"There is nothing more terrifying than realizing you're falling down a hole you can't get out of. Love."
~Mel

"So have you found out anything?" Alpha Reese was typing furiously on his phone while he and War sat at the dining room, waiting for their mates with the food.

War found out a lot. Like Nick wasn't stable and had serious issues. That he no longer wanted the kid around Pomelia. Did he feel bad for him? Yeah he did and it sucked he had to go through whatever he went though but he wasn't putting Pomelia in harms way because of what happened to him in the past...

And that his mate was shy and beautiful in bed. He didn't expect her to let him anywhere near between her thighs but she did and he loved every second of it. He would have have much preferred his mouth than his hand between her thighs but she was much too shy for that. She kept her dress down while he brought her to orgasm. Which was much more erotic than he thought. She was even willing to help with his boner...which almost took him out.

He declined an offer for her soft hands to jerk him off. He declined because he felt like the villain. He wasn't being truthful with his sweet mate but he couldn't tell her. She was opening up to him, and they were in a good place. His past was not going to come in and fuck things up.

"Yo War. Are you just going to stare into space or?"

He sighed, giving Reese a look of disdain. He didn't want to talk about Ben or anything else. He wanted to drag his mate upstairs and tell her he needed to eat her like she was his last meal. He chuckled, thinking of the look on his innocent mate's face.

"Alright you're horny. I get it. You're mate is adorable as fuck but I pay the bills. Answer my damn question," Reese told him as War snapped his head towards the man telling him Pomelia was adorable. He knew she was adorable, cute, hot, sexy, beautiful. All those words he didn't need someone to tell him that.

"Still looking. I have a few leads," he broke, finally giving Reese some type of answer. "...And I found a page in his notebook that's suspicious."

Reese shrugged. "The whole damn thing is suspicious. You got three more weeks here. I need you to stop shitting around and find him. The LPA took some of his things but not the important shit like you have."

Reese was right. War had been bullshitting but that was because of Pomelia and her ailments. Now that she was fully healed and had her wolf it was time for him to get serious, find Ben and kill him.

"He'll be dead by next week."

Reese smirked. "That's what I like to hear! Then you can spend the rest of this month cozying up to your cute-"

"-My mate. She's my mate to you," he growled watching Alpha Reese chuckle as if that was amusing. His fist punching Reese's face was amusing.

"Alright lover boy. Calm down. I have my own mate whom I love the shit out of. You need any advice? I know Khan and Trent don't have any mates." That was true...he didn't really talk to the few mated pairs that they had in the pack. He should really, really take up Khan on his offer.

War shrugged. "I don't know...trust."

"Trust?" Did War have to repeat it? "You mean telling her who you really are?" War half nodded. "I mean you marked her man. I smell you all over her. Is she like real sensitive about what you do?"

Pomelia was like a flower in the wind. It was easy for her petals to fall off or wither... "Yeah."

"Well you should still tell everything. You're going back to your pack soon she's going to find out eventually. Listen they find out everything anyways. You tell her before she finds out and like has a mental breakdown or something."

War was snapped back to the night where she hurt her self... It was like she did have a mental break that night. He didn't want her to have to go through that again but it was inevitable... "Think of it this way whether she likes it or not she's tied to you. You marked her, man."

He didn't know something that could make him so happy could also make him feel so guilty...

"War calm down. You'll be fine, just relax man." War couldn't relax. His mind was always reeling... "Oh and if you want to we're having a little party down at the lake. You and your little mate are welcomed to come if you want." The lake..a party? War would decline...he didn't feel like being around people he didn't know.

"I'll think about it."

"Good. You smell that food? Focus on that. You have a mate who can cook like that? She's a fucking keeper."

She was a keeper....War just needed to figure out a way to keep her..

*******************************************

"War it's not working."

He sighed, wiping a hand over his face. He was full to the brim. Pomelia and Mei, more Pomelia outdid themselves with breakfast. It surprisingly wasn't that bad of a breakfast/brunch. He found out that he actually enjoyed Alpha Reese much more when he was with his mate versus when he was with Trent and Khan.

Mei still hated his guts but she was civil at least. He thought he was going to be able to sleep off some of his food after but Pomelia had requested that she wanted to shift and of course he had a hard time denying her anything.

So here they were. War had all of the patience in the world for his mate, but her wolf was another story. They had spent the last half hour trying to get her to shift, but nothing was working.

They had found a nice spot where no one was at for Pom to shed her clothing and await her shift...only thing was she wasn't shifting! He didn't want to treat her like a pup and force a shift on her but he was pretty sure that was what he had to do.

