Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1) (8 page)

 
I felt odd and self-conscious, which was a new sensation. I remembered the pride I used to have when I shifted. It felt almost dirty in that moment, something I had to hide, and that was not a feeling I took any pleasure in. I shook myself off. It was a normal action to brush away the feeling of transition and, in my case, to throw off the self-conscious ridiculousness. The cubs paused and looked at us, tongues lolling. Nik's large timber wolf form was a dark slate grey with black points and a heavy set build; he went down into a play bow to Alex. A slight shiver went down my spine when I saw Alex's pale grey timber wolf form, with his long legs and more athletic form. That harboured a lot of memories. Ryan's wolf form was closer to a tan and grey, smaller than Nik's but leggier, whereas Dan was on the shorter, stockier side with his pure black form. I felt completely out of place in my small, leggy, rangy red wolf form. It was an entirely different species to theirs; a less common one.
 

I put my head high and shrugged off the apprehensions and foolish thoughts. They were my pack, I was their alpha. I was also finally in my wolf form after such a long time. A slight breeze brushed through my fur. The wide range of scents surrounded me and told me multiple stories at once. Ryan and Dan quickly went down into play bows themselves, their chins almost on the ground and their tails high in the air. I couldn't resist and saw no reason to try. I bounced forwards and landed on Ryan's front paws before spinning and running away. It wasn't time for doubt, pride, or other such destructive thoughts, it was a time for play, pleasure, and freedom. The males all gave chase, yipping and barking with glee. We raced around the garden, ducking and diving through the wild flowers. The warm, soft soil beneath my paws felt amazing. Everyone played both the prey and hunting roles, and we all ended up play fighting. Alex and I made sure the cubs didn't get too rough and delivered some sharp bites to ears, snouts, and hind-quarters as reminders, but by the end we all sprawled out under the stars together. We were all panting, our sides heaving as we looked upwards, contented and settled for the first time since we'd met. It wasn't perfect, we weren't a pack, but it was something.
 

A sense of belonging began to emerge. It was something I'd forgotten the feeling of. The satisfaction of exhaustion settled over me as I took quiet pleasure in being surrounded by the familiar musk and dirt scents of lupine play. I almost went to thank the Sisters for giving me the thing I had craved for so long, but I stopped myself. They were screwing me over. They always did. I rolled around on the cool grass enjoying the feeling of my muscles releasing and the itches I couldn't reach being scratched. The boys did similar things around me, their presence close to mine offering a comfort I didn't think I'd have. I stood and looked them over, my rag-tag bunch, my pack. Alex sat with his mouth slightly open and his ears in the relaxed but alert position, it was the happiest I'd seen him since we'd been thrown back together. The cubs were all lying with their tongues hanging out. A quiet feeling of contentment hung about them. I stretched and wandered inside. I looked over my shoulder to find the males all following without complaint. We each shifted back to our human forms and stretched again, feeling our bones and muscles slip back into their proper positions. I sighed and smiled as I looked around them before saying goodnight.

The cubs each lowered their eyes and returned the well wishes. Alex simply smiled. We'd made far better progress than I'd expected. There was a long way to go, but at least the stress had been diffused and a step had been taken in the right direction.
 

I was left with a calm peace as I ascended the stairs back to my comfortable nest. Alex followed close behind and left me be when I sat on the bed. He went into our bathroom, and my attention was soon devoted to my bag and the shinies contained within. I carefully pulled out each stolen item, holding it up to the light and admiring it before placing it down in its newly assigned home. I rolled the pearl bracelet around the palm of my hand for a couple of moments before I tucked it away in a drawer. I was almost disappointed when I went to put my bag away, but the weight within it reminded me that there was one last wonderful shiny. Something unexplored and incredibly curious. Alex was still in the bathroom. I could hear the water running, which meant that I was alone to run my fingertips over the box. The anticipation was delightful. Small shivers ran through my fingertips as I took my time savouring the moment, the build-up. I pulled the lid off the box slowly and was greeted with a note on the same heavy, white paper that the task had been written on.
Just a reminder of your place in things.

