He watched the water lap against the bottom of the boat as they made their way to shore on the mainland. The sun had already set and the moon was beginning to peek over the line of trees in the distance. The air was cool, as it brushed along his skin, a stark contrast to the rising heat of excitement growing within him as the land drew closer. It had been ages since he’d gone full wolf and run through the woods on all fours. It was something you did with a pack, and he hadn’t had that luxury in a long time. He might not technically be a member of Aidan’s pack yet, but the sentiment was there enough for Kyle to enjoy it.

One of Aidan’s pack members, an alpha named Leo, was watching him. “Don’t go falling in now. I don’t want to have to fish you out.”

Kyle snorted. “I’ve lived on an island my whole life. You think I don’t know how to swim by now?”

Leo leered at him. “Well, that just makes me wanna find out how good a swimmer you are.”

“Good enough to make it to shore before the boat does, and then I can shove my foot right up your ass when you land,” Kyle growled, already disliking the man.

Another alpha, a woman by the name of Simone, laughed. “See? Even an omega from outside the pack knows you’re full of shit, Leo. Ignore him, Kyle. He’s probably just mad because he was the only one in the pack who couldn’t swim well before joining.”

Kyle glanced at Aidan, who was at the other end of the boat, pretending he wasn’t listening in. “And I’m sure Aidan was nice and gentle about teaching you how to swim, too.”

Simone snickered. “Pushed him into a lake and made him paddle after the boat. I think I’ve seen fish out of water with more grace than Leo had.”

Leo glared. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Sure it was. You just don’t want to admit it to the new meat,” Simone said, winking at Leo.

Kyle noticed not one of them made mention of the fact that he was there because he was Aidan’s bonded mate. All of them treated Kyle’s presence like he was being tested like any other new member of the pack would be. He wasn’t sure if Aidan had made sure of that, or if it was just the way they were. The short boat ride had shown him they were a tight-knit group, even if they did spend the majority of their time giving each other a hard time. Kyle wasn’t sure how Leo felt about him, since the werewolf was still glaring at him, but had yet to do anything about it.

An elbow in his side brought him to face an omega named Riley, the man winking at him. “Don’t mind them. They’re always like that, especially right before a run. Gets the blood pumping, and they get all pent-up. They’ll calm down after they wear themselves out during the run.”

Leo eyed Riley with a smirk. “Won’t be wearing myself out too much tonight.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “He says that like he has amazing stamina. He just doesn’t want to admit he’s just that into me. I’m just that hot.”

Kyle laughed at that, liking the omega immediately. He thought it said a lot about Aidan that his omegas were just as mouthy as his alphas were. Every single one of them had a personality of their own, and lacked the uniformity he’d seen in other packs. That was more encouraging to Kyle than any number of pretty speeches from Aidan.

“Is that how you keep them in line?” Kyle asked.

Riley gestured to himself. “Try me and find out how good I am.”

Aidan turned, eyeing the omega. There was no change to his expression, and he said nothing, but even Kyle could sense something shift in the alpha. Riley fidgeted uncomfortably next to him, wincing at Kyle in apology. No one else was paying attention now, with both Leo and Simone looking away from the silent conversation. Kyle didn’t want to be the one to say Aidan looked more hot than scary when he was exuding his dangerous aura, so he just shrugged back at Riley. He felt like he should be annoyed at Aidan’s possessiveness, but after seeing him be protective too, he found he appreciated it.

The boat made it to land shortly after, and they disembarked. The beach was lit by the full moon enough that they could see where the forest began. From the moment all of them left the boat, Kyle could sense anticipation spreading through the pack. They were impatient to get moving. Standing around waiting for Aidan’s cue was making them antsy. Kyle could see from Aidan’s face the alpha was purposefully making them wait, subtly driving home the point of who was in charge.

Aidan jerked his head toward the trees. “Get moving.”

The pack leapt into action immediately, shouting with joy as they ran for the woods, and pulling their clothes off as they went. Werewolves had been trying for centuries, but they had yet to find clothing that would stay with a werewolf once they transformed. It was a messy affair, trying to turn and ending up wrapped up in your shirt or jeans. Which meant just watching them prepare for the transformation gave Kyle a lot more information on Aidan’s pack than he’d had moments before.

“Do you want to turn first, or do you want me to?” Aidan asked him quietly.

Kyle turned his eyes away from the now transforming pack. “What, you want to creep on me as I turn?”

