Note to readers: Hello all and thank you for the reviews. Quick disclaimer. Made a mistake in the weeks before the mating moon, instead of four weeks it's actually three. Thanks to Addy for pointing out the moon cycles :S. Anywho, please please review, I love them nearly as much as I love cake. Enjoy!
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Joshua glared daggers at his mother from across the dining table, angry that she had once again determined his life. Prodding at the beef on his plate his eyes drifted to the window were a wren sat on the fence.
Its small head twitched eagerly, impatient to be on its way. Joshua smiled as it swooped down and began pecking the earth, small worms hanging from its beak.
"Joshua don't play with your food." Naomi ordered, her voice booming in the all but empty room.
The small wren took off without looking back and Joshua watched it sadly, until it was a dot against the blue sky. His heart plummeted as he lost sight of the little bird.
"I've lost my appetite." Joshua said through gritted teeth, not wanting to spend another minute is his mother's company.
It had been three days since she had declared that Joshua could be fought over and he continued to hate the idea.
In retrospect he had been propositioned many times in his youth, and now that he was nearing twenty five he was in his prime as a male. Most mothers relinquished their sons at twenty one and he had been lucky that his mother had indulged his every whim.
However Joshua didn't want a mate from Stillwater, he didn't want his life dictated to him by his mate. He didn't want to be told what to wear or what to cook or who his friends could be.
"Marie has set her sights on you and she comes from a wealthy family, they would be lucky to have you." Naomi said cutting at the steak with her knife and fork, her eyes never leaving Joshua's face, smiling to herself as he clenched his jaw.
"I don't care. I want to choose my own mate, like any other shifter." Joshua said, knowing that he was sulking but past caring.
Other shifters decided who they wanted to be with, it was a mutual agreement not a deadly battle to the death. He didn't like the idea of Marie having to fight with another bitch to claim him, he wasn't worth the bloodshed.
"That is how it is here in Stillwater and everywhere else. You are an Alpha. I didn't want to force you, but I have given you enough time to be as liberal as law will allow."
"May I be excused, Marcus and I are going for a walk." Joshua said, blocking his mothers words of protocol.
"As long as you don't go too far, some of the women are in heat. I want you unsullied do you hear me! If those bitches want a quick lay they know where to go." His mother said trying to tamp down her anger.
Joshua backed away slowly, it was at these times when a blind rage took hold of her and she became wild.
Naomi caught whiff of his fear and tracked him with hungry eyes. The conscious part of her brain told her that she could not strike him, he was her son and her only child.
Another, stronger part of her wanted to rip him apart, for being a male and for looking so much like his father. It was when her thoughts concentrated on Zachariah Oaken that the shift took over her.
Onyx dark fur covered her entire body as she fell to all fours and changed into a large black timber wolf with blazing hazel eyes. The table groaned as she jumped into its polished surface. She snapped and snarled, walking with the lethal intent of a predator.
"Mother." Joshua whispered, paralyzed as her
cobalt blue suit fell in scraps on the floor, her teeth bared and deep guttural growls came from deep within her.
Joshua wanted so badly to shift but he didn't dare, for by the time he took his wolf form she would have him by the throat. Instead he raised his leg so that it would be the first thing she impacted. Shutting his eyes he counted the seconds before she ravaged his limb.
---
"Naomi went crazy again huh?" Marcus asked watching as his best friend walked with a pronounced limp, he had tried to bandage it up as best he could but Marcus was no doctor.
Joshua remained quiet his usual crystalline eyes dark with hurt and anger. Since Marcus could remember, Joshua had been abused by his mother.
It seemed to get worst with time and he worried that one day she would go too far and kill him. As Alpha and a female, Naomi had every right to beat her son even if it led to his death. Such were the laws of Stillwater.
"I'm beginning to think being mated isn't such a bad idea. Marie is nice enough and once mated to her, my mother relinquishes all rights to me." Joshua croaked, the agony of having his tendons ripped to shreds making it too hard to talk.
After the attack Naomi had shifted back, gathered her clothes and left the dining room, leaving Joshua to crawl to the door and let Marcus into their home.
