Gray Lae Wolves

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.