The natural woods of Austin were beautiful, even at night. Wind whipping past my face, I ran faster, laughing to myself as I neared a wall of stone, worn by years of running water. I took the turn away from the wall as fast as I'd approached it, my toes finding purchase in the mix of dirt and leaves beneath them.
Cutting it a little close, Fi.
I glanced to my right, continuing to run, my heart pounding. Through the trees I could see Margot, almost to my pace, weaving between boulders that littered the forest floor.
It's almost time to call it a night, I shot back.
The idea made me sad - but she was right. We'd been at it for nearly an hour, bounding through the high acreage on the outskirts of the city. Before I had a chance, a howl escaped her lips, and seconds later several others returned. She looked at me, dark eyes flashing in the night, and took a sharp turn towards our meeting house.
I need a drink.
It was Beth this time, and I heard the rest of the Circle laugh. Margot responded.
The sooner we shift back, the sooner we get tacos and tequila.
She was right. It was nearing 2 a.m. and while the bars were long closed, we had tequila waiting for us at the house when we returned with food.
Ten minutes later we were gathering in front of the quaint studio the Circle had placed on the property years ago. Letting out an exhausted huff, Beth was the first to shift, followed by Margot and Poppy. Each one of their elongated wolfish figures transformed into a strong, glowing woman - one of the few gifts of the were genes that each of us inherited.
This was my inner Circle. The women I trusted most to shift with me - to run with me - to advise me. And as Alpha of the Austin pack, or Circle, as we called ourselves, I needed women like this by my side.
I was the last to phase back into my human self, shaking off the loss of the warmth my amber fur provided and hop-skipping into the studio to grab my clothes.
"We really need to put a patio heater out here or something," Poppy muttered to herself as they followed me into the small space. Inside, the wood floors creaked when we made our way to the hanging rack in the corner where our clothes were stored. Beth pulled her phone out of her jeans and made a sour face.
"Fuck, Wes can't get Isaiah back to bed," she said with a snarl. "So much for tequila." She gave us an apologetic look, slipping her pants on. She looked down at her bare breasts, swollen and nearly covered by her blue-tipped hair, and sighed. "I think I need to pump, anyways." Leaning back over, she pulled her pump out of her bag and sat down on the couch next to her.
"Next time," I cooed, touching her on the shoulder as I pulled my bra on, one strap at a time. Beth, with her newborn twins at home, was the maternal one of our group. Her advice always came with compassion and empathy - if not with a sailor's mouth, as well. I turned to Poppy and Margot while they both dressed. "Still up for a little fun?" Beth pouted beside me.
"Fucking always," Poppy replied with a laugh, flipping her long, strawberry blonde hair upside down and twisting it into a messy knot. In expensive leggings and a sports bra that bore her company logo, Prowl Yoga, she was the athleisure-dream of every influencer online.
If only I could wear that to work, I thought to myself. Kind of hard to wear a sports bra to court.
Thirty minutes later, we were sitting at my kitchen island, tequila shots in one hand, limes in the other.
"Ready?" Poppy asked, giving Margot and I a playful glance. Sophia, my sleek, dark faced Belgian Malinois sat at my feet, snoozing. I nodded and held my shot up in the air. They clinked theirs into mine, then onto the bar, and we gulped them down with a suck on the lime slices. The familiar burn hit the back of my throat and my lips puckered as I noticed a dribble of alcohol down my chest.
"Damn it," I coughed, "You'd think after 30 I'd have figured out how to take a shot. Margot used one manicured finger to wipe it off, licking the finger with a sultry look at me with her brown eyes before snorting and turning to the plate of tacos in front of her. "You know, I don't think I included that in the job description when I hired you as my Beta." She laughed again, speaking through a mouth full of brisket and tortilla.
"Like you had a choice in the matter." I rolled my eyes, picking up a piece of shrimp from my plate. Smelling it, Sophia sat up suddenly and looked at me expectantly. While weres couldn't communicate with dogs, it didn't take a genius to figure out that she wanted it. So, I shared.
Margot was right. It wasn't like I'd had a choice. We had been best friends since middle school - both the only females weres in our grade, facing both puberty and being a teenage werewolf together.
As the latest female in a long line of Alphas, I was already destined to lead our Circle at that age. Austin was a matriarchal pack we called a Circle, led by female Alphas, like myself. And while Margot's family wasn't incredibly involved in Circle leadership, by the time we'd graduated and moved on to college, we knew we were the team meant to lead together.
When my grandmother, Amelia, stepped down eight years ago, wishing to enjoy her old age and life after retirement from her regular job by doing whatever she damn well pleased, instead of managing the Circle, it was expected for me to become Alpha. And I did. Eight years later, Circle investments were doing well enough to ensure social safety nets for our members, host regular events and make charitable donations. Morale was high. In-fighting was low, not that it had ever been a problem, with a culture that promoted support and connectedness rather than ego and abrasive competition.
And while I lived in the Alpha house, one of the many properties we owned, most of which were rented out below market rates to our members, everything else I had, I'd worked for on my own.
Margot had always been the looker of our duo - petit, beautiful dark skin, with black, glassy hair. But that came with challenges of her own. In the human world, she had to overcome misogynistic (and racist) stereotypes to get to where she was; emergency attending at one of the best hospitals in the country. She was whip-smart, and still managed to keep my head on straight, despite all of her other responsibilities.
I, on the other hand, have scared people my entire life. Something about the intimidating nature of Alphas has always put humans around me off. Most weres were also intimidated by me, but more out of respect and at this point, admiration, than actual fear. Tall, loud, quick tempered and fiercely protective of our Circle, I was everything my male Alpha counterparts around the world were - but more. I had fought tooth and nail, all pun intended, to be one of the fastest rising civil lawyers in Austin. Full ride to college, same for law school, and as a senior attorney in my firm at 35, my opinion should have had equal weight to the men around me in my work life. But, it didn't. So I gained the reputation, once again, as the ball-busting bitch with a sweet ass. Which is why,
tequila shots
.
My phone pinging brought me out of my contemplation, and I looked down at the screen as I took another bite of my food. Poppy was pouring another round of shots.
Charlie
You still up?
