Mitch lay in bed on his side with his head propped up on one hand. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he hadn't slept. He couldn't sleep. He was exhausted but knew that if he allowed himself the pleasure of drifting off that he might awake to her being gone, having left in the middle of the night. It had taken him a lot of talking to convince Janette to stay home and not go looking for the man she now knew was her father. He didn't blame her for being angry and confused. He knew he could physically restrain her if she tried to leave but he didn't want it to come to that. He reached a hand out and brushed his fingers lightly down her forearm.
"Stop worrying so much, Mitch. I'm not going anywhere," Janette groaned in a sleepy voice.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was. You think too loud, you know that? It's enough to wake up the entire pack." Janette rolled from her side to face him.
Mitch moved closer to Janette and pulled her into his arms. "I don't mean to worry. You can't really blame me though, can you? You were something else last night. I thought for a moment that I was going to have to put you in a straight jacket and lock you up," he said teasingly, and kissed the tip of her nose.
"I'm sorry about that. I really don't know what has come over me. No wonder grandma and Aunt Marion have kept so much from me. They probably know I freak out at every little thing."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they understand. They just want what's best for you, that's all. What's done is done. Knowing who your father is now doesn't change things. It doesn't define you or make you someone different. You're still the same old you. Well, except that you're a wolf. That's different, of course." Mitch pulled slightly away from Janette and gazed down into her sleepy face. "Speaking of, everything else aside, how was your first shift?"
Janette smiled and shook her head. "If shifting is going to be that painful then I don't ever want to do it again. I felt like my entire body was on fire, I could have sworn every bone was breaking. It's not something I ever want to relive."
"I don't think it will be that way from now on. Remember what I told you? Your first time may be a bit uncomfortable but after that, it's a breeze. In fact, sometimes it even feels good to let your wolf out."
"Uncomfortable, huh? That's the understatement of the year." Janette slid an arm around Mitch's waist. "How do you learn to control it? I mean, is it going to be unexpected like that every time? I don't want to be in the market or the mall and suddenly shift into a hairy wolf."
"A lot of times newly turned wolves find their shifting uncontrollable when they are angry or feel threatened, which would explain last night. However, I don't think you should have much trouble with that since you're not an angry person by nature."
"Up until now, that is."
"Do you want me to teach you?"
Janette met Mitch's gaze with a look of fear. "Teach me to shift? Are you kidding? I can't. I mean--"
"Stop. I promise it won't hurt this time. I'll teach you how to control it." Mitch stood from the bed and held his hand out to Janette. "Come on. We can go for a run through the woods or something."
"Mitch it's three o'clock in the morning. Do we have to do this now?"
"Well, we're not sleeping. Might as well do it now."
Janette stood from the bed and reached for her clothes.
"No need for that. You'll just be taking them back off once we are outside anyway."
"You mean you want me to walk through the mansion naked? Are you serious, Mitch?"
Mitch teasingly mocked Janette's shocked expression. "Yes, I'm serious. Everyone's asleep anyway and anyone who is awake won't care that you are naked. Besides, you look pretty darn good in your birthday suit," he said with a wink.
Janette tried to think of another excuse, any excuse, not to go but came up with nothing. She let out a defeated sigh and grabbed Mitch's hand. She followed him out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the back yard. The full moon was shining brightly down upon them from a cloudless sky accompanied by a dense speckling of stars. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself when she felt the cool night air against her skin.
"Now I want you to try and relax. Do you feel your wolf inside you?"
Janette nodded and swallowed nervously.
"All you have to do is call her forth. Close your eyes if it helps. Let her know that it's okay and give control over to her."
Janette took a deep breath and blew it out. She relaxed the best she could and closed her eyes, immediately seeing her wolf's image behind her lids. She spoke to her in her mind, assuring her that it was okay for her to come out. The golden wolf hesitated. Janette tried again, mentally sending her wolf all the love and trust that she was feeling and asking her once more to come forth. She gasped in surprise when she felt a tingling sensation starting at her toes and working its way through her body up to her scalp. She opened her eyes and looked down to see golden fur sprouting from her arms, legs and chest. Her body was transforming right before her eyes and it didn't hurt at all like it had the first time. She looked over at Mitch with a half smile on her face and saw the pleased look of approval in his eyes. She then fell forward onto all four legs while her face elongated into a muzzle. Everything felt so amazing in her wolf form, as though this is what she was meant to be. She raised her muzzle to the sky and let out a joyous howl.
