Chapter Two
The pain was something he’d never forget. Marshall’s bones shattered into thousands of pieces, burning hot iron coursing around his body as the fire built to a fever pitch. Slowly, the pain started to ebb away as if it hadn’t even been there. Collapsing to the ground, Marshall turned toward the warmth of his mother, Carla, who was pressing a towel to his forehead.
“He’s in pain, Luke,” she said.
Opening his eyes, he saw his father smiling. “He’ll be alpha one day, Carla. The pain is necessary.”
“None of the others have had this kind of pain.”
“They’re not alpha like our son. This will teach him respect, understanding, and it will make him a better alpha. This is what is necessary for all of us who lead.” His father spoke like the alpha he was. Soon, one day, Marshall would take over. He was the eldest son. “I’m proud of you, son.”
Marshall smiled up at his father, wishing there was something he could say. The pain was too great. The fire was already building within his veins for another bone breaking transition.
“When you find your mate this will all be worth it, son. I promise you.”
He shook as the heat gathered inside. For some strange reason Scarlett entered his mind, but he immediately pushed her image aside. Closing his eyes, Marshall tried to focus on something else. His mate. She’d be so beautiful and worth every second of this pain. Once he transitioned he’d be able to protect her from everything. He’d be big, strong, powerful. His little, private obsession over Scarlett would come to an end.
“That’s it. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.” He listened to his mother and father as they coached him through the transition.
There wasn’t a way for him to contain the screams as his body started to break. Bones crunched together, and his whole body shook. Opening his eyes he saw his skin rippling as fur started to sprout out of his pores. Lifting his head, he released a growl, staring up at the sky wishing for something to take the immense pain away. He hated this, despised it, but there was no stopping what was happening.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
He thought about everything he’d gain as his parents stepped back. This time he didn’t stop. His back broke as he was snapped in half. Screaming out, he let everything go.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
“That’s it, son. You’re almost there.”
Marshall growled again as the pain intensified. Everything burned as if he was stood in the center of hell with no way of escaping. Did he want to escape?
“He’s falling back, Luke.”
Something grabbed the back of his head. “You will turn this time, Marshall, or so help me God, I will make sure you don’t have a choice.”
The power of the alpha washed over his body.
“Come on, son, please. You’re scaring your mother, and you’re scaring me.”
For his father, his alpha to admit that, Marshall knew he couldn’t escape. He didn’t want to hurt his mother or have her worrying. Sinking himself into the pain of the moment.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
Mate.
Love.
Respect.
Pack.
Loyalty.
He kept repeating the same words over and over again in his head. Finally, something exploded, and the pain simply faded as he collapsed to the ground.
“Luke, he did it.”
Closing his eyes, Marshall let sleep claim him.
****
When Marshall opened his eyes, he looked toward the single basement window to find it was dark outside. Glancing down his body, he saw he was back in human form. Had it all been a dream? Then he saw that his body was different, bigger, larger, more muscular than before.
“Your mother’s fixing you some soup.”
His father sat in the corner on a single chair in the room. Sitting up, Marshall brought his knees up to his chest.
“Hey,” Marshall said. His voice was croaky, hoarse. “Did I, erm, did I imagine it?”
“No. You changed, son. You went through your transition, and now you’ve got nothing to worry about. It will hurt at first, but as you transition more, you’ll no longer feel pain but exhilaration.”
He nodded, rubbing at his eyes. His senses were clearer. There was a spider in the room. He heard it running across the floor.
“You’re going to spend the rest of the summer becoming aware and dealing with your senses.”
“Did everyone make it through the transition?” He thought about the rest of the pack that were due to change this summer.
Some young wolves couldn’t handle the immense pain or the continued bone shattering. They simply didn’t make it and died.
“Arnold, he lost his daughter Samantha. She gave up,” Luke said.
“Jack?” Marshall didn’t know what he’d do without his best friend.
“Jack made it through. He says you owe him and he’ll never forget this shit.”
Marshall chuckled. What he owed him was probably some help at getting him some pussy. Jack liked sex, loved the chase of it. “Okay.”
“You can’t see him for a long time. His father and I both agree you need to harness your new skills. If you don’t, it could get you killed.”
“I could just flunk out of high school.”
“We’ve got a lot of power, but magic isn’t one of them. You still need to keep your presence a secret from the human world.”
“Why don’t you say I’m being homeschooled?”
“You wanted the same life I had, Marshall. I studied amongst humans and learned to be with them. I’ve kept us all safe, and I’m passing that legacy onto you.”
Marshall nodded, inhaling the fresh tomato soup smell that came to him. His mother was walking close by.
The door to the basement opened seconds later.
The tomato scent intensified, and his stomach growled with hunger.
“Hey, honey,” Carla said.
“Hey, Mom.” He offered a smile. Marshall couldn’t give her anything else. He was still too exhausted from the transformation into his wolf form.
“I’m so proud of you.” She crouched down, gripping his head to lay a kiss against his temple. “Here’s some food. I know, I know, it’s not your favorite and there’s no chocolate, but trust me when I say, you do not want chocolate right now. It’ll make you vomit.”
“I feel great.”
