---Alec's POV---

"Alec, get your butt out of your bed, we're gonna be late!" I stretched and sighed, momentarily ignoring Liam's voice as he shouted from somewhere downstairs while I took the moment to stretch again and roll over and enjoy the nice dreams I've had.

Nuzzling my pillow, I smiled despite wanting to stay and sleep some more, because I knew why Liam was so annoyed and agitated. Hopping out of bed, I shouted down that I'd be there in a few before hopping into the shower. And yes, I didn't mind taking a shower or a bath; as long as it happened on my own terms, I had no issues with bath-times.

So when I came down after a few minutes and spotted Liam pacing at the front door, I couldn't help but walk up to him and pat him on the back with a smirk. "Ah, is the mean, older brother making you go to school?" I cooed, laughing when Liam scowled and shoved me to the side before marching to the door, leaving me behind.

Marcus chuckled along with me and gave me a hug. "You know, I don't think he ever looked so stunned when I told him he misunderstood me. When I told him you weren't going to school anymore, he left before I could say that I didn't want you to go alone."

The grin sliding on his face made me grin as well before he ruffled my hair. I scowled and slapped at his hand before ruffling my hair back just right and stalked away from him, his booming laughter following me outside.

Liam had already left but I could see him walking down the trail, making him a very nice target to stalk and scare. I couldn't resist and grabbed the straps from my bag a bit tighter before silently making my way down the forest, feeling a bit giddy and excited.

I tensed when I was close enough; Liam was muttering to himself and obviously not paying any attention, otherwise he'd looked behind him and noticed I wasn't following him anymore. Instead, I had stalked around him and was waiting for him to walk past the bushes I was hiding in.

As soon as Liam passed me, I shot out of the bushes, already startling him enough to jerk backwards and tripping over a nonexistent obstacle, landing on the floor with a solid thud. I snorted and started laughing at my brother before running away, hearing him growl in frustration before his footsteps pounded after me.

The white and ivory buildings of the school were coming into view, making me smirk as I looked over my shoulder and flashed a smile at my brother. I knew I could outrun him in a sprint but if it came to the long distances, he'd catch up with me. He had more muscles, leaving him behind me from the added weight but he had more stamina to make up for that.

Looking back in front of me, I had to skid to a halt when I heard murmurs of several other students. I didn't want them to know of our secret so I took a few running steps before stopping completely, taking a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Umph!" I huffed when colliding to the floor, wriggling around with Liam groaning above me. Apparently he hadn't heard me grinding to a halt and ran full steam ahead, right to where I was standing.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Danny laughed loudly before I heard Zeke sigh and slap him on his head. "Get off, you big oaf!" I groaned when Liam pressed his weight down even more, chuckling above me while I tried to kick him off. He laughed and grinded his elbow against my ribs as he hopped off, leaving me breathless for a second and rubbing my sore ribs.

"Asshole." I muttered under my breath while Liam smiled innocently at me before winking once as he wrapped his arm over my shoulder. "Come on bro, smile and endure it like a man. You are a man, aren't you?" he stared at me with a faked shocked expression before I elbowed him in his gut, smiling brightly as he leaned over and released me.

"Yup."

Zeke chuckled as he eyed the both of us with amusement before shaking his head again. Danny stood by his side but surprised me by being less touchy-feely than the other days. I tilted my head slightly to watch them, wondering if something happened that made them keep their distance, only slightly though.

"Class is starting you two, are you guys ready?" Zeke stated, eyes flashing with amusement as I dodged Liam's kick and made him trip before I nodded. "Yeah, someone is behaving like a child this morning, moaning and pouting all the way to town." I chuckled and followed them while Liam started to grumble again, much to Danny and Cody's amusement.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

Halfway through the second class of the day, I was already resenting myself for even thinking that way. Liam wasn't in any of today's classes so I couldn't talk to my brother to distract myself of the giggling girls surrounding me.

I sighed and leaned down, nuzzling my cheek on my crossed arms before glancing back at the teacher. The young male was busy explaining pack dynamics, making me slightly curious to how the wolves around here established and reinforced their hierarchy.

"Lycans and werewolves are closely related but not the same," Mr. Meyers explained while flicking his hand to get our attention on the picture of a werewolf shifting for the first time. "While werewolves are very common, Lycans are rather unique because of their genes. Due to the combination of a Lycan gene from mother and father's side, they have impeccable reflexes, strong instincts and an overwhelmingly strong animal."

I frowned at that and sat a bit straighter, raising my hand. Meyers nodded and I dropped my hand as I said, "What do you mean with animal? They keep their humanity in both forms, right?"

