Chapter Five: Jeremy Has a Human Mate

My brother and I ran deep into the woods in human form. In this way, we would not be able to be seen by prying eyes, including human eyes.

Having gotten far enough away from human life, we stripped off our clothes and started running again, leaping into the air as we shifted. The way our father taught us to do this is something he instilled in us as children. It is very critical if we ever have to defend ourselves.

Running and shifting in the same instance are not abilities most wolves possess. While they must shift standing in place, those few minutes can mean the difference between life and death in a war.

Both my brother's and my wolves are gold and white, and they share a lot of similarities. When I was a child, my siblings used to tease me about my wolf because her white fur showed where her paws were. As they teased her, they referred to her as socks.

One night on a family run, we hid several cans of washable white paint spray behind trees. This is in the area where the family napped together in the woods.

Laughing, I was getting even with my siblings for CarolAnn my wolf. We were two birds of a feather. Well, actually a wolf, but who is nitpicking over sayings? She and I laughed inwardly after I shifted back into my human form.

Without getting dressed, I grabbed a couple of paintcans. Following a spray paint job on everyone's paws, I would retreat to our family wolf huddle.

To make sure my legs were light as a feather without tripping over twigs or crunching leaves, I stealthily spray-painted every sibling's paws, except for my parents.

Yawning, I stretched, and while stretching I shifted into my very happy and vindicated wolf. I laid down outside the family huddle, falling asleep in a wolfy dreamland.

Sniffing the air, my brother and I smelt the fragrance of fresh water, more than likely a lake.

“Race you punk!” I laughed as I jolted ahead towards the lake.

Mind linking me back, my brother retorts, “Who you calling punk, Paws?”

My wolf hates that nickname. Growling, she replies to his wolf, “Game on! I will kick you a..!”

We are both Alpha wolves and pretty evenly matched in most skills, including running.

Normally, we would tie in a race, or one wolf barely takes the lead over the other wolf.

This time, I knew with how pi..ed off my wolf was we would win this race to the lake for my wolf’s honor.

While running, each wolf tries to take the lead, jumping over and in front of each other. Wolves love to play, and mine and my brothers' wolves were ecstatic being able to roughhouse with their siblings. Kicking up the dirt with their paws, and bantering back and forth like humans do.

Seeing the lake come into view, it was like my wolf turned on the turbo button, zooming ahead of my brother. Reaching the lake in what she assumed would be a record time in an actual competition.

CarolAnn wanted a moment of surprise as she left her and our sibling in the dust. Prancing proudly, CarolAnn hides behind a tree, quietly waiting for her prey.

Once she saw my brother come into view, she quickly pounced on him, forcing him to the ground growling until he conceded she was indeed the victor.

Laughing at my brother’s wolf, Caleb submits, “Okay, Okay, CarolAnn, I submit. Get off of me now.”

CarolAnn growls once, then takes her paw, retracting her claws and swipes Calebs' head, jumping off and giving Caleb reprieve for her paws.

CarolAnn walks with her wolf head high to be the first to drink from the lake. Using her back paws to kick dirt into Caleb's face.

We both shifted back to our human forms, sitting our bums on the dirt under the trees with our feet dangling into the warm lake water that was being nicely heated by the midday sun.

We are both silent just watching the ripples in the water as the fish swim near the surface, ignoring the predators at the shoreline.

It didn’t take long for Jeremy to become bored with the moment of quiet peacefulness as he bumped my shoulder with his while he spoke softly, almost like a whisper, “What gives back at the restaurant?"

Jeremy put his arm around me, and warmly continued our conversation, “Is that Alpha your mate?”

As I looked at my brother, I knew he could read the sadness on my features. I nodded yes to his question. I was indeed Alpha Brock Simmon’s mate.

Laughing at my dilemma, my brother states the obvious, “This is actually funny, Stephi. To think my parents are grooming Sindy to be the one that is going to be mated to a pure Alpha in theory. Yet under our noses it is you! Studious little Stephi.” Jeremy breaks out laughing, and he doesn’t stop laughing until he actually feels my angry aura take over him in waves.

Sheepishly, my brother continued to speak, still trying to contain his boisterous laughter, “Well, you will laugh about this, I assure you, in a couple of years.”

“Quit glaring at me Stephi, I have my own mate issues as well.”

Suddenly, my mood changed to excitement for my brother, “This means if you have your Luna, you can take over dad’s Alpha position now. Congratulations Brother!”

Watching my brothers’ facial expressions change to scrunched up furrowed eyebrows, in this case meaning conflict between him and his new mate. I wait for him to open up and clarify what is so bad with his mate.

Many of us in our human state, when we are about to talk about something uncomfortable, we cough, clearing an invisible obstacle, readying those around us for the unpleasant news.

“Stephi, I am pretty confident my mate is human.”

“Why is that so bad? I mean it is odd, because pure wolves usually always end up with pure wolves. In fact, I have never heard of someone being mated to a human that is a pure wolf. But the Moon Goddess must have a reason. Maybe she is tired of the hypocrisy of the pure wolf’s line?”

“The problem is Stephi, dad has groomed me to be Alpha all my life. I have always wanted to be an Alpha as well. Then, a couple of years ago, a human girl walked into my office with her resume. Her caramel apple scent mesmerized me. That is when I came out of my stupor realizing she wasn’t a wolf but a human. I had to negotiate with my wolf to not mark her, and then I wouldn’t deny the human a job. Stephi, you see, my mate was a college graduate, who deserved to work on the floor I was on. However, I hired her to work as a highly paid secretary for Helen in supplies. My thought of reasoning was the farther away from me she was the better. That, of course, didn’t work, because I found myself running up and down the stairs from the top floor to the warehouse asking for supplies I didn’t need or want, just to be near her.”

My brother puts his head on his bent knee sighing, wrapping his arms to keep his legs together as his makeshift table for his head to lean on.

“I am a mess, Stephi, and I am at a loss about what to do.”

“You’re an Alpha, right?”

My brother looks like I just asked the strangest question he had ever heard. “Uh Duh Stephi, we are all Alphas.”

“Then act like an Alpha Jeremy! Stand up to dad! Sometimes, as an Alpha, you have to play hardball, but you will be respected for it in the end.”

“Stephi, I wish it was that simple!”

“You know what, Jeremy; life is how we choose to react to it! It is as simple or hard as we visualize this in our minds. Take control of your life, and if that involves a human mate, so be it, but don’t let dad or old archaic pack traditions keep you from your moon goddess' given mate! Oh, and Jeremy steal her hairbrush, get the pack geneticist to test her hair follicles. She may have a latent wolf that, for some strange reason, hasn’t shifted yet.”

Jeremy’s head pops up looking at me like he had some kind of hope, “Do you think that could be why she smells human?”

“Jeremy, it is rare, but it does happen. Sometimes due to trauma to both the wolf and the human. Just don’t get caught stealing her hairbrush, she will just think you are creepy.” I laughed.

“Come on, let’s get back to the old fart of an Alpha dad. Why don’t we? Stephi, I will take all you have said to me and think about it.”

We walked back in our naked human forms. Being naked for a werewolf is nothing new, and we are never ashamed. This is a natural part of our lives that we grew up in, it was as natural as eating.

While we were dressing in our clothes that we had hid behind a couple of trees, our wolfy senses became alert, as CarolAnn shouted in my head, “Rogue!”