The Alpha & I

The next step was a bit harder. Mia had to take complete control, filling every inch of Sirena’s form with her presence. All the while Sirena was holding her body completely still.

Mia had to be in every inch of her body and Sirena had to release control all at once, doing so handed control over allowing her to shift. They hadn’t managed it yet, but they were getting close, Sirena could however feel Mia getting tired.

“Lunch?” She questioned. Opening one of her eyes to glance sideways at the Alpha. They were sitting next to each other again, his hand on her knee, keeping the connection open so Tai and Mia could communicate.

“Sounds like a good idea, a break would be nice.” He replied and left to grab the basket he’d bought earlier.

I’m sorry Sirena, I’m no good at this. Mia whimpered in her mind once the two boys were away.

Nonsense, we’ve only shifted at the worst of times, there was a lot of adrenaline and fear. To do it at will, with no trigger, it’s always going to be harder. Don’t fret we will get there, if not today, then tomorrow or the next day. She felt a warmth spread through her as Mia’s spirits lifted.

Tristan returned with a few sandwiches and some bottles of water. Handing her a couple he placed the rest between them. Sitting back down, he leaned back on one arm and began to eat looking to the distance.

“Do you normally train the pups how to shift?” She questioned unwrapping her meal.

“No, that’s left to the lower ranks of the packs, not an Alpha.” He responded taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Oh... you seem to know what you’re doing is all.” She tentatively bit into her sandwich. Why was he helping her then?

“You’re a bit of a special case, Tai refused to have anything to do with me for the longest time, you saw how big he is, he feared tearing me apart and not being able to shift back to human. The joys of being a giant, am I right?” He joked. “We both figured we may be able to help you better than the beta’s or omegas would.”

He paused for a moment. “Tai’s also the only wolf around these parts that can control another, forcing them to shift, we were chosen as Alpha for that reason.”

“This pack seems very special.” She added not meaning to speak her mind.

“You could say that. We are all basically a bunch of misfits with weird abilities, we were all kicked out of our original packs for one reason or another. So we formed our own.”

“It’s nice here.” She could see why Cedric was a part of it, it was very accommodating. “I’m ashamed... I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“I’m glad you like it here, though it’s not always this peaceful. You see, there is a human village nearby. We do our best to keep it safe as we owe an Alarian that lives there.” He didn’t realize he was blabbing so much until that slipped out.

“You owe a what? “ She frowned.

“Well, we call him Zero for short, he bought us strays together and helped us build the den. Honestly, we wouldn’t be here if not for him, the pack wouldn't exist. We return the favour by looking out for the village that he and his mate live in.” He paused. “They’re not wolves though, so mate is the wrong word, I guess.” Shaking his head, he shoved the last of his lunch into his mouth and lay down looking at the sky.

“How do you know you’ve found your mate?” She questioned pondering the thought allowed.

He choked on the last bit of bread that he had meant to swallow. “I forget sometimes you weren’t raised by wolves, nor was I for that matter. It's fairly rare, I haven’t found mine yet, so I don’t think I’m the best to answer that.” He explained recomposing himself. “From what I know, you won’t find them until you’re ready to, or something cliche like that. The others say it’s like a moment in time when you see each other and you just...know.”

“Oh...Okay.” Things became a little awkward then, but thankfully Mia came to the rescue. Let’s try again now.

"Sure, we can try again.” She nodded her head with an eager smile.

He eyed her confused until he realized she had spoken to Mia. He watched as she downed the rest of her lunch not bothering to be graceful about it. He liked that side of her, she didn’t care what he thought of her, and it was refreshing, to say the least.

Sitting upright she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out with a long sigh she relaxed her muscles.

He watched as she let Mia take control. He didn’t move to touch her; he had a feeling Mia was getting the hang of things on her own now.

She gasped and he shot up, eyes wide. She’d done it!

Their shift wasn’t graceful in the least. The bones within Sirena’s body bugled visibly underneath her skin as they reshaped themselves. And because of the crossed-legged sitting position she was in, as the leopard-wolf form emerged Mia fell backwards and rolled onto her side. Wiggling her limbs, she tested their movement before attempting to stand on unsteady paws.

“Easy girl, take it slow.” He told her resting a hand on her soft fur. He searched for Sirena and found her with little effort.

Hey! So, this feels super weird being in the backseat right now, normal right? She asked him.

He laughed. Completely normal, just let her have full control until she can’t hold the form anymore. The more you practice shifting the longer she will be able to remain in control. He instructed.

Right! Got it! Sirena responded.

He could tell that she was overjoyed, her voice was lined with excitement.

Mia, after finding her feet tested her paws on the grassy ground. She trotted around for a little bit before looking over at the Alpha. She jumped excitedly on the spot and made a sound that was like a huff. Repeating the action, she looked up at him again.

“I think she wants us to join her.” He laughed as he reached down to pull his shirt off over his head. As he reached for his jeans, he began to shift letting Tai take over, the action was flawless, as the man stepped out of the clothing the wolf emerged.

Both Mia and Sirena were in awe. Tai didn’t take the invitation lightly, he lunged playfully, but Mia was ready for him. She dodged and darted off into the trees running along the small stream. He was right at her heels keeping pass with her easily.

It didn’t take Mia long to get used to moving, she weaved in and out of the trees with ease. Jumping into the stream she spun on the spot facing the Alpha as he followed.

She splashed the water at him bowing her head low as she playfully wiggled her tail. She was a great deal smaller than him in this form, but that was to be expected. However it also made her slightly more agile, so when he leapt at her, she had to simply scoot out of the way and splash him again.

Shaking his head to clear his face of the water droplets he lowered his body close to the ground, ignoring the water as it soaked the underside of his belly.

She stood at the ready, waiting to dodge again. This time when he went to lunge, he tricked her, instead of lunging he faked it causing her to jump to the side. He lunged for her then, but she couldn’t evade it.

He was gentle with his impact. Playfully rolling her onto her back and placing his paw on her stomach, taking a triumphant pose above her.

She stared up at him with her paws hanging in the air, having the time of her life, until another wolf came running toward them.

Neither panicked, they could determine from the newcomer's scent that it was the pack's beta, Gail.

However, Gail looked panicked. He skidded to a stop just before the stream, he bowed his head low in apology. This couldn't be good.