Slipping out of the house without much of a second thought, earning a couple of side glances from the youthful version of my husband and his companion, I stretch and take in the air only to be hit with a pang of hunger. While it felt foolish to leave them behind with the bigoted parents of Tyler, staying locked in this house after a long drive and flight wasn't necessarily an option either.

My stomach rolled with the heavy scent of prey, my wolf was just behind the veil, desperate to be freed. How was I going to do this? How could I possibly keep it together, where I expect my husband to continue his sympathetic petting, I'm met with his Alpha expression. He had stepped aside from being my rock and into the realm where he was my teacher. I'd been avoiding this, I didn't want to address the depth of my feelings towards another alpha. How could I have a dominant lurking in me? Hoping that it would just go away wasn't fixing the situation, and it would appear the topic would be addressed today.

"You know what needs to happen. You need to shift." He tells me, causing me to cringe. I hadn't spent much time with my wolf, we really weren't on speaking terms. With Caspian lurking around, I was already on edge, concerned I might not be able to keep hold of the creature. We had never come to a conclusion, our wolves had still yet to meet.

"What if I can't control it?"

Scoffing, he shrugs one shoulder, dismissing my concern as if I was a mere child coming up with excuses. "I'll run you down, I could use some exercise."

My confidence in that was abysmal at best, my wolf could be frantic, and when that man made his comments about our sexuality, I wasn't certain that I could keep myself from coming back here to exact my revenge. Bumping me with his shoulder to encourage me to move forward with the instruction, Verando strips his shirt off. I flinch at the black inky scars.

"Come on. Don't be so worried, that's my job." He hangs it on the porch and I frown, following suit. Being naked next to him in the daylight was still a blow to my ego. We were so different, while he wasn't the ultra-fit adonis I had met originally, he was still in exceptionally good shape. He devoted more time to it than most, more so than I do for sure.

My mouth practically waters and I shake my head to take away from the obsession. The hum of desire in the back of my mind, the promise that I would take him.

"You'd think you'd be used to it by now." He comments with a smirk. It's a technique to get me to let go, to make me stop worrying, but that was easier said than done.

I wrinkle my nose, sticking out my tongue, if he was going to speak me to me like a child, maybe I should act like one. "I never want to get used to it. I want to want you this way for the rest of my life. Don't forget, next time it's my turn." I remind him, earning an almost concerned expression as he steps out of his pants. Seeing the flash of fear, I attempt to soften my expression. I want to reassure him, no matter what, I wouldn't hurt him. Yet, why couldn't I let this side go?

In only his boxer briefs, my eyes scan over him as I chew on the pad of my thumb. "I must say, I'm looking forward to it." I allow, tilting my head. It makes him flush, embarrassed at my gawking. The wolf conquers my tongue, nearly making him shudder in discomfort. To be successful I would have to get better at this side of things, reevaluate what drove him mad. Certainly, this was not it.

"I agree." Caspian purrs from the porch. "He's the perfect specimen."

I snarl over my shoulder, bristling under my skin. I could feel the flash of violence building, I was too on edge to be taunted by the psycho today. "I know what I want to hunt today."

Verando grabs my arm, pulling me back to him. "Just ignore him." Leading me towards the woods, I feel like I'm leaving my pride behind for not engaging. When were we going to kill Caspian? Questions roll, wave after wave; the wolf was chatty today.

Hesitating, I reel the beast back in. "I know. I'm sorry. He just makes my blood boil, I'm hungry and I'm on edge."

"Perfect time to test your nose."

When we're far enough away, he steps away from me, giving himself space before calling Alpha forward with an exhale. The gray beast shakes out his coat with a stretch and a yawn. Turning his attention to me, he wags his tail once, nuzzling me roughly with his large head.

I can't help but giggle, wrapping my arms around the oversized muzzle and meeting the light gaze. "I missed you, too." I murmur as the eyes shift back to a more normal-sized pupil.

"Call your wolf forward. Do you know its name?"

Shaking my head, I was afraid to admit that I didn't. More so, I was afraid it wouldn't come out if I asked, but that was quickly proven false as if on cue, I drop to my knees with a scream. The wolf hits the bars of my mental cage like a wild animal. "Ah!" I manage, it takes my breath away with the intensity.