"War! No I'm naked!" He wanted for point out that he didn't care but he did, and he would get a nice eyeful of her naked form but he was quiet. Plus he saw parts of her body just not the whole thing.

He groaned. "Put on your undergarments." He could hear her shuffling. "Can I look now?"

"Yes."

He turned around and all annoyances dissipated as he saw his mate sitting on the forest floor, a sad look to her eyes. She looked defeated and he didn't like that look on her. "What if I'm too weak?"

"You aren't. It's okay," he reassured her as he tried to think of the most effective way to execute his plan. "Is it okay if I try something?"

Her eyes lit up. "Sure!"

"I do this to the pups," he warned her as she nodded. His hand shot out to the back of her neck and he gripped her tightly. He hoped she didn't become afraid, it was just a tactic that proved helpful for wolves that needed a little help in the shifting department.

"Shift," he snapped in her ear as she whimpered and her body began to shake. "I said shift!"

She cried out as his hand tightened on her neck and tried to fight him. "Shift Pomelia."

His mate froze completely before he let her go and she sunk to all fours. War watched a distressed look cross her features before she balled her body up and groaned.

"It's going to hurt," he told her as she whimpered, clawing at the ground as patches of fur replaced skin. She was crying..like most first time shifters do and War watched on, hardening his heart.

His mate shifted slowly and painfully into a small brown wolf. He watched as the first step she took, she completely wiped out. He chuckled, watching her get used to four legs instead of two. She was like a newborn horse putting her front legs up high every time she took a step.

Ten minutes later and she was rushing around the clearing they were in, trotting and yipping happily at her accomplishment of finally getting her coordination.

Then it seemed like she realized he was there and her eyes were set solely on War. She trotted up to him and began to circle him, lifting her tail up and wagging it seductively.

"Don't provoke," he warned the vixen like wolf. She pranced around happily rubbing her scent on his jeans. He rubbed in between her ears and head and she growled softly blinking up at him. "You are pretty cute." She then proceeded to try and jump on War which resulted him in growling and telling her to sit. "You don't listen."

Her wolf sneezed and blinked a few times before beginning to run around him in circles and yip. He knew what she wanted. For him to shift. "Fine, ok."

Pomelia made a snorting noise before she trotted around him and sat. He shed his shirt and then his jeans, throwing them haphazardly in a pile. He glanced at her, expecting her to turn away when he grabbed at his boxers. She did no such thing. She pawed at the ground instead...

War chuckled. Her wolf was much more cheeky than her human side. Both he didn't mind. He shed himself of his boxers and before he knew it, he was on all fours.

He sniffed at his surroundings, focusing on Pomelia who was wagging her tail and lowly approaching him. He was much larger than her wolf and knew that she was probably intimidated.

To help her he laid down on his belly and and huffed out in a tired manner, hoping her wolf understood he was at ease. She definitely understood, and quickly rushed over to him, sniffing his head and licking his snout. War reciprocated, licking her snout a few times before she was on her path of discovery. She circled him slowly, scenting his sides by rubbing against his fur continually.

War enjoyed every moment of it. Smelling like his female. She hadn't marked him yet so this was the next best thing. Once she got to his tail, she took deep long whiffs, and he immediately smelt her arousal.

His wolf was well aware that their female needed to be impregnated and her sniffing near his tail and whining was not helping.

Springing up from his relaxed position, he whirled around to glare at her, hackles raising and a snarl leaving his lips. Her ears perked up, her upper half lowering while she rose her butt in the air. She wanted to play.

War sighed, he supposed he could play...just a little for his mate of course...

They spent the evening frolicking in the forest and acting like pups again. War could say in all honestly that this was the most fun he had ever had in wolf form. Probably the most enjoyable time of his life.

They played until Pom's wolf was exhausted and he had to nudge her to go back in the direction of their clothing. His little wolf was nice and tired and he knew Pom was going to have an amazing sleep tonight.

Once they made it back to their clothing, he noticed that someone was sitting next to their pile of clothes. It was Nick...with Butter in his hands.

He growled lowly, making the kid flinch and Butter hiss at him. Pomelia on the other hand seem re-energized and rushed up to the kid and her kitten.

Nick's nervous look turned into a smile as he patted Pomelia's head softly. War sat and watched the kid closely, if he moved his hand even a centimeter off the top of her head he would attack the kid.

Butter on the other half was cowering in Nick's other arm as Pomelia tried to get at him. He was sure the poor cat was going to have a heart attack and his mate didn't seem to realize that.

While Pomelia was being patted on the head by the kid, he grabbed her clothing up in his mouth and traveled to a nearby tree that was thick enough to hide her body. He then went back and nudged his mate in the side, indicating that she needed to stop receiving pets and go change.