Mitch knelt down on one knee in front of his mate. "I told you your wolf would be beautiful. That wasn't so bad, was it?" He ran his hand lovingly through her fur.
A shiver ran the length of Janette's body and she licked Mitch's cheek affectionately. "What was it you were saying about a run through the woods?" she laughed into his mind before sprinting past him. She was surprised at how agile she felt and it didn't take her long to get the hang of running on all fours. It wasn't nearly as difficult as running in her human form, that was for sure.
Mitch watched his mate dart past him heading to the tree line and laughed. He was glad to see that she was taking it so well. He shifted into his wolf form and chased after her, intentionally keeping a slight distance between them. He didn't want to catch her too soon. That would just take all of the fun out of the chase. "And where do you think you're going, young lady?"
"Bet you can't catch me!" she laughed back at him. Janette heard Mitch approaching her from behind and sped up, running as fast as she could through the thick trees. She stumbled when she heard several wolves howling. The sound was coming from the direction of the mansion. Mitch caught her off guard and bowled right into her knocking them both down to the ground.
"You thought I couldn't catch you, huh?"
"Not fair! I was distracted. Where is that howling coming from? I thought we were the only ones awake."
"Most likely, your howling woke the pack. One of their favorite past times is running through the woods in the middle of the night." Mitch said as he watched several pack members sprint past them.
"That's a strange past time."
"Not to a wolf." Mitch let Janette up and, as he expected, she ran from him again.
"TAG! You're it!" She laughed as she sped away from him.
"Oh, you're gonna get it, you just wait!"
"Promises, promises." Janette continued running, unable to control the giggling bubbling up from her. She was soon joined by five other pack members running alongside her. She heard them laughing in her head at her and Mitch's bantering back and forth. She had forgotten what Mitch had said about the other pack members being able to hear each other when they were in their wolf form. She let a low growl escape her when Mitch sailed past them as though they were all standing still.
"Oh come on, Jan. Are you gonna put up with his crap?" Jack said from beside her. "You can out run him. I know you can."
Janette burst forth, running at what seemed to be lightning speed. It didn't take long for her to catch up to Mitch and soon she was nipping at his heels. "Ya think you're pretty tough, huh?" She pushed herself and used the rush of adrenaline that was screaming through her body to race past him, laughing into his mind. "See? Told ya you weren't that tough." She saw the clearing ahead of them and had a strange sense of déjà vu overcome her when she remembered her dream about chasing the black wolf through the woods. She ran as fast as she could towards the clearing where there stood an enormous bonfire in the center. She yelped in surprise when she felt Mitch run into her and they tumbled several times into the center of what seemed to be a large circle.
"I caught you," Mitch said into her mind while pinning her down.
"Mitch, I remember this. I dreamed this." Janette looked around to see the circle lined with wolves howling into the night sky. They seemed to be cheering them on.
"Oh really? And what happens next?" Mitch asked with a knowing look in his eyes. He let Janette up but knew that she wouldn't run from him again.
Janette stood there in the middle of the circle and watched as Mitch slowly circled her several times as though he was trying to decide what to do with her next. She felt a slight confusion as to what was happening. The surrounding wolves continued to howl and cheer Mitch on as he continued to walk slow deliberate circles around her. The lustful look in his eye brought her wolf's own lust to the forefront.
She shivered in anticipation when she felt Mitch slowly slide his tongue teasingly between her back legs. She wasn't surprised when she felt him place his front paws on her back and mount her. She did the only thing she knew to do and lay her chest on the ground, offering herself to him. When she felt his shaft enter her, she couldn't help the loud groan that escaped her, coming out as a whimper. Everything seemed to happen so quickly it all was a blur. Before she knew what had happened she was laying on her side, covered in sweat and cradled in Mitch's human arms with the entire pack surrounding them and cheering.
"Are you okay?" Mitch whispered into her ear.
