Heat

X

Pure adrenaline. Thats what was felt in the air around us. We all shifted into our wolf form to run as a pack for the first time. As expected the higher ranking wolves were naturally bigger than the others. Ethan was on the larger side with most likely more mass to grow, Finn was noticeably smaller but substantially bigger than Greg's form and then bigger than Emily who was a regular pack member. My form was just a bit larger than Emily but I chocked that down to being taller than her. Dane had blew us all out of the water with his size, he had garnered strength after being an alpha for four years and it showed. He was now in his retirement age but it hadn't graced his endurance nor did it show in his coat.

Eventually we all split to run our own ways. Rebecca and Dane broke off earlier to "let the kids run". Finn, Greg and Ethan were horsing around, playfully snapping at each other's ankles and running into each other. Emily and I were focused on seeing who could run the fastest and it was me by a landslide.

I recognized the area that we had gotten to, it was near my house, the lake I had gone into my first shift. I sat at the top of the incline as the others ran down to play in the water. The view was as breath taking as the last time I saw it like this. Ethan hadn't joined the others and was seated next to me. His shoulder rubbed mine in a way to let me know he was there with me. I rubbed back but lost my footing and started tumbling down the hill. It wasn't as painful as I thought in my wolf form, just a few rocks pressed into my skin that bothered me but not enough to release a yelp. I got to my feet at the last tumble and shook the dirt from my fur. Ethan trotted down to me and came up to nuzzle me. I nuzzled back as a thank you but noticed our friends had disappeared and it was just Ethan and I. He nudged my shoulder as if to say "come on", so I followed him. He picked up the pace into a run and then I felt like I was chasing him. He was running so fast as if begging for me to catch him. I put more strength into my legs and catch up easily. I jump up and tackle him to the ground nipping gently to try and pin him. I may have caught him but he pins me easily. This must be what makes him the Alpha, he can always somehow make it on top. We stared into each other's eyes for what felt like forever. Everything around us suddenly stopped, as if all the bugs stopped to stare and all the birds stopped singing to listen to us.

The stillness between us broke when Ethan stuck his tongue out to lick the side of my face. I shook my head and rolled out from under him. I shake out my fur and start jogging into a sprint. I couldn't hear Ethan if he was following me or not but I suspect the run was disbanding now and it would be my time to go home. Home wasn't far from here so it wouldn't take too long.

I approached the back porch of my house still shifted. I had to make sure the coast was clear and I could hone my senses better in this form. My ears perked up and the movement inside the house. There was a bit of unfamiliar commotion going on, tables were scooted against the floor and hushed voices too quiet for even me to pick up. I crept closer to the window to hopefully sneak a glance in before I barged in.  As soon as my eyes went above the window to see, everything was quiet and there was no movement. I hurriedly went to my hiding spot for extra clothes, it was kept underneath the porch where the fencing was broken. I shifted as silently as possible and quickly put on the clothes. It was simple joggers with an oversized shirt, nothing special or fancy just enough to get me inside without causing a scene.

I opened the door quietly, even as quiet as I could be I could still hear the door on its hinges creaking with every movement. I closed the door after stepping in and took a quick sniff to make sure there were no unwanted guests in the house. It just smelled of my parents, nothing was off but there was an altercation in here of some kind from what I heard. I wasn't overly worried about who was in my house considering the training Ethan and I had done and I felt confident I could hold my own. I slowly walked around the first floor seeing if anything was out of place but everything seemed ordinary. A soft light from a candle flickered in the kitchen. Maybe the power was out and that's what I was hearing. Without hesitation I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom standing over the candle. She was reading something like a manual next to the candle.

"Mom? You ok?" I ask a little skeptical of everything. I haven't come home and my mom be home like this either. If she does come home and no one else is around she is usually holed up in her room.

"Oh sweetie" she jumps back and holds her heart. I probably scared the life right out of her.

"Sorry mom" I say quickly and come over to her side to see what she's reading. It was an instruction guide for the power breakers in our house. It was basically a how-to for her on all the electrical and where to find it. I chuckle thinking about how inept my mom is that dad had to make a guide for her if he wasn't home and needed something, which was rare but here we are.

"The powers gone out for some reason and I can't see the paper too well to see where the hell the power breaker is" she laughs shaking her head. She pushes the glasses up on her face a bit higher and squints at the paper more.

"Do you want me to have a go at it mom?" I ask offering my hand to read it.

"No it's okay honey, you go ahead and go do what you were doing" she says hugging me and giving me a kiss on my head before shooing me. We weren't close anymore like when I was growing up. We were already living our separate lives from each other and it seemed more like roommates. At times I was thankful for that but now I miss those good times and I know in college I will miss it even more. I turn to leave to head up the stairs to my room but hear something in the kitchen other than my mother. I wouldn't have caught it if I wasn't what I am.

"Is she ready?" It sounded a bit like my dad, maybe he was here after all. Why wouldn't he come out to say "hi" to me though.

"I have grown to like her a lot dear, are you sure we can just hand her over like nothing?" My mom answers back. Are they talking about me?

"I love her like she was our own but you know the deal we made, we can't back out now because of our feelings" my dad sighs. Their voices whispering in the kitchen, normal humans wouldn't be able to hear any of this and if they could it would be hard to make out exactly what they were saying. They were definitely talking about me but what did they know about me that I didn't. What deal did they make about me?

"She hasn't shifted still right?" My mom asks a little hope filling her voice.

"Whether she has or not it doesn't matter anymore because time is up. End of the contract and if we don't deliver our organization fails" he reminded my mother. I heard her sigh and walk to where I assume the breaker was because after a few clicks the lights all turned on. I realized I was stuck in the middle of the stairs and not fully up so I could be caught listening to their conversation, so I quietly and quickly rushed to my room to get ready for bed. I'd have to ask Ethan about this tomorrow, see if he has any information on my parents, biological and these ones.

Author's note:
Chapter ten!!! Shorter than the last couple but I had to set it up a bit. I wanted to thank you all for reading again 🫶 it truly makes me happy to see the love. I hope you guys stick with me to the end of the story!