Gray Lake Wolves Pt 01

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.