The Alpha's Mutt
A Sense of Pride

The next morning, I awoke feeling different and though I could not exactly place how I had changed, I sensed that it was for the better. I had never felt so well rested before, my body buzzing with pent up energy. I practically jumped out of bed, unable to stay still for any longer. My body needed to move.

I knew exactly what I had to do. I needed to let my wolf out and go for a run. Something inside me was needing to get out, needing to be expressed. I needed to be physical. I needed to exercise. Now that I could shift at will, I really had not been taking enough advantage of it. But this morning, I could not deny myself. I could feel in my body that I simply had to be wolf running through the wild more than anything else.

I glanced over at my mate who was still fast asleep. I was surprised that my outburst of jumping out bed had not woken him on accident. He really could sleep like a rock. Part of me hated to wake him because he looked so peaceful sleeping, but I could not help myself. I tapped Farris’s shoulder, waking him gently. I hoped that he would be up for coming with me. I wanted to run with my mate now that it was all finally official. We really had not had a chance to do that yet and that was typically a normal part of being newly mated. You needed the opportunity to bond in wolf form, just as much as you did in human form. It was an important part of all wolf relationships.

But even if he was not feeling up to running with me this morning, I still wanted him to know where I had taken off to. I would not want him to worry. After all, I would worry if I woke up expecting him to be next to me and found that he was not. So even though I hated to disrupt his peaceful slumber, I felt that it was necessary.

“Hmm…” He hummed as he slowly opened his eyes, shaking off his sleep.

“Good morning, mate.” I cooed, sweetly, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Good morning.” He yawned. “Goddess…” He started with a stretch of his arms. “I do not think that I have ever slept that hard.”

“Me either.” I agreed. “I think it was the potion. It was a strange sensation at first, but after it felt like everything settled, I crashed hard. I bet that it had an effect on you as well through the mate bond. I certainly had a very deep sleep.”

“I could see how that would make sense.” He agreed, sitting up in the bed. “I certainly feel full of energy this morning.”

“You want to go for a run with me? I feel the need to run.” I asked, excitedly, seeing his comment as a perfect segway.

“Yeah. That sounds great. I could use a good run. It feels like it has been ages. My body really needs it.”

“Don’t be surprised if I leave you in the dust.” I teased, remembering that the hybrids had mentioned that my speed would increase.

“Yeah, we will see about that.” Farris responded, rolling his eyes, every bit full of confidence. “You may be a bit faster now, but don’t forget that I am one of the quickest wolves in the pack.”

“Don’t come crying to me when you lose.” I called out, as I finished changing and left the room.

A short time later, we were in our wolf forms. His black wolf and my silver one, weaving in and out of the trees. Neither of us were running at our full speed, we were merely chasing each other playfully. It was fun and felt carefree. It was a refreshing change of pace. I hoped for more moments like this in the future.

But it was not long before Farris’s competitive side emerged, my words from before still ringing in his mind, challenging him. Every bit the Alpha wolf, he could not let the challenge go unanswered. Playtime was over and now he felt the need to prove himself.

“Such an Alpha male.” I thought to myself with a roll of my eyes.

His speed suddenly increased, and he began taking a straighter forward path as he ran. For a second, he had caught me by surprise, and I started to fall behind. But I would not be bested so easily. I was an Alpha as well and I could feel my body itching to release the energy that I still had built up inside of me. I could sense my muscles aching and straining as I held back my body from reaching its full potential. My body was begging me to show off what we could do. If Farris wanted to race, then we would race.

I picked up my pace, my paws pounding against the earth beneath me, propelling me forward, faster and faster. I was moving with an ease and a grace that I had never known until now. Before I realized what was happening, I had caught up to Farris with little effort and when I finally reached my top speed, I passed him, barely trying as I went. The plants around me began to blur into each other as I hurried over the landscape. I could still hear Farris running behind me, but I had put a considerable distance between us. Much more than I ever would have dreamed before.

My speed had definitely increased from where it had been. I had kept up with Farris well, as I had learned during our return trip from the Bristlecone Pack visit. But I never would have thought that I would have been able to leave him in the dust the way that I was doing today. This change was really blowing my mind.

When we came upon a fairly large clearing that had a small stream running through it, I slowed down and came to a stop. Farris joined me a moment later, panting heavily for a minute, before leaning down and lapping up some water from the stream. I took a long drink from the stream as well. Though I was surprised to replace that I had not really needed it, I was not much thirstier than I had been when we started. Nor was my breathing even the least bit heavy. It was as though I had gone for a short trot rather than a long, hard run.

“I have to admit that was rather impressive.” Farris offered through the mindlink. “Once you got going, I did not have a chance. Even though I felt a small increase in my speed as well, it was nothing compared to you!”

“I have never run that fast before in my life! It was exhilarating!” I cheered, the excitement flowing through me in waves.

“It was amazing to watch, you were moving so fast, you almost seemed to be flying off the ground!” Farris exclaimed with a wolfy grin. “Normally, I don’t like losing in a race. But seeing you like that and knowing that you are MY mate…I feel nothing but pride.” He beamed.

If I could have blushed in my wolf form, then I would have. Knowing that he was proud of me felt better than I had expected it to. It meant a great deal to me, hearing my mate say those words. I was the mutt who was so weak that her pack did not want her. Now, I was the Alpha who had proven to be stronger than most. I had grown up worrying that I would drag my mate down, but now he stood in front of me, his eyes shining with pride and acceptance.

I had become more than I had ever believed that I could be. More than anyone ever thought that I would be. And I allowed myself to relish in the moment, if only for a little while.

We stayed in the clearing a little longer, wrestling each other, playfully. It was nice to have a few moments to ourselves. But we soon headed back as we did not want to miss the departure of Relic. He was leaving this morning to head to his former coven, the Circle of the Ancient Oak. He was going to plead our case and hope that a few of the witches would be sympathetic to our cause. Farris and I wanted to be there when he left to reassure him of how much we truly appreciated his efforts.

We arrived just in time to throw our clothes back on before meeting him and the twins in front of the pack house. Lucy and Percy would be remaining here with us while he traveled, believing that they would be safer here than they would be on the road with him. So, we made certain that he knew that we would ensure their protection while he was gone. Not that I believed that they really needed it. While the twins had been merging their energy with mine, I had felt their power. I knew full well that they could defend themselves. Their wolves were strong, and their witch side made them even more powerful. If you angered them, I was certain that they would be a force to be reckoned with. And I had every intention of staying on the right side of that storm.

There would not be much chance for anyone to be getting into any kind of trouble anyway, everything would be at a bit of a standstill until Relic’s return anyway. We needed Relic to be able to track down Master Belial’s location and we were counting on the witches that he would be bringing with him.

Other than hoping and waiting, the only actions that we could take were to make certain that our wolves were in top shape. All of the able-bodied were expected to participate in daily trainings to prepare themselves for the likely battle to come. We would need everyone that could to stand and fight if we had any chance at this.

Speaking of needing a chance, one final time before he left, Relic took a moment to remind me of my task. I had to replace a way to convince the vampire to help us. I had to befriend him…somehow. It had been in the back of my mind all morning, but I had managed to avoid worrying about it too much until now. Relic just had to remind me and bring it rushing to the forefront.

Herein lay a most perplexing question...

How to turn an enemy into a friend?