"Oh my god, what the fuck?"
~DaBoyVonn & MigoDeuce, 'WTF'

~~~

*Remi's POV*

"Okay, we're going to walk you through your wolf abilities," dad says. It's early morning, and my dads have dragged me to the woods behind the pack house. Since we had thought I was a year younger than I actually am, I didn't have time to prepare for this day. Now, my parents are teaching me how to handle everything.

"First, we'll work on the mind link," papa decides. "Close your eyes, and try to reach out to me with your thoughts. It might feel weird, but that's okay. Reach out to me, and speak."

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. After clearing everything else out of my mind — which, granted, wasn't a lot to begin with — I try focusing on papa.

'Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3,' I think, and papa chuckles.

'Do you think this is a fucking mic check?'

My eyes fly open. "Woah! I heard you! It worked!"

Dad grins proudly. "Good job, but that was the easy part. The hard part is shifting."

All my excitement drains out of my body. "Aw, man. Do I have to?"

"Yes," dad huffs. "It's part of being a wolf. It's going to hurt like a bitch at first, but the more you shift, the most you'll get used to it. Are you ready?"

"I guess," I grumble. "It's not like I really have a choice."

"Okay. Strip."

I balk at that. "What?!"

"Do you want your clothes to tear? If you have time, always remove your clothes before shifting. Trust me, you'll end up going through a lot of clothes if you don't."

Groaning, I tug my shirt over my head. Thankfully, my dads turn around and give me privacy as I finish stripping. Instead of folding my clothes neatly, I let them fall haphazardly in a pile on the ground.

"Okay, I'm ready," I say, using my hands to cover my dick. I try not to think about how it's not very difficult to hide with my small hands.

"Alright," papa begins. "You're going to start off the same way you did with the mind link. Close your eyes, and focus on connecting with your wolf."

Doing as I'm told, I close my eyes and clear my mind. I relax my shoulders, focusing on feeling my inner wolf.

"I feel him," I murmur, keeping my eyes closed. "Now what?"

"Now, coax him forward. And get ready for a fuck ton of pain."

I wince. "Geez, thanks," I murmur before pushing my wolf forward and triggering the shift.

And he wasn't lying. Unbelievable pain shoots through me as my body convulses, twisting unnaturally. I scream as my bones snap, reforming into a new shape. Dark grey fur starts to sprout over my skin, completely covering me. It only lasts a minute, but the pain makes it feel longer.

Eventually, I'm left panting, digging my paws into the soil beneath me.

My paws...

Looking down, I see two large paws instead of hands. My dads are looking at me in awe, and pride ricochets through me. I did it! I bark happily, jumping around despite the protest of my aching bones.

"How do you feel?" Dad questions.

'Amazing!' I think back. 'Look at me! I'm a fucking wolf! I did it!'

Papa chuckles. "You did. We're proud of you, son."

My tail wags happily behind me. 'Can we go for a run?'

Dad blinks in surprise. "You want us to go with you?"

'Yeah! Can we?'

My dads exchange a look before smiling and stripping their clothes. They shift in a matter of seconds, since they've had a lot more practice than I have. Papa stands tall with brilliant red fur, and dad is next to him with contrasting pitch black fur.

'Let's go!' I yip before taking off through the woods. I thought I had a head start, but that theory flies out the window when my dad dashes past me. My eyes widen as I watch him run. I've known that my dad is fast, but it's a lot different when I'm actually running with him.

I force my legs to work harder, launching myself forward as I chase after my dad. Papa trails behind us, purposefully going slower so he can observe us while we run. Even though I can't read papa's emotions like dad can, I know papa is loving watching us run in our wolf forms.

We run for hours, chasing the sun as it gradually rises in the sky. By the time we get back to where we started, my legs feel like jello beneath me. And even worse when I shift back. I flop on the ground, feeling completely exhausted.

"You better not be too worn out," dad comments as he gets dressed. "Sawyer's party is soon, and we promised Jayden and Caleb that they could have the party here."

I sit up with a jolt. "What? You're still making me go?"

"Why wouldn't you still go?"

"Hello?" I wave my arms. "We just found out that I'm eighteen! This is a huge deal! I shouldn't have to go to some fucking party."

Dad gives me a droll stare. "You're not getting out of it. Sawyer is our Beta's son, and it's respectful to visit him on his birthday."

"It's my birthday too," I remind him, and then the realization hits me. "Aw, fuck! I have the same birthday as the devil?"

Papa snickers at that, earning a glare from dad.

"Go get ready," dad instructs. "Besides, all your friends will be there. Don't you want to tell them that you turned eighteen today?"

I instantly brighten. "Oh yeah! Okay, I'll get ready!"

Gathering my clothes, I run up to the pack house and head straight for my room. I shower and get dressed in record time, buzzing with the excitement to brag to my friends. This whole time, I thought Asher was older than me! He's going to be so shocked to find out I'm actually older than him!

'Remi, the guests are starting to arrive,' dad's voice pops into my mind, making me jump. It's going to take a while to get used to that. I try fixing my dark hair in the mirror, but it refuses to do anything except flop messily across my forehead.

Giving up, I fling my door open and run downstairs. The first person I see is Asher, standing with his dads.

"Uncle Noah, Uncle Oliver!" I greet them cheerily.

"Hey, Remi," Uncle Noah ruffles my hair. "How's it going?"

I beam excitedly, looking between the three of them. "Funny you should ask! In fact—"

The words get caught in my throat when the front door opens, and Sawyer enters the pack house with his parents. My wolf howls as my heart begins to beat erratically at the sight of the hybrid.

"Mate," I whisper, surprising myself and the three people in front of me.

Mate??

"What?" Asher asks, furrowing his brows.

"Uhh..." I stammer, my cheeks heating up. I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the devilishly handsome witch across the room.

Wait, since when do I think of Sawyer as devilishly handsome??

As if sensing my gaze, Sawyer turns his head in my direction, locking eyes with mine.

His dark eyes flash purple, and then gold. I gape at him; for the first time in my life, I'm rendered speechless. My brain is still trying to process what is happening when Sawyer takes long strides over to me.

His warm hands cup my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. I gasp softly, unable to tear my gaze away as tingles spread throughout my skin where he's touching me. The entire room fades away, leaving just the two of us standing there. I find myself savoring the feeling of Sawyer's thumbs brushing over my skin, making my wolf purr.

And then he dips down, pressing our lips together.

It's brief, only for a second, before Sawyer yanks himself away. My legs grow weak and I stumble backwards, falling on my ass from the shock of it.

What the fuck?

~~~

AAAAHHHHHH!!!

By this chapter in IOTH, Theo and Kit were fucking skfkskdkdk but hey, at least we got a kiss

Thoughts??

See you next time!
-Gumbie