“You won’t,” Luke said. He glanced over to see his father smiling back at him. “I remember when I turned for the first time. I convinced your grandma to give me cake.”
“What happened?” Marshall asked, dipping his bread into the soup.
“I was sick as a dog.”
Marshall chuckled. He started to cough, and his stomach turned over. Grabbing his stomach, he took several deep breaths until the wave of sickness left him.
“Are you okay, son?”
“Yeah. Sick as a dog, right?”
Carla ruffled his head. “You’ll be okay.”
He truly hoped he would.
****
Scarlett stared out at the pool in her backyard. She wore a pair of shorts and a vest shirt. The idea of going in a bathing suit or, even worse, a bikini had her sick to her stomach. Summer vacation was going really well. Her parents had decided to vacation along with her and after their trip to Italy, they’d come back, and her parents were called away to work. She didn’t mind. The house was quiet, and she’d spent a lot of time with her nose in a book.
The thought of going into the pool in a bathing suit even home alone, scared her. They had neighbors who could easily see into the back yard.
No one cares.
Dropping her shades down, she made her way outside. She heard the sound of kids playing in the neighbors’ gardens. Sitting on the lounge chair, Scarlett opened up the latest paperback book that had come in the post, and started to read. It was a romance book as they were the only books she liked.
Grabbing her bottle of water, she rested the book on her bent knees as she took a sip of her water. She screwed up the cap and placed the bottle between her thighs before picking back up the book.
Scarlett lost herself in the story, wondering if true love was really that easy to find. She truly doubted men were as charming in real life as they were in the book. Her own parents didn’t seem to share a lot of romance. Scrunching her nose, Scarlett jumped as someone shouted.
“Hey.”
Dropping the book she looked around her yard to see she was still alone.
“Over here.”
Turning left, she saw a blond guy around her age hanging by the fence.
“What’s the matter?” Scarlett asked, expecting something horrible to happen. He was a good looking guy, but then a lot of bullies were good looking.
“My brother booted the ball over the fence. I don’t suppose you could hand it over.”
She frowned, looking around until she found a single white and blue ball in the corner. “Sure.”
Putting her water and book aside, she made her way toward the ball. Bending down, she picked the ball up, carrying it over to him. She held it up, and he took the ball from her hands. Their fingers brushed, and she couldn’t help the tingle of awareness from his touch alone. He was the first guy she’d ever really been close to who hadn’t hurt her first.
“Thanks. Good book?”
“Yeah.” She held her hands down by her sides, staring up at him. “Well, bye.”
“Wait, I didn’t catch your name.”
Scarlett was pleased she still wore her shades as she didn’t want him to see how embarrassed she was. “I didn’t tell you my name.”
“We’re new around here, moved in a couple of weeks ago.”
When she was in Italy with her folks and told him so.
“Ah, that’s why I’ve not seen you before. I’m Trey Decker.”
“Scarlett Fields.” She held her hand up, which he took.
“It’s nice to meet you, Scarlett.”
“And you.”
“How old are you?” he asked.
“I’m, erm, I’m seventeen.” She wasn’t eighteen until next year, making her one of the youngest in her year.
“I’m eighteen. Maybe I’ll see you in school when it starts up.”
She was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. “I, erm, I’ve got to go.” Pointing behind her, she hoped he didn’t find her rude. Her book offered her a hell of a lot more protection than talking to him. She’d never been able to talk to guys her own age or in her year. Marshall and Jack entered her thoughts. She didn’t like either guy. They were the worst kind of bullies she’d ever encountered.
“Well, it was great meeting you.”
Nodding, she waved a hand, walking back to her lounge chair. She grabbed her book, and water, making her way back into her home. It was still too hot, and she opened windows, hoping to cool the house down. The air-con was broken and wouldn’t be fixed until next week. Walking upstairs to her room, she started to draw the curtains closed but stopped when she saw Trey wrestling with his little brother.
Her window was open, and she caught some of their conversation.
“I heard you. My name’s Trey, and I’m so hot. All the girls love me.” His little brother was laughing.
“Shut up.” Trey grabbed his brother around the head, knuckle rubbing his head.
“Get off.” His little brother pushed him off and started moving his hair back into place. “No one messes with my hair.”
Covering her mouth, she tried to contain her chuckle. His brother was adorable.
“Did you like her?”
Trey glanced toward her house, and Scarlett hid behind the curtain hoping he didn’t see her.
“She’s pretty.”
“Oh, Trey fancies a girl. Trey fancies a girl.”
Stepping away from the curtain, Scarlett didn’t want to hear anything more.
Mate!
Freezing, Scarlett glanced around her room. Over the summer she’d been hearing that word everywhere she went. Late at night she’d woken up after having nightmares of a wolf, intent on hurting her. She’d not even had a break from the word when she went to Italy.
Mate!
“Please, stop,” she said, whispering. Covering her ears, she tried to bring some focus to her little world. Getting to her feet, she moved toward the curtains and was about to close them. She froze in place when she saw Trey looking up at her home. He lifted a hand waving to her. She waved back, feeling utterly silly.
Closing the curtains, she stepped away, trying to put some distance between her and the new neighbor. It wouldn’t be long until it was the first day of school and she could move on with her life.