My beast has been itching for a run. She thinks a treat is in order after many difficult evenings. One last run in the early morning. That is how I end up standing in the forest at three in the morning.

The last patrol usually ends at two in the morning and the next patrol will be at six am. I still have a two-hour safety net. Our home lies on the outskirts of the pack village, almost a separate entity of its own, so we have a few miles of forest cover in between the pack borders and us. Not to mention forest spreads all around the forest except for a single dirt road that leads to our home.

I sigh and breathe in the clean air of the forest. It is eerily quiet except for the chirping of the crickets. Quickly stripping off my clothes, I fold them and put them into my bag, hauling it over my shoulder and quickly transforming into my beast. Straps of my backpack hang loosely over my shoulders.

She overtakes my mind and I feel tingles go up my spine, which quickly evolves into tremors. My nails lengthen and goose bumps appear on my skin. I feel my bones elongate as I increase in height before they break and muscles start bulking up. My feet become paws. My nose expands into a snout as my incisors sharpen. Soon, in my place stands the Halfman-half wolf's form of my beast, my Lycan.

My beast howls and breaks into a run. The rhythmic thud of our paws on the ground echoes her steady breathing. Only the freedom of movement and thrill of the moment matter as the world blurs around us. The trees, the shrubs and everything welcome us back.

As we run, the wind blows in our fur, liberating us further. A log comes across and we jump over it and land on our legs. We smell the scent of a rabbit and change direction for a small meal.

I step back and let my beast, Katherine, take control. The lust for her prey overtakes her Lycan's body as she follows the sounds to a lake in the forest. It was one of her favourite lakes. The white rabbit is bent over the bank, drinking water from the lake to quench her thirst.

Katherine's mouth waters as she watches the rabbit. She would let the rodent have her last fill of water before it faces its death. Her muscles are coiled, ready to pounce at the rabbit.

The rabbit lifts her head from the water, scanning the area, completely unaware. Katherine crouches, concealing herself among the trees by the lake. At the rabbit's first movement, Katherine springs into a run and fierce attacks.

She grasps the rabbit firmly, her palms encircling its body. In an instant, her teeth were at the rabbit's neck. The rabbit struggles in her grasp in a futile attempt to break free.

After a brief moment, the fight departs from the rabbit's body as life ebbs away, her eyes turning glossy. Katherine devours the rabbit, and I let her have more control. I hate the way she eats, so I try to ignore my bodily responses.

Just then, the wind blows towards us, bringing with it a scent that is familiar yet unfamiliar. It is chocolaty, but it also has other scents mingled with it. But one thing is for sure. It is a male werewolf. He can't notice me in this form. Thankfully, I am downwind, so he won't be able to smell me, but if he is close enough, he may sense my power.

I take control and push back my beast. She cooperates but grumbles. Fur recedes into my skin and my bones break before shrinking as I come back to my human form. I look at myself and feel thankful for the tank-top and the shorts that do not tear when I shift. I don't want to ruin all my underclothes.

Reaching into my backpack, I search for a suppression shot, feeling grateful that I always keep a few shots on hand. Quickly, I inject them into the crease of my inner elbow, and I feel my beast sinking back into my mind. I put the empty syringe back in my bag and put on my joggers and a shirt. Even if they find me, I should be presentable. I won't be able to explain my look.

Why would a weresap who can't shift be barefoot in the forest wearing transformation underclothes that can only be bought through the subscription-only Were-gossip magazine?

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoes in the air, making me flinch. Now alert, I scan the forest, looking for any sounds of intruders. Guns are prohibited so close to the royal pack village.

This area is a hunting prohibited zone. Not that the shots harm us much, even so, there are babies and toddlers with their parents who have not developed much immunity who came with their parents into the forest for a picnic. They could be seriously injured.

Hunting this close to my home is not something I like. I need to know the details. I start walking toward the sound, as my nose picks up a strange, rotten scent.

I track it, and the scent strengthens, making it almost impossible to breathe. I look around for the source of the smell but fail at finding it. Something wet drips on my nose and I swipe it, assuming it is a dropping, but my hand comes away red. It is blood.

My heart rate picks up as I tilt up my head. The sight I am wet with causes my heart beat to accelerate further and the hairs on the back of my neck raise up in alarm. My stomach twists.

It is a corpse. Rotten smell emits from it implying that the man did not die now. He has been decomposing for a while now. It is not good. This being found so close to my home will bring unwanted attention. We are the closest in the vicinity.

I should not be here. But should I inform anyone? Perhaps I should tell Dr. Archer. I step back from the corpse and start jogging towards my home, but then I hear a rustling in the bushes.

I look around and try to search for something in the trees. But it is eerily quiet. Even the moonlight is low as it is a new moon day. I had to endure the forceful shift of my beast just a day ago.

