Hey Folks,
Welcome to yet another one of my *gay* fairy tales! I felt I needed a little preamble here because this one is...different. One of my characters is intersex, so if that's not your thing, please check out one of my other stories. It's a slower burn, lots of fluff, and there are also some non-human aspects as we're talking about wolves. Because of this, I struggled with where to submit, but since it is ultimately about two women falling in love, here we are. As always, I love your feedback so please feel free to leave it at the end or email me from my profile. It makes me a better writer to hear what you liked and where I messed up, so please reach out. Happy smutting!
xo
Kate
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The chill air sucked into my lungs, burning cold and freezing my nose. I could smell the snow in the air as I ran through the gloomy forest. My feet pounded on the packed earth and leaves crunched. My heart pounded in my ears as my body forced itself forward. I wasn't trying to be quiet, I was trying to be fast.
Suddenly, a howl right behind me caused my hair to stand on end. The monster chasing me was too close. I picked up the pace, sprinting as fast as my legs would go. I heard crunching and pounding of feet, four legs coming in fast. Dodging around a tree, I could see the lodge up ahead. Safety, warmth, and my family propelled me faster through the last trees. I was almost there. Almost home.
A growl sounded just over my shoulder. Too close. I hadn't made it. The porch was still eighty yards away.
Before I could escape, a massive, black shape dove out of the forest behind me, tackling me to the ground in a heap of fur and teeth. My head rocked against the cold earth and my breath was knocked out of my lungs. A triumphant howl split the air as giant teeth flashed above me. Then the beast looked down, its golden eyes boring into my own with heart-stopping intensity.
Then the wolf smirked.
Alright, you win, punk. Congratulations,
I said through our mind link, using my strong paws to throw him off of me. He slipped sideways snorting and wagging his tail like a pup. I stood and shook out my fur as he shifted in front of me.
"I finally caught you! I caught you!" He ran around the clearing, stark naked and yelling, drawing the attention of a few pack members who were unloading groceries from one of our large passenger vans.
I shifted and stood in front of my deranged brother with my hands on my hips, "Yes you did, now quit making a scene you weirdo and go inside!" Marching myself up the porch steps, I waved at the pack helping with the groceries.
In the lodge, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt from the baskets at the front door. When you're constantly shifting in and out of wolf form, it's best to have clothes easily accessible. Not that any of us were prudes about nudity. Trust me, when you've seen your grandfather shift more than a dozen times, you get over it real quick. But having laundry baskets of unisex, comfy, easily stripped clothes all over the property is a must. Unfortunately, the shirt I picked sported a hot pink kitten wearing sunglasses, so that detracted from my carefully crafted bad girl image.
"Love the shirt, Sawyer. Really, you should make it part of your aesthetic."
"Shut up, Luke." I scooped a pair of shorts out of the basket and tossed them to my brother as he walked in. We definitely looked like siblings, in fact, our whole pack looked like family because, technically, we are. Most of us have dark hair, tan skin, and are taller than average with broad shoulders. Luke and I sported the traditional Roman nose that most everyone had, but he departed from the norm with his unusually large smile. My parents said it's because he came out laughing and hasn't stopped since, a fact supported by the giggle he was unsuccessfully containing now at my expense.
"Are you two done playing tag?" My very pregnant sister-in-law waddled into the room from the kitchen with a plate of biscuits in her hands. She too had dark hair, but hers wound in perfect, bouncing coils while mine hung in lackluster waves.
"Here, let me help, May!" I took the plate to the table just as my mother came through with a skillet of sausage gravy. Her hair was streaked with gray, but just as pretty as May's.
"We weren't 'playing tag'," Luke scoffed, swiping a biscuit from the tray before I set it down. "And anyway, I finally caught her!" He took a disgustingly large bite.
"Well, while you were doing that, the adults were actually working!" My older brother, Callum, and our father, strode in from their office. Callum was learning to lead the pack from my father. He and May were expecting their first pups, a set of twins, in a few weeks. The added stress made my usually serious brother almost unbearable.
"Well, someone's gotta check on the border patrols in the morning," I smirked, "Might as well have some fun while we do it."
"Sawyer," my father began as we all sat down at the table, "You need to stop participating in these silly games. When are you going to get serious? Settle down? Find a mate?"
I rolled my eyes. Most wolves find their mates in their teens since it's common to be from the same pack. My brother and May found each other nauseatingly young, they were in school together. Raised side by side. They waited until they were twenty to get married, then until thirty to have kids, a fact which drove my mother absolutely nuts. I respected their decision though, May wanted to finish med school so she could take care of the pack. Now with the two of them following the family plan, my parents had moved onto me and my supposedly very immature, twenty-eight year old self.
"We're not trying to pressure you, dear," Mom added, "But you should have found someone by now."
"Yes," my father interjected, setting down his fork, "You haven't been trying hard enough. You've done enough goofing around. It's time to grow up."
"I'm probably not meant to have a mate," I mumbled into my food. "I don't think cursed wolves get mates."
"Sawyer James! You are not cursed!" My mother scolded me, yet again.
"Then what do you call it, Mom?" I hissed back, "I'm a mutation. Who would want me as their mate?" I didn't wait for an answer, I stood, carrying my still full plate into the kitchen where I tossed it into the sink. Then I climbed the back stairs in three bounds up to my room. I hated that their words drove me to the "rebellious teenager'' action, but it was a sore subject.
Our family lodge was large. Three stories of bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, and family spaces for the Alpha's progeny. It sat at the back of the complex across from the pack hall. My room, or rooms, faced west and included a master bedroom and bathroom, another bedroom, a sitting room, and a small office. It was really more of an apartment just without the kitchen. I shoved my way through the doors and flopped onto the couch, my long brown hair falling over my eyes. I pulled at my split ends and brooded.
A knock on my door pulled me out of my reverie. I knew they weren't going to give me much time. Privacy wasn't really a thing in a pack where you shared thoughts.
"What?"
May walked in, belly leading the way. "Sawyer, you okay?"
"Yeah, I just hate how much pressure they put on me about finding a mate. Not everyone gets a mate!"
May chuckled as she joined me on my couch, "That's not true and you know that. The only reason we survive is because the Moon Goddess ensures we all have a mate. We might not find them until later in adulthood, but everyone has one."
I groaned and covered my eyes with my arm, "Then maybe I'm the first wolf who doesn't! Maybe I was cursed to be alone and weird."
"You don't really believe that, do you?"
"Maybe."