Relentless, it hits the edge of my consciousness again, I nearly collapse at the agony of my body fracturing and cracking, trying to figure out what form to be in. The cracks had been built into my bones, yet feeling them break and reshape felt just as agonizing as the first shift every time.

"Stop fighting it. Let him out." Verando commands me firmly.

"I feel like I'm going to die." In the other instances where I had shifted, it hadn't necessarily been my choice. The wolf was rushing it, hungry to be free. My body didn't have time to adjust, the pain kept making me back off.

"Don't worry, you're not that lucky." There was no sympathy for me anymore, much as hearing me scream must kill him, he had to help me get through this.

Shredding through me, when I open my eyes, I stand before him as a wolf on shaky legs. My body feels broken, stretched, and pulled in all different directions yet somehow, I'm not just a bloody heap. Surely there was nothing left to me, my heart pounded in my ears, every sight, sound, and scent flooding my senses as I track our surroundings.

Verando meets my gaze, checking my eyes to see if I was alright, taking a small step closer. This was the first time our wolves had gotten to interact. It was the first time I'd gotten to see him through the eyes of a beast, in the vision of a creature who wanted his position for inside me lurked an alpha, just as it did with him. I could feel it, the red hot intensity.

The erect ears were like a crown over his head, and the slightly elevated tail and regal posture of the high head carriage coupled with lifted shoulders pronounced him as the dominant one. The man in charge, the Alpha, emitted a fragrance of masculinity that left me torn between intoxicated and infuriated. "Well? Make your choice. If you're going to attack me, I suggest you do it now."

I blink, shocked. But note that my coat bristled, my body poised as if waiting for someone to pull the trigger, I was rocked back on my hips ready to launch a full-scale assault, my ears pinned flat against my skull, his words snapped me out of my trance and I shake out my pelt to reset.

"What was that?"

"Every thought you have is evident on your body until you learn to control yourself. Your wolf wants to challenge me, but I imagine you have reservations about that. So, for now, it would appear we're at a stalemate." Tilting his nose upward, he lightly sniffs the air. "Unfortunately, it might be tricky to find anything around here that isn't cows. Perhaps we shouldn't make an ass of ourselves just yet by killing this families livestock."

Striding past me, his back falling into my line of vision makes me lurch. I go black, in the void, as the wolf claims my body as it's own. A painful reminder that in this form, I was the invader, and my willingness to entertain thoughts of dominance were minimal. Verando wheels around, coat bristled, teeth bared. The loud bark makes me wheel back onto my hind legs,thrown back into reality, lowering my head below his own as he bears down on me.

Before I know it, I'm on my back, precious underbelly exposed as his fangs pause inches from my throat. "Randy. It's me." I plead, earning little in the form of forgiveness from those harsh light eyes.

"I'm sorry," I tell him quickly. I didn't want to hurt him, it was a hierarchy that I didn't understand or control. The beast glowers in the back of my mind, ashamed.

"It's not your fault." Though his eyes me suspiciously, allowing me to stand. "Come on. Let's give you something to actually work on. I've just got to pick up the scent first."

Embarrassed, I follow at his hip, surrounded by brush and foliage, the heavy humidity mixed the scents into a slurry of mental mush that made it difficult to even know where we were. Pressing my cheek to his hip, I whine as he snarls me off. That was not my husband but Alpha who had his feelings hurt.

"Best not to touch, love." He corrects me, passing his nose casually past brush and trees. Occasionally he'd press his coat against the bark of a tree.

"Are you making a trail?" I attempt to pull him out of the depths of disappointment in my outburst. Or, perhaps he was more so concentrating on the potential threat poised at his hind quarters.

Nodding once, he glances over his shoulder at me for only a moment. "We've got to find our way back. I'm also checking for signs. I'm looking for a rabbit."

"A rabbit?" My stomach groans, it doesn't seem like nearly enough, though the thought of anything made my mouth water. Meat, fresh meat, was something I was unwilling to pass up no matter the size. "How did you go days without eating?"

"You'll shred a deer in moments, ruining the meat in your haste. You hunt rabbits so that you can gain control of yourself. If you shred a rabbit, there's nothing left to eat and you'll learn your lesson faster." Hesitating, he considers my question, letting his ears flatten and he steps through the brush.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured that out after meeting my younger self."

