Change (published)

Chapter 3

He offered me a hand up and I tried to be graceful as I accepted it. He grabbed my hand tightly and led me into the forest to steer away from the pack members. He stopped twice to wait for someone to pass in the distance. We approached the Alpha's backdoor and he opened it like he lived there. I didn't know where he lived.

The Alpha was waiting when we got there.
"Good afternoon Ariel."
With my eyes to the floor I replied softly. "Good morning Alpha."
"While we are in my house you have my permission to look at me while you talk to me...and you may call me Richard."
I looked up in surprise just as our Luna, his wife, rushed in. "I came as fast as possible, she must be remarkable if she woke up already. I thought she be out till at least late afternoon." Her voice was light and cheery. The words came out in a rush as her eyes found me. She pushed Mathew out of the way and hugged me tightly.

"Did you take care of her Matty? Are you alright dear? You caused quite a stir last night. Nobody can remember a first change ever being that fast and when Richard was called to the forest Mitch only said that the pup refused to submit to the Beta. Nobody heard but still, I was so worried."
"Give the girl a chance to sit Aunt Miri." Mathew said as he ducked into the fridge and started pulling stuff out.
The most beautiful smell hit me and my stomach growled. Everybody laughed as Mathew said. "I'm going as fast as I can woman, don't rush me!" We sat down and a large plate heavy with sandwiched dropped on the table.
"Well eat up, you waiting for an invite?" Mathew said as he dropped another plate down, sat down behind it and started eating.

The Alpha and Luna nodded with big smiles and I was soon devouring the bread like a starving man. I complemented his sandwich skills having barely swallowed my last bite and he laughed. "It's an old family recipe for the roast beef, smells amazing and tastes even better. Mum taught me how to do this."
I looked up in shock. "You made this?"
"Mum makes all men in our pack learn to cook. When my dear cousin returns here you'll have to befriend him because she'll make him learn too."
I must have looked confused and Richard explained.

"After the pack wars of the forties new law stated that to foster relations between neighboring packs the future Alphas are trained with another pack. My sister is Luna of the Black Claws pack next door so my son went to them and her son Mathew is trained to become Alpha under my guidance. We are lucky to be related, it would have been harder if we had to swap with the Blood Moon pack on the other side."

For a second my mind tried to process that information when another thought was pushed forward by my wolf. 'He said this Beta is an Alpha blood!'
I felt the blood drain from my face as they all looked closely at my face.
"I think she caught the implication of that." Miranda, my Luna said softly. I looked at Mathew and immediately looked away. Not down, my wolf wouldn't let me submit to him, but I looked away regardless. I caught the eye of my Luna and looked down instantly. Richard chuckled. "She does indeed understand the implication yet she still won't submit to him. Even knowing he will be an Alpha, she looked away but not down."
I cursed under my breath and looked at Mathew again. I really was going to submit like I should have done last night, yet when I caught his eye a big part of me agreed with my wolf and again I didn't look down.

I saw his wolf rise in his eyes and he growled as I kept staring at him. It had changed into a battle of dominance that I knew I shouldn't engage in yet I kept his eye. His growl turned angry. I felt my wolf rise, angry at his challenge. My sight sharpened and my sense of smell focused. I could smell his anger at being defied.

Instead of getting more angry my wolf was pleased but she didn't let me turn my head. She gave me the feeling that we were not below him. Only the Alpha beside him. Only the Luna that ruled at his side. I would submit to them only so I could be pack. The scent of his anger burned into me and solidified my resolve not to back down. A soft growl escaped my lips. His muscles tensed and he rose from the chair. I rose with him and kept his burning gaze. I wasn't angry with him, just annoyed that he would challenge me as an equal.

I was unsure how long he glared at me while I stubbornly looked back. I remembered my first bubble with him in it because my wolf reminded me and just like that I felt my mind pull at the walls of his mind. He opened for me and his anger settled into surprise.
'What are you doing?'
'I like you. I don't wish to fight with you.'
'Then submit to me.'
'I can't Mathew. She likes you. She said your wolf is beautiful and strong but she won't submit. We won't submit unless you force it. I know you are stronger Mathew but I am one with my wolf and this is important to her.'
'You are not of Alpha blood.'
'Trust me.. I'm better aware of that than you could ever be.'
'Look away. That's all you need to do.'
'I can't. It is important to my wolf to only submit to the Alpha of our pack.'

We were discussing this is the link between us that I had made. In the kitchen it was silent as the rulers of our pack watched. I could feel their gaze on me. I could feel their presence but I could not look away. I would not submit. It dragged on. My legs were sore, I wanted to sit but I would not let him be above me so I had to look up. My back hurt from trying to stand tall in front of this larger male. After what felt like forever I yawned unexpectedly and barely managed to keep my eyes open and focused on his. The Luna laughed as Mathew asked. "Am I boring you little girl?"
"Dude, you got a nice body but your conversation skills leave something to be desired. So right now I have to be honest and say yes. Yes, you are boring me."
"Oh I know you like my body from the way you were groping me this morning. You're welcome to look some more, just aim your eyes down." He chuckled.
"Don't need to. You seen it once, you seen it all." I smirked.
"Ouch, that hurt...and what about when you find your mate? Will you tell him that?"
"I won't have to. I think you misunderstood. You have a nice body. My mate will be perfect."
I heard the other two laugh and the Luna spoke up. "I think the correct phrase for that is Oooh Burn."

She surprised me and I laughed loudly as Mathew groaned. The Alpha spoke next. His voice dripping power. "Both of you. This is done. You are equal. Look away!"
We both did what he said immediately. A command from your Alpha can't be ignored. I never experienced it but I heard even the command from another alpha that isn't yours can't be ignored unless it goes against an order from your Alpha.

"Call me Miri sweetie. Let's go sit in the living room. Do you want a drink, coffee, water, something else? Matt can get it. Actually Richard be a dear and grab her a drink when you get me a coffee." And then we were out of the kitchen. Richard handed her a coffee and asked me if I wanted something. I asked for water while the Luna apologized for talking so much.
When we were all seated Richard started telling me.

"That was quite a stare down young lady. Mathew is a very strong wolf."
"I know, my wolf told me that when we first saw him after we changed."
"How long do you think you two were at it with your stare down in the kitchen?"
"Ten to twenty minutes." I replied while Mathew said. "At least half an hour." I looked at him in wonder. "It couldn't have been that long."
"One hour and five minutes." Richard said with a smile. "An Alpha challenge needs to last an hour without any signs of wearing down on either side before it is declared equal strength. And neither of you looked ready to submit, not a single drop of sweat, no fear, nothing. You Ariel, just proved yourself Alpha material... or more correctly, Luna material."

"That is actually a good thing dear, don't look so disgusted. It's quite unheard of to have a Luna that is equal to other Alphas as well as her mate. It is completely unheard of that someone like that is found in an average bloodline. You are quite a treasure." She smiled brightly but I felt rather stressed.
"Thank you Luna but I... well it's.... I mean... you know?..."
Mathew got up and dropped on the couch beside me. "Told ya...one of a kind. Aaand seen as how you won't submit to me let alone someone lower, you'll be training with me. I'll go easy on you because I've been training for six years and you're just starting o_"

"Wait! What?"

---
Opinions? Input? Loving it? Anything?
Don't leave me hanging ;-)
XG