I felt my brow furrow as confusion filled me. What on Earth...

I removed the note and was greeted by an elegant, fine, pale silver (verging on white) choker. It had three small feathers at the front: one in ice blue, another in emerald green, and the final in blood red. I snarled to myself and debated throwing the box at the wall. I couldn't quite explain the feeling, but I knew it was from them; a weight within my mind and much deeper. A sense that I
would
wear that choker flooded me. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't. It was like a crushing physical weight, a need that my hands almost tried to fulfil against my will. I sighed and put the choker around my throat. I cursed and snarled under my breath the entire time before tucking the pretty little box away in another drawer and curling up in a small ball in my nest. I muttered to myself about the Sisters and their nerve, their ego, to mark me in such a way. How dare they act as though I was some unruly pet! I didn't notice Alex emerge. I had curled up and tucked my wolf tail around me while I muttered and cursed under my breath. I wondered if I could enact revenge on them and free myself of the mantle I carried, but I knew that was absurd and would never happen. Alex's cool energies fluctuated on the periphery of my senses and dragged me from my plans and cursing. I closed my eyes and allowed the wolf to curl up in the back of my mind and the jaguar to stride forward.
 

I stretched and shook myself off. I felt vile and dirty. I needed a long, hot shower to clean my body and clear my mind. I flashed Alex a predatory smile. It was meant as some semblance of reassurance, more out of habit than any real desire to ease him. He stood in nothing but a towel. I paid him no attention and just tried to settle my energies down around me as they were flicking in the same manner as my tail. He had his arms loosely crossed and a look of confusion sat on his face. His eyes flashed when they settled on the choker, but he simply turned away and got into his bed without a word. I was glad that he knew better than to try and prise the information from me. I strode into the bathroom and shed my clothing before stepping into the shower and allowing the scalding hot water to wash away the stress along with the dirt. A clean jaguar was a happy jaguar.

9

The frustration and irritation was still firmly in the front of my mind when I awoke the next morning. I spent longer than usual stretching out my muscles and trying to clear my mind. I focused on the contentment from the previous night and the freedom of the play. I had a couple of days to try and form some bonds with the cubs. Alex tilted his head and sat on the corner of my bed as I lay on my back wriggling and stretching. I stopped and looked up at him, my tail twitching at my side. He couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face. His tongue slipped out between his lips and ran along them.
 

"I see you went in search of new shinies yesterday."

I pouted and waited for the reprimand. Instead his hand moved to rest on my shoulder.
 

"We are alphas together. You're not doing this alone. If you need help, then come to me rather than risking getting the pack in trouble."

With that, he stood and headed downstairs. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the flood of happiness that accompanied his scent and kept a firm hold on that feeling and memory as I walked down the stairs. The Sisters were not going to ruin this. I was better than that. I was better than them.
 

Breakfast was more lively than usual. Conversation passed between the boys with ease, and everyone was far more relaxed than usual. I tried to look for openings to join in the conversation, but found none. A desire to walk away tugged at me, but I refused to give in.
 

Eventually Dan said, “That’s a very pretty necklace you’re wearing. Would I be correct in saying that some complex energy weaving went into the making of it?”

His eyes had that mischievous twinkle that I didn’t appreciate in the slightest. Nik jumped on the new topic. “It is a beautiful piece. The craftsmanship on the metal is stunning, particularly given how fine it is. Where did you get it? I’d love to talk to whoever made it, I bet they have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share.”

I tried to keep a calm smile on my face and refused to look at Alex, who was smiling at my squirming. “It’s just something I picked up off a little stall somewhere. Nothing special, I’m afraid.”

Nik seemed particularly disappointed and Dan opened his mouth to continue his line of enquiry but I cut him off with, "You're going to show me what you can do."

