I can feel a pain in my chest as I watch her take a step away from me.

MATE.

My wolf roars, and my alpha blood pumps hard and fast. But it’s not enough to push the poison from me. I look down to see my hands have become paws. My body has changed, and I’m not fully shifted. More animal than man.

MATE.

My wolf beats down on me again to get up and claim what’s mine. It’s so foreign to have him inside my head; I’ve never been able to fully feel him before. I always knew my inner beast was right under the surface, but I’d never been able to grab onto him or bond to him in a way that all shifters are able to when they reach maturity. This is the first time in my life that I truly feel whole, like I was meant to be. And it’s all because of her.

I push through the fog in my brain and watch as Ron takes her away from me. He said he was going to make sure she didn’t leave, but my brain isn’t working right. I can’t think straight. Right now, I’ve got uncontrollable urges that must be sated.

MATE.

The word rolls through my body like the reverberations of a drum. I can’t be stopped. Rising, I take a step and feel the weight of my wolf’s body. It’s part of me, an extension of who I am, yet it’s all new. It’s like taking steps for the first time, only right now I’m half drugged.

I make my way up the stairs, tracking her scent, the one that I know is mine. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before, and my mouth is watering to taste it. It’s sweet and rich, like warm syrup. I want it dripping down my chin and over my chest, coating me with her.

The muscles in my back tighten as I catch a little fear mixed in with her fragrance, and I bare my teeth. How dare anyone frighten what belongs to me. My one true love.

It’s insane that it’s happening so fast. One moment I thought I was cursed forever, unable to shift, never to find a mate, never to have my own young. Now, within seconds, this beauty shows up on my doorstep, and all that is now possible. She has given me a gift unlike any I could have dared to dream of, and I will spend my life protecting her.

By the time I catch up to them the drugs are completely out of my system. I watch as Ron puts her into my room and closes the door, locking it. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I’m on him. I push him down on the ground, pressing my paws into his shoulders and pinning him down. Immediately he turns his head to the side, baring his neck and showing submission. He’s clearly showing me that I’m the dominant wolf and he isn’t going to challenge me for her.

“Calm down, Reid,” he whispers, but I can’t be bothered. I need to get to mine.

I push him down a little harder this time, and he grunts, then nods in understanding. He knows to get out and stay gone.

I turn toward the door and claw at it. I’m still in wolf form, and I don’t know how to change back. It’s all happening so fast. Normally there are pack elders nearby to help us change back when it first happens. But I’m alpha, and this is so much later in life that I don’t know what will make me shift back to my human form. Right now all I can do is follow my instincts. And they are telling me that once I get to my mate, all will be fine.

Giving up using my claws, I lower my shoulder and break through the door.

Once I’m inside, I look straight to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. My heartbeat thuds slowly as I finally calm. Being near her has made everything in me slow down. I have the sudden urge to lie gently at her feet, so I follow that instinct.

I pad over to her slowly so that I don’t scare her, making sure all of my motions are slow and intentional.

“Hi, um, I’m Fiona Lamb,” she says nervously with a little wave. “Please don’t eat me.”

When I reach her feet I bow my head. I wait for what feels like hours, thinking she won’t touch me. The pain in my chest grows as I wonder if she will reject me just as my own mother did. But she is my mate, and I will never love another beyond her, so I wait.

When I feel her delicate fingers in my fur, a rumble sounds in my chest, and warmth spreads through me.

“Who are you?” she whispers.

I lay my body down at her feet, on my side, letting her see that I’m no threat to her. She watches me, and without any hesitation, she kneels down beside me and rubs her hand along my body.

For a long time we stay this way, her petting me and me lying very still, soaking up the affection and attention my wolf has spent years without. I want to roll around and smother her with the same kind of love, but I have to remain calm. My wolf aches for this, and I want to give him all that I can.

Closing my eyes, I can feel the calm radiate through me, and colors start to form. Then a soft light pushes in, and suddenly it’s not her fingers on my fur anymore, but on my skin. I had always heard the first shift back after becoming your wolf was very painful, but with Fiona’s touch I didn’t feel a thing.

Her hand stills just as she reaches my hip, as if she’s caught herself. Slowly I open my eyes and lock them with hers. Sitting up, I inhale, and it’s all there. Her desire, her warmth, her need. She’s ripe for the taking, and she belongs to me.

“I am yours,” I say, answering her question from before. “And you are mine.”