The blonde teacher nodded and leaned against the desk up front, rolling his sleeves up slightly. "Yes Alec, you're right about that but look at it this way; A Lycan has to shift twice to learn its true form, thus doubling the animalistic senses it has. They are a lot closer to nature and more likely to wolf-like behavior than any normal were."

He smiled and went back to his lesson while I processed that, mauling things over. It was true that the wolves here in school had acted on their instincts, like scent marking what they believed was theirs. I've seen plenty of couples here, where both partners hug or simply touch each other, mixing their scents and making it clear who belongs to their little pack.

They were also quite territorial... I smiled slightly to myself and played a bit with my pen before realizing that the lesson was over. Classes were over now, at least for me and my brother; Marcus had told the principal we needed to have a day off to get situated in our new home, and she accepted without a fuss.

Oh, my... I snorted to myself before clasping a hand over my mouth to not draw any attention. Liam was being crowded by several female wolves, all wanting to catch his attention before snarling at the others, flashing their teeth in warning. Liam clearly wasn't interested, judging by the way his nose was pulled up and a bit of his teeth was showing through his opened mouth.

"Excuse me ladies, but can I borrow my brother for a moment?" I asked politely, flashing them a warm and persuasive smile. They giggled and nodded, trying to touch me and Liam as I dragged him off before laughing at his disgruntled look.

"Don't make me think you actually liked that or I'll throw you back to the wolves." I teased, laughing as Liam's head turned sharply in my direction before he briskly shook his head and darted for the forest.

I shot after him and was rather surprised when I found Liam shifting a few steps into the safety of the woods. "Are we going to hunt?" I asked, my tone raising I happiness before Liam nodded his head sharply, making me cheer before shifting mid jump.

Ah god, this feels so good!

My chest rumbled with a deep purr while I dug my claws in the forest floor, bowing my body to stretch and yawn the stress away. Liam was looking on with his bright golden eyes before letting out a low yowl and with a flick of his tail, he was off.

I trotted after him and playfully swiped at his hind paws, trying to smack them out from under him. He snarled and swished his tail around my neck but I knew he was amused with my antics.

"Instincts are hard to ignore brother." I linked him as I followed him up the mountain until we got to a clearing. He rumbled out a yowling laugh before motioning with his head to a small heard of deer.

"Time to hunt. I'll stick to the trees."

---Nathan's POV---

Sweat was steadily dripping down my back as I chopped the tree down, quickly leaping to the side to avoid being crushed. I needed the work-out to keep my mind of Alec and his hungry expression after we encountered in the forest.

Hungry-amused-ours-mate-NOW! I shook my head at the surge of emotions from my Lycan as I remembered how Alec had bumped into us, nuzzling his cheek against my stomach and the sensitive fur there. Honestly, I was surprised my control hadn't snapped there and then, because he was seriously pushing the limits then.

When he had realized what he was doing and had been staring up at me, the blush that crept up his cheek had surprised me but the hunger- God the hunger in his eyes! I growled lowly before pushing against the fallen tree, slowly rolling it to its place before rubbing my hands to clean them.

"Need a hand?"

I glanced behind me and grinned at Bruce, realizing that he didn't mean the job; he obviously saw the way my muscles tensed, felt how my Lycan was itching to get out. Without answering him, I felt my muscles bulge and adapt, bones snapping and elongating before I stood proudly as my Lycan.

Bruce followed quickly, a creamy white Lycan looking back at me with a smirk on its muzzle. We charged at each other, growling and trying to shove each other on the floor. Though Bruce was my older brother, I didn't like it when he managed to shove me on my back, exposing my stomach to him. Which was why my Lycan and I always took these mock-fights seriously in a way, because they could change the ranking between us.

I growled and showed him my teeth when he had grabbed me in a head-lock, pushing me in a position lower than him. We shoved and pushed around for a few more minutes before one of the younger wolves bounded out of the woods, approaching us with a wagging tail.

He sniffed our fur and rubbed his side against us to reinforce the pack-bond. "I saw something curious at the borders. A rogue wolf."  I blinked, ears flicking forwards as Dominique whimpered low in his throat and gave me a lick as a greeting.

Bruce and I shared a look before nodding; we needed to see what this wolf was doing around our borders. He could be curious, wanting to join us but on the other hand, he could be aiming to take over. Though Bruce and I ruled this territory by choice of the pack and inhabitants, our animals were fixed on the role now and hesitant to give it up.

"Lead the way Dom." I growled, playfully chasing after the young wolf as he gave a startled yelp before we all headed to the woods.

The wolf was still there but turned tails and ran at our arrival. Instead of giving chase like my Lycan was nagging me to, I simply watched the wolf leave. It was a darkbrown wolf, male and still rather young.