It wasn't perfect, but I was painfully aware of being out of practise. I felt out of my depth, and I didn't relish that feeling at all. I flashed them all what I hoped was a confident and calm smile. They looked between each other before they grinned. Ryan spoke up "What do you mean, we’re going to show you what we can do? Are you going to have us performing circus tricks, or…?"

I shrugged. "I assume you can all fight..."

Their faces lit up. Ryan said, "Well that depends on the type of fighting you mean. All self-respecting male shifters, particularly the,
ahem
, better types such as wolves, can fight in one form or another. Are you talking bare-knuckle boxing? Good old-fashioned blades?”

Ryan’s questions amused me, but not enough to give much weight to. He was over-eager and taking away from my idea and point. “Hand to hand sparring. Nothing too heavy, as we can’t afford to be broken right before we start this task.”

Dan's eyes darkened and he crossed his arms across his chest. He didn't say a word, but the confidence was written across his face. Alex gave me a small nod and smile. I saw no reason to continue standing around and walked out to the garden. It wasn't perfect, but it was an open space. They weren't going to fight in ideal conditions in real life, so I saw no reason to concern myself with them then. It had been a long time since I'd lost a fight, and I knew that I couldn't lose this one. It would jeopardise my position.
 

I slipped into my opening stance without any thought. "Human form only. Energies come later."

They looked around at each other. Nik said, “All of us? All of us at once? Against you?”

I sighed, "Well, I wouldn't want to beat you too badly. We do have a task to fulfil."

I took a long deep breath and centered myself. It wasn't going to be an easy fight. They were all bigger than me, but I had a point to prove. I needed to get their respect, and this was the best way to do it. They looked at each other before shrugging and forming a loose semi-circle around me. Nik took point standing directly in front of me, while Dan was on my left and Ryan was on my right. All of them moved to be side on and lowered their weight enough to give them a good footing and point to move from. I took another breath and cleared my mind. There is no room for thoughts in fighting. Thinking slows you down, and that could then be the end of you. I gave the jaguar almost full rein, enough for the strong instincts to kick in and do what needed to be done.
 

Nik glanced at Dan before he began the proceedings. Alex had settled himself down on the grass and was watching with mild amusement. I had no doubt that he had already put the cubs through their paces. He had proven himself. Nik's large fist hurtled at my head, a bold and brash opening move, but he was trying. I twisted away just enough to feel the breeze of the movement without losing sight of the other two. Nik shifted his balance as he struck at me, enough to bring me to kick him in the lower ribs. That exposed my balancing knee to Dan and gave him a potential opening, a bold move on my part, but I had to be. Then things began proper.
 

Dan was particularly aggressive and tried to keep moving behind me, thus distracting me and stopping me from gaining a heavy footing and grounding. He depended on brute strength, determination, and a complete lack of regard for personal safety. That had its advantages, but it wasn’t good for every fight. Nik was far more blunt and used his size, whereas Ryan moved and learned. My instincts took over completely. I felt their strikes and heard their cries as my own fists and feet struck home. Nik went down first. He tried to use his balance, but his centre of gravity was too far forwards. His primary method seemed to be quick, hard blows to try and break his opponent’s spirit before they or he reached their limitations. He had potential, but it wasn’t enough, so I broke a couple of ribs driving him back before taking out his knee. He stayed down.
 

Ryan was quite determined, he ducked and weaved while working with Dan to try and get me off guard. That made for more of a challenge, his very defensive way of being combined with his well-timed surgical attacks gave me something to really push back against. I twisted and turned, keeping them on their feet, and finally kicked Ryan in the sternum and followed it up with the decisive blow to the head. He landed hard, but was fine. That left me with Dan. By that point we were both sweating, and his breathing was coming hard and fast, yet the spark remained in his dark blue eyes. His teeth were partially bared, and his hands were kept up. We danced, both darting, pushing, twisting, and turning from the other. He had rivulets of blood running from his cheek and shoulder, his shirt was stained, but he was relentless. Finally, he lost his balance just enough for me to take his legs from under him and drive him down to the floor with a heavy, open-handed blow to his collarbone.