Chapter 5

My brother and I dashed through the dense forest, our human forms slipping between trees unseen by the world beyond. It was a tactic of the wild, a secret passed down by our father - to become invisible to survive.

Under the safety of the canopy, we shed our clothes like second skins and surged forward. Muscle and bone flowed seamlessly into our true selves. Such fluid transformation wasn't common among our kind; most wolves needed a still moment to shift, a moment that could cost a life when war snarled at your heels.

Past Memory:

Elias and I stood out with our wolf forms, one gold and the other white—a pair of mirror images.

As a child, my stark white paws, as conspicuous as mismatched socks, often made me the butt of our siblings' jokes.

Aurina and I found solace in laughter, seeking playful revenge. We would secretly hoard cans of white paint, only to stealthily coat the sleeping pack under the cover of a moonlit night—our own brand of artistic mischief.

With a conspiratorial grin, I whispered to Aurina, my partner in crime, lost in the forest's nocturnal symphony, "Let's tip the scales with a bit of mischief."

Aurina's chuckle, warm and low, stirred the underbrush, setting the stage for our prank. Transforming back to my human shape, I quietly retrieved the paint. One by one, I decorated each sibling's paws with our white signature—everyone's but our parents', with movements as delicate as a feather's touch on the air.

Yawning, I stretched out, feeling the wolf inside me awaken with a sense of accomplishment. I settled down on the fringes of the warm, slumbering cluster, letting sleep pull me into a world where forest spirits danced in my dreams...

Present:

The crisp scent of a nearby lake prickled our senses. I barked a challenge, "Race you, punk!" and pushed into a sprint.

Elias's voice threaded through our mind link, teasing, "Who you calling punk, Paws?"

My wolf bristled at the nickname; a snarl threaded with resolve. "Game on, brother. Just watch, I'll leave you in my dust!"

Our natural competitiveness turned the forest into a blur as we jockeyed for position, playful growls punctuating the rush of wind through fur. As the lake shimmered into view, Aurina found another burst of speed and shot ahead.

I could nearly hear my wolf’s smugness as she concealed herself behind a tree, ready to spring. The moment Elias appeared, she pounced, victorious growls mingling with his conceding chuckles.

"Okay, okay, you're the queen of the chase, Aurina," Elias's defeated wolf wheezed. Aurina's playful swipe over his head was her royal seal of approval.

The woods echoed with our laughter as we shifted back, human once more, to find solace by the water’s edge, the midday sun turning the lake surface into rippling gold.

Jeremy broke the tranquil silence, nudging my shoulder. “What happened back at the restaurant, Stephi?” he murmured, a whisper like the rustling leaves.

His arm wrapped around me, comforting me despite the churn in my heart. “Was that Alpha... your mate?”

His eyes searched mine, finding affirmation in the quiet nod that accompanied my sorrow.

Jeremy’s laughter erupted, disbelief coloring each note. “So, it's you, the one entangled with the pureblood Alpha. Not Sindy, but you! I bet…”

His chuckles faltered, weakening against the cold wave of my anger. A sheepish grin lingered as he regained composure, “In a few years, you’ll laugh at this, I promise.”

"I have a confession, I had already found my mate." I watched my brother sigh in sorrow, rather thank in joy, I mean after all that is what a soon to be Alpha wants, is his Luna to help him be the mother to the pack.

"Brother, then why don't you sound happy about it? Don't you desire a Luna for our pack?" I glanced at him, my annoyance ebbing away.

"So, you have your own mate issues? I am assuming that you will be accepting the Alpha role now?"

His face tensed, hints of a brewing storm in his gaze. "It's terrible, Stephi... I think she's human."

"Calling it 'terrible' might be inaccurate. Regardless of her being human, isn't it possible that what we need is change in our archaic pack rules?" "

That's easy for you to say," he exhaled heavily, "Confronting Dad about this will start a battle."

Leaning in, I spoke with conviction. "Then face it head-on, Jeremy. Embrace your destiny as the Alpha. And perhaps…" my voice softened with a glimmer of hope, "your human girl may possess the spirit of a wolf, waiting to emerge."

His frown eased into a fragile seed of hope. “Do you really think so?”

"Anything's possible," I replied, my voice dancing with mischief. "Just be careful not to get snagged filching her brush—that would be a peculiar brand of trouble. Imagine, trying to extract her DNA to reveal the slumbering wolf concealed within her."

We got dressed and walked back to the car, our talk a mix of laughter and deep reflections.

But then, a chill shot through us as Aurina's sharp warning echoed in my head: "Rogue!"