"Maybe just past adolescent." Bruce agreed with a nod, following the trail of the new wolf and sniffing at the borders before hissing as he flopped on the ground. Dom happily followed as I rolled my eyes with a snort.  "Honestly brother, we haven't scent-marked like that in years. At least not after we got past our pup years."  I playfully remarked, earning myself a growl from him as he huffed and sat upright before walking through the forest, deliberately touching as many trees as he could.

"True but you don't see me patrolling the borders every day after my job." His black eyes bore into mine with amusement as I reluctantly agreed. My Lycan was possessive and protective, resulting in instincts that I couldn't resist, only temper a bit.

It was only now that I realized the forest was quiet and I glanced around the trees, eyes sliding from the olive-green leaves to the bushes in the distance before realizing that we were one wolf short.

"Where is Dom?"

Bruce glanced around and lowered on his hunches, sniffing the air. We caught Dom's trail and I felt Bruce follow me in my tracks, intensifying our scents as we spotted Dom's soft grey wolf in the distance.

He was staring at the meadow in complete concentration, ears pricked up and tail slightly curved. His raised front paw showed me he had spotted something interesting. Following his gaze, I spotted nothing noticeable expect a small herd of deer grazing in the yellow and green grasses.

My Lycan whimpered softly as I glanced around before noticing a small movement in the grass. Focusing my eyes on that spot, I slowly stood up, still hidden by the trees and felt my eyes widen.

A cheetah was slowly stalking the herd, eyes pinned on the white-spotted deer as it stealthily approached. Unable to take my eyes of the wild animal, I thought, "Do we have any reports of an escaped animal from the zoo?"

Dom shook his head slightly, whimpering softly before freezing as the cheetah came into action. It leaped out of the grass, digging its clawed paws in the ground while building up speed while the deer cried out in alarm and started to flee.

Chase-chase-chase-chase- My Lycan chanted in my head, forcing me to take a step forwards before I managed to stop myself, shaking my fur out. I wanted to see what happened, not scare the animal off.

The yellow feline raced after its prey, flicking its tail through the air as it changed directions, following the scared buck closely until the buck made a fatal mistake by turning too sharply and tumbled down, the feline instantly on top of it.

Before I could react, Dom let out a excited bark and darted out of the covers, straight for the feline that was throttling its prey. Its ears folded back at Dom's approach, though Dom acted anything but aggressive with his wagging tail and perked up ears.

I'm curious to see what the cat will do... I was stunned when Dom leaped forwards in a playful charge, making the cat release its prey before it hissed sharply, curving its back upwards, tail stiffly tucked just between its legs.

"Obviously the cheetah is threatening Dom to stay away." Bruce replied with a chuckle. Sadly for us, Dom must have mindlinked his friends because more wolves got out on the opening, making the cheetah increasingly nervous.

"Go, now! Catch, ours!" The call of my Lycan was too hard to resist but when I saw some of the newly shifted wolves give chase to the cheetah, making it flee for its life, my reaction changed instantly.

Instead of feeling possessive of a prey, I felt extremely protective as I charged out of the forest on top speed, aiming straight for the fleeing feline. It grinded to a halt, heavily panting before I was able to swoop it in my arms and held on tight, snarling at the wolves as they bounded over.

They instantly slid to a stop, probably stunned by my protective display as I slowly lowered myself, crouching over the panting Cheetah. When it started to release sharp chirps, calling for help probably, I snarled and took a swipe at Derrick, who obviously didn't get the message.

A constant low grumble escaped my throat as I hunched down even more, the feline lying protected underneath me on its belly, its head just underneath my own. I didn't question my Lycan on our rather strange behavior but I did draw the line when I felt my body starting to react on the heat of the feline underneath me.

Before I could shift or say anything to the wolves gathered around us, watching curiously, something I'd never thought to happen followed.

The pack split up after a loud and threatening yowl, revealing an African leopard charging between the wolves before it stopped its charge inches away from us, tail flicking sharply in the air. That didn't shock me completely but it did when in a few fluid motions, it shifted.

Liam was glaring at me with the same intense look in his eyes before hissing sharply, a yowl underlining his words as he spat, "Release him!" A snarl of my own exploded out of my throat as I hunched down even more, breathing in the scent of the shifter below me as the puzzle finally fitted into place.

"Ours! Mate! Ours!" The snarl echoed from my lips, rippling through the mind link and stunning the wolves around me before they seemed to realize that I was in fact staking claim on my mate.

My Alec, a feline shifter. I shivered slightly when I felt Alec move underneath me, pushing his head against my throat with a soft yowl of his own. He licked my throat once and then again but stopped and jerked his head away when we heard another pair of paws approach.

"I think its time we see the siblings for what they really are, question them about their secret. And I'll have to explain my own to them." I thought, unable to remove myself even an inch away from Alec, though he definitely didn't mind, judging by the low purring rumbling underneath me.