Unknown POVAs I’d entered the swamp tonight a sense of eerie anticipation had hit me and as I stalked through the bayou in my other skin I could feel a power pulsing, old, older than the swamp, ancient. It scented pure and clean, its owner had no ill intent, not even an ounce. As I made my way through the stink of stagnant water I felt the others following using the shallows and sandbars to try to keep up with me, their leader. Thankfully they were not cursed like me to stalk the swamps in the full moonlight as a monster. I could be The Beast whenever I wanted any other time, but beneath the light of that full bright moon that taunted me, he owned the power over me to be present, and he would not recede.I rested at the back of his mind with little more than a suggestion to sway him. My other form, the wolf, was as equally a part of me as the man. But The Beast was separate, he had his own mind and presence. He sensed something bright in the darkness, he could smell the goodness seep

I watched from the doorway, as Wyatt with shaking hands, gingerly stripped the slip of a woman of her wet clothes. Finishing that, he then attempted to dry her brown hair and tucked her into his bed. His actions were uncharacteristically strange. We didn’t bring women home. Wyatt veered away from them at all costs. He was always afraid of the monster within him. Was that what the trembling was, his strain to hold The Beast back? The way he held and cradled her to his chest as the monster was off, The Beast meant no harm to the girl, if anything he was more gentle than I had ever seen him with anyone. The suggestion to ferry her in the boat with one of the boys had fallen on deaf ears. I couldn’t be sure but I swear The Beast had purred as we made our way home tonight. Then I saw it as he gently brushed the hair from her cheek, tracing the gaunt features of her undeniably beautiful face. There was something special about her. I had seen the light emitting from her and the wolf in me

Bri Before my consciousness returned I had a vision of my father’s death again but this time I could hear his words clear as day. In translation, his words were ‘Find The Beast that is your heart, seek out the protectors of the swamp, they will vow to protect you my Bri.’ When I woke, I listened to the two deep voices just outside the space I was in. Groggy, I had trouble focusing on their words. My newly amped magic reached out testing when the massive presence of the dominant one stilled, caressing mine. I felt something rise within him, feral but non-threatening, protective even natural, and beautifully ancient. My energy and his swirled around each other. Testing and pulling, like flames licking at each other’s potential measuring and feeling the othe out. Within moments the pulsing waves were caressing each other, like cat leaning into an open hand, intent on fingers running through their coats. My brain flickered the memory of wet fur, and hazel eyes with flecks and rims of o

“I do not want to ask anything of you or yours, you have given enough.” I reiterated. “If you are hungry and there’s food there’s no point in wasting it. The boys are processing that gator so we’ll be eating like kings for a while,” he paused. “Kings and a Queen.” He let me know when he retrieved the nearly cold plate of rice and beans meant for his Alpha. “We don’t waste here,” he said, handing it to me with a fork before disappearing. That one was moody in a brooding bodyguard sort of way.I ate, the quiet sounds of the surrounding swamp more peaceful and grounding now that the throbbing of my head had eased, not completely gone but manageable. I reached out with the senses I usually kept bottled up, finding them far more sensitive since the power boost. The cynical one lounged in a room not far from where I had been placed, glancing at the boots, I was definitely in the big guy’s space. The young ones were a short distance away across the island. My magic made something like a top

Bri His eyes narrowed at me “Is this frowned upon?” I asked. Holding one up. “We don’t do it, but we don’t care about it, however, we don’t want the boys around it.” He admitted stuffing his hands in his pockets. I nodded. “Fair enough, they are on the other end of the… island, and the wind is blowing away from them.” I said, tapping my head. “You can sense all that?” He asked. I just shrugged before nodding. “The big guy is deep in the swamp,” I said standing. He cleared his throat “What does that stuff do for anyone anyway?” he asked, stepping out of the way as I passed, having stuck the joints behind my ears. “Sometimes, it's for my nerves, sometimes it helps me get through a bad day, other times it helps with my headaches,” I said. “What’s it for today?” he specified. “All of that and more.” “You honestly think you know what we are?” he asked, following me. “I do,” I answered simply. “You're not afraid of us? Of him? Of his beast?” He queried and I looked over my shoulder at hi