Chapter Five: Human Love in a Wolf's World: A Brother's Confession

My brother and I dashed through the dense forest, our human forms slipping between trees unseen by the world beyond. It was a tactic of the wild, a secret passed down by our father - to become invisible to survive.

Under the safety of the canopy, we shed our clothes like second skins and surged forward. Muscle and bone flowed seamlessly into our true selves. Such fluid transformation wasn't common among our kind; most wolves needed a still moment to shift, a moment that could cost a life when war snarled at your heels.

My brother and I dashed through the dense forest, our human forms slipping between trees unseen by the world beyond. It was a tactic of the wild, a secret passed down by our father - to become invisible to survive.

            Under the safety of the canopy, we shed our clothes like second skins and surged forward. Muscle and bone flowed seamlessly into our true selves. Such fluid transformation wasn't common among our kind; most wolves needed a still moment to shift, a moment that could cost a life when war snarled at your heels.

            Past Memory: How I got the nickname Paws

            Elias and Aurina blended in with our pack in their wolf forms, as our family members were all golden wolves. However, I stood out—my gold wolf form was distinguished by stark white paws, which gave the appearance of wearing socks.

As a child, my stark white paws, as conspicuous as uneven socks, often made me the butt of our siblings' jokes.

Aurina and I found consolation in laughter, seeking playful revenge. We often would sleep in a pack by the lake in wolf form, and Aurina and I would secretly hoard cans of white paint, only to stealthily coat the sleeping pack under the cover of a moonlit night—our own brand of artistic mischief.

With a conspiratorial grin, I whispered to Aurina, my partner in crime, lost in the forest's night-time breeze singing through the trees, "Let's tip the scales with a bit of mischief."

Aurina's chuckle, warm and low, stirred the underbrush, setting the stage for our prank. Transforming back to my human shape, I quietly retrieved the paint. One by one, I decorated each sibling's paws with our white signature—everyone's but our parents' we weren't that stupid as to paint our parents paws. We painted our siblings paws quietly chuckling inside ourselves, then we shifted back into our wolfen form.

Yawning, Aurina and I stretched out, feeling the wolf inside of me filled with a sense of accomplishment. We settled down on the outskirts of the warm, slumbering family cluster, letting sleep pull me into a world where forest spirits danced in my dreams...

The Present:

The sharp scent of the nearby lake invigorated our senses. "Race you, punk!" I challenged Elias with a bark before breaking into a sprint.

Elias's voice threaded through our mind link, teasing, "Who you calling punk, Paws?"

My wolf recoiled at the nickname; a snarl laced with resolve. "Game on, brother. Just watch, I'll leave you in my dust!"

            Our competitive nature turned the forest into a blur as we shoved for the winning position, playful growls mixing with the sound of wind rushing through our fur. As the lake shimmered into view, Aurina found another burst of speed and shot ahead.

I could nearly hear my wolf’s smugness as she concealed herself behind a tree, ready to spring. The moment Elias appeared, she pounced, Victorious growls mingling with his conceding chuckles.

"Okay, okay, you're the queen of the chase, Aurina," Elias's defeated wolf wheezed. Aurina's playful swipe over his head was her royal seal of approval.

The woods echoed with our laughter as we shifted back, human once more, to find relief by the water’s edge, the midday sun turning the lake surface into rippling gold.

Jeremy broke the peaceful silence, nudging my shoulder. “What happened back at the restaurant, Stephi?” he murmured, a whisper like the rustling leaves.   

        

His arm wrapped around me, comforting me despite the churn in my heart. “Was that Alpha... your mate?”

His eyes searched mine, finding affirmation in the quiet nod that accompanied my sorrow.

Jeremy’s laughter erupted, disbelief coloring each note. “So, it's you, the one entangled with the pureblood Alpha. Not Sindy, but you! I bet…”

His chuckles faltered, weakening against the cold wave of my anger.

A sheepish grin lingered as he regained composure, “In a few years, you’ll laugh at this, I promise. It is just funny, that mother was always trying to match your older sisters with purebred Alpha’s and here all along it is you that ended up to be a purebred Alpha’s mate. Not just any Alpha either, but the Infamous Alpha Brock.”

"I have a confession; I had already found my mate."

I watched my brother sigh in sorrow, rather than in joy, Confused I asked, “Isn’t this after all that is what a soon to be Alpha wants, is his Luna to help him be the mother to the pack. Jeremy, then why don't you sound happy about it? Don't you desire a Luna for our pack?" I glanced at him, my annoyance fading away.

"So, you have your own mate issues?” My brother replied defensively.

Ignoring is defensive reply I asked, “I am assuming that you will be accepting the Alpha role now?"

His face tensed, hints of a brewing storm in his gaze. "It's terrible, Stephi... I think she's human."

"Calling it 'terrible' might be inaccurate. Regardless of her being human, isn't it possible that what we need is change in our archaic pack rules?"

That's easy for you to say," he exhaled heavily, "Confronting Dad about this will start a battle."

Leaning in, I spoke with conviction. "Then face it head-on, Jeremy. Embrace your destiny as the Alpha. And perhaps…" my voice softened with a glimmer of hope, "your human girl may possess the spirit of a wolf, waiting to emerge. Regardless you are an ALPHA act like it!"

His frown eased into a fragile seed of hope. “Do you really think so?”

"Anything's possible," I replied, my voice dancing with mischief. "Just be careful when trying to snatch her brush you will need a strand of her hair for DNA. That would be a peculiar brand of trouble getting caught by your mate stealing her brush, actually it would be sort of funny.

We got dressed and walked back to the car, our talk a mix of laughter and deep reflections.

But then, a chill shot through us as Aurina's sharp warning echoed in my head: "Rogue!"