The Alpha's Human

Chapter 25

I stumble again on a tree root, Paul's hand in mine the only thing keeping me on my feet.

He glances back at me, bemused.

"I'm not usually this clumsy; there's just so many roots!"

Paul laughs. "Well duh. We're in a forest, Lyss."

We walk for a couple more minutes, me thankfully not tripping again, when Paul stops.

We're at the very edge of a clearing, and beautiful white and blue flowers cover the ground.

They give off a very pungent, perfume-y smell, making me sneeze.

Paul grins, then grabs his shirt, taking it off. I blush, taking a step backwards.

"You're clothes will rip if you keep them on during the shift; go behind that thicket and take off your clothes."

He nods towards a tight tangle of bushes and trees. I walk over to it, taking off my clothes and folding them neatly. I set them in a pile, then bite my lip, unsure of how to proceed.

"Hey, Paul?"

"Hmm?"

"How do I shift?"

I hear the rustling of leaves, yelping when Paul peeks over the side of the bush.

"What?" He has a funny look on his face, and I blush.

"I've only ever shifted because of a serum and because I felt threatened..how do I do it?"

Paul laughs. "It's sort of like flipping a switch. Just imagine yourself as a wolf, see if that works."

I do as told and feel a funny tingling sensation, then a slight pain as if I stretched a muscle to fast and pulled it.

My vision is warped for the time being, everything splitting and redoubling, then coming back together at a much lower point of view than I used to.

I looked up at Paul, who seems ginormous. I try to speak, but I can't remember how. A strange coughing sound comes out, resembling a bark.

Paul smirks, his hazel eyes twinkling. "You can't speak, silly. You're a wolf. Talk to me in your mind."

My mind?

Paul nods. "Like that."

That was accidental.

He laughs, the musical sound making my tail wag on its own. "It usually is the first couple times. Hard to remember you can do that."

Why can't we do it as humans?

"Well we could. I can speak to you like that, but you can't to me because you haven't marked me yet."

I'm not ready for that.

If a wolf could frown, I'm sure I resembled it. I know my eyes portrayed the way I was feeling.

"I'm not telling you you have to mark me; I'm simply telling you that to speak to me with your mind you must accept the mating bind completely."

It'll be a while before that happens. This is around my limits.

Paul laughs again. "I figured. Give me a second; I need to shift."

I wait a second, my ears flicking at the strange sounds I was hearing.

I can also hear everything about the forest. I can hear a squirrel on the tree next to me, I can hear a rabbit scuffling around in its hole. I can even hear a deer foraging around about a quarter of a mile away.