I come to a stop and scan the surroundings and sniff the air. Even in a suppressed state, my beast is powerful. Our power in this state can be compared to that of a gamma easily, even a beta when it wears down.

There are no animals in this area. I was lucky to find that rabbit earlier. But then the hair on the back of my neck rises, suggesting that there is something that I can't see. I focus on my hearing and I hear the sound of paws. They are fast as they come closer to me.

I immediately change directions and start running towards the nearest highway. If somebody is following me, I need to throw them off my scent. My heart races as my legs move. But I have a feeling I'm being followed.

The sound of paws is closer now. They are gaining on me. I push myself and hop over a bush onto the branch of a tree. I keep hopping from one branch to the branch of another tree, but it snaps under me, sending me to the ground.

Now I hear the breaths of the werewolf. He is closer than I thought. I get up and run. Pumping my legs, I run as fast as possible, but a dark blur jumps over me, causing me to topple back onto the ground. I lean back on my elbows from my position on the ground and see him.

It's a large black wolf. Its fur almost blends with the night, but its brown eyes glow in the dark. Waves of power crash over me and the familiar chocolate scent crashes over me, casing my knees to almost buckle over.

It must be the biker stranger. I try to smile at him, waving my hand, but he snarls at me. He might be an Alpha, but he is not my Alpha. Dusting myself, I get up from my position on the ground and take a step towards the highway.

The wolf pounces on me and gives me a warning rumble. I snarl back in warning. His eyes widen in surprise before he barks at me.

'Stop.' I hear a voice in my mind and I realise it is the wolf in front of me. He is indeed the biker stranger. I can't forget his voice even if I wanted to. But why is he not shifting?

You only hide your face if you have something to hide. I don't trust him as of now. He might have helped me, but he is stopping my way now.

I break into a sprint and shout over my shoulder, "No"

I hear his growl before his paws thud against the ground. He is following me! I stop and snarl at him. He snarls back and pounces on me.

I dodge him, but he is fast as he turns and pounces back to me. I don't want to fight an Alpha, but I won't let him walk all over me, either.

I do a backflip, and this time he lets out a roar. It is so loud that it has the earth trembling and my knees buckle as I fall to the ground. I gasp and try to overcome this compulsion. How is he so powerful?

I take a deep breath and rise, but this time he has the advantage as he jumps on me. His weight pins me down as he holds me down, his paws on my shoulders not letting me move,

I squirm, trying to get out from under him, but he growls once again in warning before his teeth come close to my exposed neck.

As much as I hate to admit, I am defeated. So, I angle my neck in submission. I have no other option. Teeth this close to the neck only mean two things. One is death and the other is submission.

I notice our proximity and my throat dries. My breathing hitches as I look to my left, not wanting to meet his eyes. His paws still hold me down as he shifts while still pinning me.

The sounds of bones cracking echo in the night as his shift completes. His paws become hands and I turn to look at him. Those eyes are really the ones of that biker, but the face causes me to widen my eyes in shock.

He has deep eyes, and when he sees me, it feels as if he is looking into my soul. All his features are perfect, including his skin. It is a perfect shade of olive, and his chin is clean-shaven. Not even a speck of beard on it.

I never expected this wolf to be the biker and that the biker is no one else but the Alpha King. That is why he could make me submit. I feel like an idiot now. I defied him and that is why he forced my submission.

It might seem brutal, but that is the way of the weres. Animalistic.

"Were you the one who fired the gun?" He barks from above me and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Do I have a gun in my hands?" I counter, with a raised brow.

This time, he glares at me.

"Can you get off? You are not exactly light," I groan.

His eyes widen and red creeps down his neck as he gets off of me at lightning speed.

I, too, get up and dust off myself before tucking my chin and curtsying. Now, he looks uncomfortable and I hear sounds of more paws. I look at him in alarm and he says, "Yes. You're surrounded. No chance for escape."

I groan again. "I am not the one who shot it."

"I don't trust you," he says.

I almost roll my eyes but control at the right moment. It is disrespectful to roll eyes in front of an Alpha, let alone the Alpha King.

I sigh and take off my backpack off my shoulders before extending it towards him.

"You can check my bag."

He snatches away the backpack before opening it and rummaging around. He takes out the syringes and displays them for me, raising a brow.

"Insulin Shots. Not exactly useful for shooting bullets," I quip.

"You can tone down the sarcasm," he mutters and hands me back my bag.

"Why does a were need an Insulin shot?" he asks, since we usually have good immunity.

"Weresap, here. And one of my ancestors was human," I say.

This is not the first time my shots got noticed and this is not the first time I am lying. It is an age-old lie that I barely blink my eyes.

Rustling sounds strengthen and another black wolf emerges from the trees, followed by a brown wolf and sandy wolf. Another familiar scent hits me.

However, they start surrounding me. But, the black wolf steps forward and starts shifting.

Word Count: 2192