Aidan eyed him with a sigh. “Just tell me.”

Kyle shifted the small bag he had with him from one shoulder to another. “How about we just go at the same time?”

“At least we can toss our clothing in the boat, rather than having to dig around for them in the dark later like those idiots,” Aidan growled, though Kyle knew the man loved his pack fiercely.

Kyle set the bag aside as he began to pull at his clothes. “Especially if you guys like to run as crazy as you do. Do you guys run as a pack or are you one of those packs that just…runs?”

“Depends on the night. From the way they’re acting, we’ll probably end up split up and having to wait for stragglers at the end of the night. What’s in the bag?” Aidan asked as he pulled off his shirt, nudging the bag with his bare foot.

“Oh, uh, spare clothes and some medical supplies,” Kyle said as he unbuttoned his jeans.

“You brought medical supplies?” Aidan asked, amused.

“Well yeah. A bunch of werewolves, high on the moonlight, running around the woods; accidents happen. Plus, once you get on the mainland, there’s always a chance of running into another group of werewolves. This might be the heart of the sept’s territory, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get people sneaking in now and again. We had a pack from a different sept come near here about a month before the last Showing,” Kyle said as he wiggled out of his underwear.

“The elders mentioned something of the sort to me; it’s partly what Elder Sky wished to speak to me about earlier. They knew we were coming out here and wanted to pass on a word of warning so we would be extra cautious,” Aidan told him as he pushed his own underwear off.

Kyle’s reply died on his lips as he took in the sight of Aidan’s naked body in the moonlight. He found it difficult to form a proper response when he had a completely naked Aidan in front of him. He’d seen the man in other states of dress, had touched him in intimate places, and even had him in his mouth. This was the first time he’d seen Aidan so completely undressed, with every line of his muscles, and the curves of his body on display.

Aidan chuckled, shifting closer to Kyle. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Just the first time I’ve seen you completely naked,” Kyle admitted quietly, glad the rest of the pack was out of earshot for this conversation.

Aidan pressed against him and Kyle could feel him stirring against his hip. “If it helps, it’s difficult for me to keep my eyes off you as well.”

Kyle breathed deep, letting the breath out with a slight shudder. “Let’s just get to doing what we came here to do, alright? If I keep staring, I’m going to end up doing something completely different.”

“Now that sounds like a challenge,” Aidan said, his voice almost a growl.

Kyle looked up at him. “Behave.”

Aidan chuckled at the admonishment. “Then let’s get started, before my self-control dwindles away to absolute zero.”

Kyle had to shake himself mentally when Aidan pulled away, wanting to push in closer to the alpha. It was still odd to feel himself so drawn to Aidan, and even odder still that he found he didn’t want to fight it as much as he had before. A handful of days getting to know the man had the simple effect of making his potent attraction to Aidan seem perfectly normal. If he was honest, he would have gone along with Aidan’s idea, if it wasn’t for the fact his pack was still waiting nearby. He might have been willing to sleep with Aidan right there and then, but he wasn’t willing to do it with almost a dozen witnesses.

His inner wolf perked up when Kyle reached into himself, and tapped the animal spirit within him. It might have been just as anxious as he was about getting closer to Aidan, but it was distracted immediately by the knowledge that it was going to come out and play. Strength radiated out from his animal half, the power warping Kyle’s body as his wolf form was drawn out.

He always thought it was a strange sensation, feeling his body morph and change around the effects of the inner beast. His body hunched forward, forcing him onto his hands and knees as the change altered the structure of his bones. Fur sprouted, teeth elongated into fangs, and his nails shifted quickly to form claws at the tips of rapidly forming paws. There was always an awkward sensation as his spine molded to his new shape, pushing out from his back to form the tail that almost immediately sprouted the soft brown fur that made up his coat.

When it was done, he shook himself off, snuffling at the air to take in the varied scents around him. Smells he hadn’t been able to detect as a man. The sight a few feet away should have startled him sending him scurrying backward in fear. The wolf in front of him was massive, larger than any wolf Kyle had seen before. Yet, even without his nose telling him it was Aidan, he instinctively knew his bonded mate. Aidan was monstrous, and his coat was long and shaggy, the purest black Kyle had ever seen. Aidan somehow kept the green of his eyes during his transformation, and those animalistic eyes regarded Kyle carefully as the alpha watched him.

