Page 21 of An Alpha's Commitment

At a nod from Talius, Lucius stepped up beside him. He addressed the crowd in a strong, growly voice.

“Thank you for your welcome, Talius and Leongatha pack. It’s not the first time we’ve run together, and we appreciate your hospitality. Many friendships have already been formed between members of our packs. That said, I’d remind my pack that some of you have brought friends along with you tonight and I expect you will ensure they treat our hosts with the respect that is due. You will be responsible for the conduct of your plus ones.”

Silence fell. The evening breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. Dark shadows flickered around us, solitary witnesses to our gathering. If any humans had strayed into the forest tonight, they would have been startled to stumble across a hundred or more naked people milling around in this clearing. But no-one came. Just the wind, and the moon.

Then Talius shifted. One moment he was a man, and a few moments later his dark grey wolf stood proudly on the massive log, muzzle pointed to the sky where the full moon was rising over the trees. He was majestic. The breeze ruffled the long hair around his neck and ears, tossing it every which-way. As a wolf, his appearance was just as wild as it was when he was human. I loved it. His devil-may-care appearance, savage and free, made him all the more attractive in my eyes. Watching him there, wind ruffling his fur, I thought ahead to the end of the night and a secret smile curled my lips.

I took a sideways glance at Isca. His big brown eyes were glued to Talius with a look of adoration and pride.

I gave him a nudge. “We’ll have him later,” I whispered. “Right now, he belongs to the pack. But tonight he’s all ours.”

Isca's pink tongue glided over his bottom lip, leaving it glistening in the moonlight, his eyes never leaving the Alpha we both adored. I grinned and turned back to watch the Alphas.

Lucius had shifted into his wolf. His was a large pale grey wolf, almost as large as Talius, with striking light blue eyes that glinted, reflecting back the shafts of moonlight that were now piercing the glade.

The atmosphere in the clearing was electric, buzzing with anticipation. I loved this moment. It always felt like I was on the precipice of something really big. As if I was on the point of throwing myself off a cliff, a touch of fear mingling with the excitement, knowing I’d be in freefall before the tug of the 'chute lifted me up and wrapped me in the warm currents. I was about to give myself over to my wolf, and it was terrifying and exciting in equal parts, to loosen my grip on my humanity and let the wolf’s instincts take over.

Talius lifted his head higher and began a long, low howl that rose in strength and crescendo. Lucius joined in and the wolves’ song filled the clearing, bouncing off the smooth bark of the trees around us and echoing in our ears.

It was the signal for the rest of us to shift, and in moments the clearing was a confusion of sprouting hair, tails and ears, snouts sniffing, bodies half-human half-wolf, which became a sea of fur of so many colors, black, grey, every shade of brown, and splashes of white, the night filling with whimpers and grunts and whines as everyone completed their shift.

Talius howled once more, then bounded away, signaling the commencement of the run.

Chapter 11

ISCA

We start together, a huge pack loping through the forest. Talius leads, his dark head and ears visible as he bounds ahead, larger and stronger than the others. His powerful Alpha scent laces the air and even though we’re meters behind, it fills our nostrils: he is our Alpha and we follow him.

Over the uneven ground, twigs and stones, dead leaves, we run. Warm pads sinking into cool ground, connecting with the earth, at one with the nature that lives and breathes around us.

At one with each other.

Stride after stride after stride, we run on. The blood pounds in my ears, beating a tattoo in synch with the heartbeat of the moon. As in a dream, my paws brush over the damp soil, over the leaf litter and twigs, dodging branches and around rocks, the trees thinning out the further up the mountain we go, the moon casting slivers of light between the tree trunks as we race over the ground, higher and higher, the wind stronger up at these heights, howling through the branches. Trees flash past, a kaleidoscope of silhouettes in the night.

The mob ebbs and flows, closing in around me, hot bodies and sweat surrounding me, pounding over the damp earth, then drifting apart, cool air swirling around us briefly, before they close in again all fur and heat, lolling tongues and panting breaths. The rhythm of the packs’ paws drums a soft cadence in my head. There’s energy in this mob, excitement. Our wolf’s blood pulses with the pull of the moon, rushing through our veins like an aphrodisiac. It’s overwhelming, exhilarating. I haven't felt this in so long, the collective psyche of the pack. Thoughts drift away, replaced by instinct: hunting, mating, self-preservation, the desire to run free over the bare earth…

My tongue lolls, the air rushing to fill my lungs, replacing what's exhaled in great heaving gasps. My brain is lost to the wolf, running stride after stride, minute after minute, each paw touching the ground only briefly, there’s nothing but the earth beneath my paws, the ragged exhale of the wolves running near me…

As the night wears on, the pack spreads out, stragglers falling behind or turning back. The crush of bodies thins out around me, falling away or rushing ahead, every wolf manifesting their own personal response to the call of the moon.

The pungent scent of a young alpha, virile and aroused, envelopes me. My heart skips a beat, I stumble, my skin prickling, hackles rising.

He's close.

From the corner of my eye I see him, a wolf with brown fur, a stranger with dark focused eyes - eyes fixed on me! All my hairs stand erect. He's so close! He disappears behind me, his hot breath hitting my haunches. Is he urging me away from the pack? Irian presses closer to my flank, shutting him out. Over my rasping breaths, I hear the snort of annoyance behind us. Then the stranger appears at my other side, muzzle reaching for me, nostrils flaring, inhaling... and then grunting, he turns away, lips curling back, a low growl of dismay rumbling through the night.

My heart races, blood thundering in my ears. My hackles don't go down, the sensitive hairs erect and alert.

Lower down the mountain, wolves howl.

Memory stirs. My heart stutters.Something snaps in my brain.

They’re coming!

I have to go faster, get away. I have to escape. They're coming for me. I extend my stride, speeding up, running flat out now, ears flattened against my head, tail straight as an arrow. Faster, Faster! Heart pounding, chest heaving, vision blurring. Higher, higher! I have to go higher. Ears buzzing, cold air rushing over my face, my eyes stinging, drops of moisture leaking from the corners.

I veer away into the trees, avoiding the fallen boughs littering my path, aware my silver coat shines like a beacon in the moonlight, drawing my hunters after me. Branches slap my snout, scratch my face.

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