His mate didn't like that too much and flashed her teeth at him. War growled, snatching his mate up by the scruff of her neck and dragging her towards the tree.

Once he let go of her soft fur, she shook out her fur and whined at him. She approached him with her ears down and tail tucked between her legs. He allowed her lick at his snout before pawing at the ground near her clothes.

He turned around, his tail facing her as he waited for her to shift, knowing Pomelia would start to feel  embarrassed once she was her human self again.

After a grueling 10 minutes of her whimpers and cries he could finally hear her human voice. He heard the rustle of her slipping on her clothing before he felt the warmth of her fingers sink into his fur.

"War today was so much fun!" He felt her slim
arms wrap around him and he grumbled deeply in approval. "We have to go running again tomorrow," she squealed in happiness as he didn't mind that his mate was cutting off some of his air supply. He was content in life.

When she finally let him go, he turned his head back to see that she was just staring at him and smiling. "I love you, I know you probably feel weird hearing that again."

War's wolf had other ideas of love. Like fucking, killing an elk and dragging it to her as a gift. His wolf was in love he wanted to do all that and more with Pomelia. He did too and more but his human self wouldn't let him rid of the guilt...

He turned around and licked at her ear, hearing her laugh loudly and push at his large head. He then left her and went to go grab his clothes.

His change was much quicker than hers. He was stronger and had done it plenty of times. Pomelia was still not too experienced. Once he was changed and moved himself from the cover of the tree, he noticed that Nick was scrambling up to his feet, a look of fear crossing his features.

"Nick what is it? What's wrong?" He heard Pomelia question the kid as he handed off the cat to Pomelia. War approached them, instantly smelling a few different scents quickly approaching.

War immediately recognized one of the scents. He rolled his eyes upon a group of men approaching.

The first man leading the pack of three was one he instantly recognized. Blonde buzz cut and a smile that made War want to hit something, Officer 'Mach' waved at him. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. Same as the other two guys with him.

"Oh..War, Pomelia...Nick? What are you all doing out here?" War watched the man's eyes stray over to Nick. "You got a cat? Is that your pet or something?"

War was about to dismiss the man and his questions but his sweet mate unfortunately beat him to the punch. "Ah, hi Mach. War and I just finished up a run. And that's my cat Butter, Nick is holding."

"A Lycan with a pet. That's new...are you guys headed down to the lake? It's hot and the water is refreshing?" He was talking to War but his eyes stayed trained on Nick. War was getting annoyed.

"Oh you guys are going to swim in it?" Pom questioned as one of the guys next to Mach chuckled.

"Yeah what else would we be doing?"

He could feel Pomelia's stare on him. "We don't have any swim outfits."

Mach shrugged. "Luna and Alpha always bring extra cheap pairs of bathing suits they pick up every now and then. Pom you look like a small maybe? Medium on the bottoms...Nick you're definitely a small and War you look like a large?"

"Yeah man you're ripped. Maybe even xl," one man pointed out as now everyone was just staring at him, assessing. War didn't appreciate any of it...

"That would be fun!" Pomelia gasped while giving him a dazzling smile. He groaned. He was acting like an asshole. His mate wanted to go experience something that his pack never could dream of having...

"Yeah okay. We can go."

"And what about you, Nick?"

Why was the guy so obsessed with asking Nick questions he knew the kid wasn't going to answer? It was beyond War but he waited for Nick's nonverbal response.

He watched him type furiously on his phone before War received a text message.

Going to go back to the house with Butter.

"He said he's not coming." The man seemed disappointed. "What's your problem?"

The man quickly became defensive. "I'm just extending the invite. No problems here. You guys going to tagalong?"

"Yeah."

War grabbed Pomelia and they followed Mach and his two friends who introduced themselves but War didn't really care for their names. He cared about Pomelia and how she kept her arms crossed because her bra and panties were ruined from her first shift. And how she kept trying to take bigger steps to fall in line with him.

When they finally arrived, he could tell Pomelia was amazed by the sheer beauty of the landscape. The lake was a sight to behold. Surrounded by thick with foliage trees, and sparkling almost clear blue water, he could understand why his mate was in awe.

"Hey you guys made it!"

War quickly parted ways with Mach and headed over to where Mei and Reese were. Both were in swim suits and he watched Pomelia's eyes follow over Mei's body. He wondered if she was concentrating on the amount of flesh she was showing or the ink staining her skin?

"Hi, we wanted to see the lake. We don't have suits though," Pomelia told them as Mei grabbed his mates hand.

"I got a suit for you. Babe get something for Warren."