He hated what his mother did to him, hated her even more for loving him. He knew that by tomorrow she would be lavishing gifts and affection upon him as if the attack never happened and like the weakling he was he would forgive her.
They walked to the small river that cut through Stillwater, it was a somewhat secluded area where most of the young shifters went to hang out.
There they met their usual group of friends; Marie, Letia, John and Simon. They had been friends from school and had faced all ups and downs together, and had even gone as far as to cover for Joshua when he had left Stillwater. To Joshua they were his real family.
"Joshua what happened?" Marie asked, pushing the black bangs from her eyes and inspecting his leg with great scrutiny.
Her fingers lightly touched the wound. Joshua groaned in pain, pulling away from her nosy fingers and pushing his pant leg down.
"Never mind that, let's talk about the mating moon." Marcus said.
Joshua smiled in appreciation as his friend diverted the attention from him, Marcus knew him so well.
"Well I've already made it clear to everyone that you are mine." Letia said sitting unabashedly on Marcus's lap, who began to nibble on her earlobe extracting small whimpers from her plump lips.
Maria looked pointedly at Joshua and he looked anywhere but at her, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment.
"Well we all know there will be a massive fight to claim our prince here." Simon laughed.
He was the only one out of them who had a mate and was expecting his first child in a few months. His wife was away with the hunting party, who would bring back game and distribute it amongst the rest of the pack.
Luckily for Simon, he and Samantha were a match made in heaven. She never demanded anything of him and treated Simon as an equal. Theirs was a coupling Joshua was deeply envious off.
"I'll fight to the death for you." Marie declared shooting up in the air, her arms raised high.
Everyone laughed at her exuberance except for Joshua. He didn't find her announcement so humorous, and her words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Well I hope Imogene will claim me, I have a feeling fat Bertha has a thing for me." John sighed with disgust at the mere thought of fat Bertha.
Despite her name, fat Bertha wasn't fat she was very thin, the complete opposite of Imogene who was the larger than life object of John's desires.
"Aren't you scared Imogene will flatten you?" Marie asked nastily, running her fingers along Joshua's arm in attempt to be seductive. She failed miserably.
"That's what I'm counting on. She's got these wonderful curves, perfect to hold on to while I..."
"While you what, John?" Imogene asked, having found their secluded spot.
Curly black hair fashioned in a bob emphasised her large and high cheek bones. Her simple forest green dress showed off an ample amount of cleavage and hugged her curves.
John blushed, shrugging his shoulders as if he couldn't quite remember what it was he wanted to say. Joshua chuckled as Imogene began to rant at John for having such a blue mouth, realising that the she-wolf was in love with scrawny runt.
When the conversation and company became too much for him, Joshua excused himself. He ventured further into the forest until he could smell the electricity from the high voltage fence surrounding Stillwater.
Joshua surveyed his surroundings. Making sure that no one was around, he quickly shed his clothes, knowing that if he shifted the healing process would be quicker.
Shifters healed faster than humans but it wasn't instantaneous. It took an eighth of the time for a wound like his to heal than it would if it was inflicted on a human. By night fall he would be fully mended.
Shuddering as he felt the change consume him, he concentrated on the burn of his bones changing shape and length.
Joshua howled with pain as his injured leg morphed, agony ripping through every nerve in his body. With exhaustion he fell to the ground with a small thud.
The forest was silent for a moment as the white timber lay on his stomach, his head cushioned by the soft spring grass.
With a small woof Joshua pushed himself up on to his paws, finding purchase on the soft ground. Slowly now, slowly now, he coaxed.
Taking small steps, he lifted his left leg inches from the ground. Gingerly he placed the injured limb on the grass, growling at the mild pain.
With a deep breath he took off at a lope, jumping though small bushes, and disturbing the birds in their roost. It was when he was in this form that he felt truly free.
---
Passion groaned again, as another bout of travel sickness threatened her stomach. Brent looked at her as if she had leprosy, dabbing repeatedly at the stains of vomit she had marked him with.
Hank, the human pilot, declared that they would soon be touching down and Passion sent up a prayer to the lord above as the wheels hit the tarmac.
The elite team carried very little, since they were making their way to Stillwater in their wolf forms. Food would be game they caught and shelter would have to be dens.