It was a silly question. I fall silent, coming back around to the thought process of only allowing me to maim rabbits.

This sounded like a cruel plan, I attempt to sniff as well though frankly, it felt silly. Akwardly smelling the air with an enthusiasm that made him snicker. I didn't even know what a rabbit would smell like. "Sometimes I forget you used to train an army of new lycans. This is harder than it looks."

"You also forget the no talking rule. If you'd like to eat, you should probably stay quiet. Breathe in, don't syphon air like a vacuum cleaner." He reminds me, stiff in his tone as I recoil from his irritation with me.

Pausing, his ear flicks and I nearly run into the back of him. "Sorry." I mutter.

"Hush." Listening intently, he stands before me like a statue. I frown at him.

"Hey, I know I jumped on you but you shouldn't be such a dick-"

"Nic." Verando snaps, turning his attention back towards the way we came. "We should have brought a phone. I'm picking up a smell that I'm not placing."

So much for the hunting trip. My stomach growls, not feeling motivated by a strange smell to put me off finding something with fresh blood to feast on. "What's scarier out here than us?" I push past him, heading towards the sound of running water. Maybe I would have better luck with fish? Though I distinctly recall them being a difficult catch. The fish here were probably quite small.

"Have you lost your mind?" His tone makes me growl low in my throat. "We could be under attack."

"I don't smell anything!" I snap back, irritated. "I'm not your soldier, I'm your husband. I asked for your help, not your asshole warlord attitude." It comes out faster than I could stop it. I don't know what made me push back against him, perhaps my wolf was hoping to trigger him into combat. Such was the price of an Alpha male, I remember from our time in my home in Romania it seemed every male with his own independent thought wanted a piece of the dictator.

The white blur crashes into us, bowling me over as the creature slams into Verando's side. While I was certain she hadn't caught him off guard, he preferred to sacrifice himself than allow me to take the brunt of any attack. Flipping through the under brush, he uses his hind legs to kick her firmly in the stomach, sending her sailing into a tree.

Yelping, I recognize Malka as she falls to the ground. "There you are, Alpha."

"Does this really feel like an appropriate use of your time?" He barks back, squaring up his feet but still keeping an eye on me. My coat bristaled, it took noticing his gaze for me to see why. My wolf was as full attention, waiting for an opportunity. "Nic, I think it's best if you go back."

"Run home, Nic. Let real alphas have the grounds." Malka snarls, flashing her teeth as she rushes at him.

The pair crash through the brush, knocking down small trees in the tangle of fur and fangs. My feet were unmoving, my love for my husband nearly snuffed out by the overwhelming urge that clouded over my vision. Panting hard, lungs heaving, eyes blurred, I could do nothing but experience the overwhelming need to fulfill one of the strongest pulls I'd ever experienced.

"We must not interfere." The wolf snarls in my head.

I had to help him but my feet wouldn't move. The wolf refused, taking interest in the battling pair beyond that of concern.

Verando grips Malka behind her head, pinning her to the ground with his jaw. The female screams, thrashing, trying to get free as he presses his paws into her shoulder blades. His bloodied muzzle, the near glowing ice colored eyes, I inhale sharply when I notice hers are the same.

Envari had told me, before I had become a lycan, that Alpha and Malka were fractured. Malka had been returned to prevent Kavanza from having the full 'pure' essence. We had tried, gods had we tried, to get Helen to obtain the Alpha position. But that had not been possible because Verando in some way still possessed his fractured piece.

Shaking out my coat, I attempt to force my feet to move. "If you're suggesting we let them kill each other, you can promptly go back to purgatory." I retort strongly.

"The white spirit must be rejoined."

I feel my conciousness threaten to slip, the wolf wanted control. It always came back to this, we were to close to the truth, to close to the end. The pieces of this being fought mercilessly, just as the past foretold.

What I knew of lycan lore, I should witness, not meddle. Watching them fight, seeing the near feral rage in Malkas eyes as Verando tried to ward her off, the time for observation had passed. My feet move without my permission as I rush the pair, Malka breaks free of his grasp as I bounce off of her and sending her sailing towards the river.

Yet, as I land, the compulsion to step into the ring hit me like a freight train. He was here before me, ready and willing, perhaps I just wanted her out of the way. Perhaps I just wanted it to be my turn.