow to the whim of my wolf spirit, and I trust its will and guidance, as you all do your own. I am alpha-blood, and I claim my mate with dignity worthy of my birthright.] he declared.

He saw Reigh perk up under him, and they all felt the warmth of joy radiating from him. Sam's large wolf eye rolled down to meet with Reighs silver one without lowering his head. [And I will honor and serve my Alpha... My wolf spirit belongs to yours.] Reigh whispered.

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It took much longer to return home than it did with just the three of them. More wolves meant more chances of being spotted. They twirled and zigzagged over the terrain, avoiding populated areas. Once or twice they barely avoided the scope of a hunter, but with their bright orange vests they were easy to spot from a distance.

Once home, Sam's anxiety seemed to rise again. Reigh gave a whine, his ears flattened against his skull. He was feeling it too. It was one thing to claim a male mate in the woods with peers. It was another thing to do so to the whole pack.

The lights were all out in his home as Sam nodded to the others. Here they could part ways, each pair retreating to their own homesteads. Sam glanced back at Reigh and led the way up the porch. He shifted, and shrugged his backpack off his shoulders, producing a key and unlocking the back door. His eyes met Reigh's silver ones, and he let him into the house ahead of him. They tiptoed silently through the sunroom and into a large spacious kitchen, where his naked body was thrown into relief by the light of the refrigerator. He heard Reigh sigh behind him, and glanced back to see his eyes on his body.

"Water." he said simply, tossing him a cold bottle before unscrewing the cap on his own, drinking it quickly. The bottle crunched in his hand as he drained it on one breath. Reigh sipped his own.

"This is a nice house..." Reigh whispered, not sure what else to say.

Sam tossed his empty crushed bottle into a nearby bin before turning to look at Reigh. He slowly crossed the kitchen, reaching to Reighs backpack and pulling it off his shoulders. He placed both packs on the island counter and wrapped his arm around Reigh's shoulder, slowly turning him around. He inhaled his scent of sweat, the forest, and blueberries. That last bit took him by surprise. I was sweet and intoxicating.

"Bed. I'm tired." he said giving him a push towards the hall, through a small passage underneath the staircase and into a large room. Two days ago, he woke up in this bed feeling an empty ache. Tonight, he crawled into the bed and his own knees weren't the only ones making an indent. "We can run tomorrow." he said, collapsing on his pillow, looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. "I'll show you around..."

Reigh crawled slowly into the bed beside him, and laid down on his stomach, looking up at Sam. He scooched closer to his Alpha and raised a hesitant hand up, touching Sams chest. Sam didn't reject him, so he stretched his arm across his abdomen. Sam didn't return his touch or gesture, he simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the idea that he wasn't waking up alone in the morning.

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Sam woke before the sun, sore from back to back travels and absolutely ravished with hunger. He groaned as he moved to sit up but froze when he felt Reigh's arm drop from his chest to his lap. His morning wood twitched in delight at the heat from his arm.

Oh yeah. That happened.

Gently, he grasped Reigh's wrist and moved it over onto the bed, trying not to wake him. He needed time to process this again, as sleep and a new day had not brought the acceptance or answers he needed.

Slipping out of bed, he stretched and stalked towards the en suite bathroom, flicking on the light. Sam glanced over his shoulder, a ray of white light cutting across the bed, and the angled body of his mate. Why... why this male wolf, when he so desperately desired the soft curves of a female? Expectations put on him since birth weighed on him. True, he had enjoyed their frolics under the red moon. Once he let his wolf spirit be his guide, he had found it so natural to be with Reigh. They'd enjoyed each others company and pleasure. And Reigh responded to him before he even knew what he wanted. It was all so... effortless.