While the human mind was certainly the one in charge when in wolf form, as it should be with any controlled werewolf, the wolf was certainly more prominent and powerful when transformed. The human half of Kyle might have been cautious about being with Aidan, but his wolf had no such reservations. Kyle gave a happy yip, wiggling a little as he pushed up alongside Aidan’s larger body. He nuzzled against the alpha’s soft fur, pushing his face against Aidan’s to lick at his muzzle. Aidan gave a happy rumble, pushing back against Kyle and returning the licks.

From up ahead they could hear a series of growls and a few low whines. The pack was getting restless; they wanted to run. Kyle and Aidan’s lupine cuddling was holding them up, not that either of them seemed bothered by it. Kyle was a little glad he couldn’t speak or blush once he realized what his instinctual half had brought him to do. Still, when he saw the slow wag of Aidan’s tail as he nuzzled up against the alpha, he couldn’t be too upset with himself. Maybe it was a little embarrassing, but it was worth being mortified if it made Aidan give such an overt display of happiness.

Aidan huffed, throwing his head in the direction of the woods. Kyle understood, giving a soft noise in understanding. Almost as one, they both took off running toward the woods. The rest of the pack howled their excitement, speeding into the woods once Aidan and Kyle had passed them. As a group they broke past the outer line of trees and into the shadowed enclosure of the woods beyond.

It had been so long since Kyle had let himself do something like this, and the thrill of it filled him. They ran through the woods, darting between the trees and howling to one another. It was like being a pup again, playing around the woods on the island. They were all full-grown werewolves, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they tackled one another, frolicking in the brush when they stopped, snapping at one another’s heels and pawing the ground. Kyle would have laughed if he were capable, watching not only the pack, but himself, act like a bunch of kids.

The only one who wasn’t participating in the play, was Aidan. No matter who stopped to play with who, Aidan simply stood nearby and waited for them to finish their games so they could all resume running again. No one in the pack ever tried to include Aidan either. Despite how playful they were acting, not one of them crouched before Aidan to try to tempt him, nor did they attempt to tackle him. That realization would have brought a smile to Kyle’s face, if he could smile, as a mischievous idea formed in his mind.

He was by no means an excellent tracker, or all that sneaky. His only advantage was the fact that Aidan wasn’t expecting anyone to mess with him while he waited outside the invisible boundaries of where part of the pack was playing with one another. Most likely, the alpha had learned to block out the sounds of his playing pack on runs like this, focusing either on whatever thoughts he was having, or whatever was going on outside the group. It was this focus that allowed Kyle to sneak up on the alpha, and pounce on his back with a happy yip.

The startled alpha whipped around, lips raised in the beginnings of a snarl. When he saw Kyle, hunched down on his front legs, butt in the air, the snarl turned into a low growl. Kyle gave another yip, wiggling as he tried to coerce the alpha into giving in and just playing. Aidan’s growl died, and he cocked his head, obviously giving it some thought. Kyle inched forward, giving another wiggle as he tried to paw at Aidan.

It was only his instinctive understanding of Aidan that spared him from being tackled to the ground as the alpha pounced. Kyle darted to the side, barely managing to avoid Aidan slamming into him. Aidan whipped around, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth, as he waited to see which way Kyle would go.

Kyle gave a bark, turning to take off and forcing Aidan to chase him. There was a low growl from the alpha, but Kyle never broke his stride as he escaped. He could hear the rest of the pack howling in their excitement, probably thrilled that someone had finally goaded Aidan into their play. If that was the case or not, Kyle knew he had Aidan right behind him. The alpha should have been more than capable of catching up to Kyle and stopping him, but he was apparently letting Kyle get a head start.

Kyle dodged to the left, taking the chase down a hill and letting the incline increase his speed. Aidan mirrored the movement quickly, twisting behind him and barreling through the brush as he worked to keep up. Kyle didn’t dare look behind him as he hit the bottom of the hill, letting his momentum carry him forward as he took the chase further. He could hear Aidan panting behind him, but it wasn’t heavy panting. Kyle knew he would wear out long before his mate would.

His senses went onto high alert and he skidded to a complete stop before he knew why. He panted hard, his human mind trying to understand what had his wolf side tense and drawing back its lips. As he took another deep breath, he realized what he was smelling. It was the smell of another werewolf. The inner wolf had an almost photographic memory when it came to smells, and Kyle knew the smell of every werewolf that had come around him. The werewolves he was smelling were not from the sept.

There were intruders in their land, and they were close.