War cringed at his real name. He let Pom go and was immediately being thrown a pair of swimming trunks...with ducks on them. "Really?" He frowned as Reese chuckled.

He hid behind a tree and changed his clothing noting that some females saw him strip naked. He didn't care, he only wanted to hear what Pomelia had to say about his length and not some random she-wolves.

Once he reached Reese and the few people spread out over the large picnic blanket, he was immediately disregarded as one of the men was telling a boring ass story that seemed to interest everyone.

He kept glancing up looking for Pom before pretending to listen to the story. It was boring and he could tell the man slipped some subtle lies in but he didn't care...

War smelt her scent first then glanced up to see his mate, flushed face and barely clothed rushing over to him. Leaving Luna Mei in the dust.

His eyes trailed over the blue bikini top she wore, pushing up her breasts and the tight bottoms she wore. It all molded to her like a second skin...

"Pick your jaw up off the floor War."

He watched as Pom approached him blushing profusely and nervously running her hands over her hair. "Ah...this was all that would fit me."

War felt his eyes see red as she bent down to pick up a cup that was in her way of sitting next to him. Her ass was out. Entire ass. Ok so half her ass..but the good part the nice meaty part was out!

"It's nice," he said through clenched teeth, watching his mate smile nervously before sitting down on the blanket. He immediately scooted her closer to him, and placed an arm around her so that he was firmly gripping the meat around her upper thigh. "You okay?"

His mate seemed incredibly uncomfortable as she sat down and held her dress to her stomach. "I...this is so revealing," she worried. "Mei said you would be upset."

Mei was the culprit. He glanced in her direction and saw her smile brightly at him before giving him a wink. And yet another reason why he and Mei did not get along.

"I think you look nice," he complimented her as he noticed she kept placing her arm over her stomach. She was definitely self conscious and he felt bad about it. "You want my shirt?"

Pom shook her head. "N-no! I'm fine." He knew she was lying but he couldn't force her to wear something she didn't want to wear.

They sat listening to the pack members talk, he joined in every now and then but couldn't help but notice that Pomelia kept glancing back at the water.

"You want to go in?"

"Yes!" She said quickly before blushing and looking around. "I mean...if you come with me sure."

"Go ahead War. Take your mate for a swim." As if he needed Reese's permission. He rose up to his feet and Pom did the same, before she was able to walk behind him he put her in front of him. He didn't want males to stare at her perfect ass as she walked by them. Him being behind her gave him the perfect view and warded off other on lookers.

Once they reached the water, Pomelia gripped his hand tight as they waded deeper and deeper. Once they reached the drop off, Pomelia was getting increasingly closer to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't swim," she warned him, a look of fear in her eyes. She seemed seconds from hopping into his arms.

"You can hold onto me...it only gets deeper from here." Pomelia didn't even have to be asked twice. She took no time latching onto him as if she was seconds from dying.

She was gripping his entire body tightly. "You won't drown." So tight that her muscles were shaking trying to maintain their vice grip on his body. Was it a bit complicated trying to float/swim while he had a human backpack attached to the front of him? Yeah it was, but he didn't care.

They floated in silence for a while, until Pomelia's tense form was now a bit relaxed. "War?" Her cool breath prickled the wet skin of his neck.

"Yeah?"

"Am I choking you still?"

"No," he chuckled as she giggled a bit too before she unwrapped her one hand from him and glided it through the clear water. "It's so pretty."

"Just like you."

She laughed even more, and War tucked that rich sound into his mind, engraving it into his memory...
"When Reese complimented Mei like that she called him a kiss up. Are you acting like a kiss up, War?" She questioned him, pulling back from him a bit to stare at him, with a sly smile. War had no problem being a kiss up, or kiss ass when it came to Pom.

"Yeah."

She kissed him chastely on the lips. "Kissing up deserves kisses. That only makes sense right?"

"It does."

War watched his mate's eyes brighten, her head tilting to the side a bit, exposing her neck. Her wolf really was trying it. "Pomelia," he warned as her lips parted and a sigh came from them.

"Sorry. She keeps pushing to be...so close. She doesn't like to listen to me."

War was certainly convinced it was both Pomelia and her wolf, but he would be quiet on that realization. "It's okay," he told her as she hugged him loosely.

"You're so patient with me...you've given me so many firsts War. You're such a great person...I'm lucky to have such a funny, caring man like you as a mate..."

War wanted to tell her things too. Like he never used to smile, he never used to look forward to waking up. He loathed gatherings, and people...he hated being alone. But she gave him all of that...and didn't seem to even notice.

War was thoroughly fucked. He loved his mate.

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