Of Doms & Subs

Her Stripper Name is Luna Licious

"What has you so wound up?" Anxiety was pouring off of Ellie in waves and it was making the wolf and me agitated. I had to force my hand back to the steering wheel when she tensed at my touch.

"I talked to my family this morning," she sighed and turned away to look out the window.

"Oh?" I glanced at Shane in the rear-view mirror. He shrugged. Apparently, it was news to him, too. She must have made a conscious effort to keep the call private, and evidently succeeded. No easy feat in a house full of wolves. Depending on what she told them could cause problems for the pack, if not the precarious reputation of our kind should they make it a public issue.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell them anything." She sounded regretful. It was no longer forbidden to tell anyone other than a mate, but her particular situation would make for bad PR. Especially if she insinuated that she was being held against her will.

"Good."

"Good?" She whipped around to stare at me. "What am I going to tell them if, when, I move? Or that I quit my job? They'll collectively have piles of kittens." As she spoke she gesticulated more and her voice grew higher in pitch.

"Does it matter?" For some reason Shane hid his face in a hand and shook his head.

"Up and changing careers and moving to a new city without a job lined up aren't really indicators of a stable person. If I don't give them a good enough reason, then they'll hunt me down and sit on me until I tell them," she exclaimed.

"They would try," I frowned.

"Don't even think about threatening my family," she glared and jabbed a forefinger at me. "And holidays. It's not like I can blame the age reversal on really good cream when I do see them for Christmas and Thanksgiving."

"I think I got this one, boss," Shane said with a meaningful look in the rear-view. I nodded reluctantly.

"Our beloved leader here's a bit older than the rest of us," he explained to Ellie. "So, it's a little harder for him to relate to those of us with living relatives. That being said, coming out to them, especially so soon, might create more problems than it solves."

"Meaning it'll be hard on them waiting to see if I go rabid," she said bluntly. "Ok, the only good reason they'd accept without pushing is if I moved for work. Now I just have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up."

"You don't have to see them over the holidays," I pointed out. Shane was shaking his head again. Ellie stared at me. "We do Thanksgiving and Christmas at the house."

"They're my family," she stated slowly.

"Yes?" What was she getting at by repeating the obvious?

"I am not just going to walk away from them!" she exclaimed hotly.

"No one's saying that," Shane interjected quickly, shooting me another look. "But maybe hold off on visiting until you're more settled here."

As much as I wanted to point out the foolishness of maintaining such close relationships with humans, Mickayla's voice echoed in my head, reminding me that complete isolation from one's human life is de-stabilizing for new wolves. As much as I disliked anything that might take her from me, she had been ill-treated enough by men who isolated her. I would do everything in my power to keep her. She would be a strong asset to the pack, true, but more importantly she was mine. She just didn't know it yet.

"We're getting close, you might want to start changing now." It was my turn to shoot Shane a look. "Unless you're ready to drop trou in front of everybody," he said more to me than to her.

Stripping in a car isn't the easiest of tasks. My last change I'd managed to view clinically due to the injuries, which had healed remarkably, but without that context I felt far more exposed. It was exponentially more awkward because I was acutely aware of the two men in the car, even though Shane's view was thankfully obstructed by the seat between us.

Angus kept his eyes on the road, and his presence firmly contained as usual, it still felt far more intimate than simply getting naked. His body heat brushed against my side like an affectionate cat, teasing my skin into pleasurable goosebumps. Too bad that same flesh was about to be essentially ripped apart. I shoved aside the urge to rub up against him to concentrate on another animalistic aspect.

Coaxing my furry side to the surface was easier this time knowing that there was no one here to injure. Not that I thought that I would hurt Angus even at my most out of control, and possibly not even Shane. And it wasn't because they smelled like family, not even because Angus was Alpha. He smelled like home until it felt like he'd settled into my subconsciousness, and I trusted him to prevent me from doing anything stupid.

According to how Mickayla and Alan explained the pack bonds, there would be an even stronger connection between him and me. The thought of having him even more in my head was more than a little terrifying. It was bad enough that I felt like I was in heat every time we touched. Physical contact was evidently common and not necessarily sexual amongst werewolves. And if what Mickayla said was true, then everybody could sense it. Before I could follow that train of thought any further I allowed the pain of my body reshaping itself to derail it.