AVA
I woke up sweating a couple hours later. Callum was hot, really hot.
“Artemis…” a new voice whispered. “Help me.”
My eyes snapped open, trying to identify the voice.
Callum? Surely not. His birthday was still months away.
I rolled over to face him, to see sweat pouring down his face, his face contorted in pain.
“Callum,” I stroked his hair reassuringly. “It’s okay, I’m here with you.”
I nudged Oscar awake. “Oscar, get me a clean flannel and a bowl of cool water.”
“What?”
“Now, Oscar.”
He turned the light on, running down the stairs.
“Callum,” I whispered. “You’re okay, I’m here with you. Your wolf is coming early, but I’ll help you through it, okay?”
He whimpered. Oh this was awful to watch.
“Ava…” he groaned, grabbing my hand, his eyes flying open.
His wolf’s eyes were bright green, a beautiful colour, but the pain in them was awful to see.
Once I had the cool water, I damped the flannel, using it to wipe Callum’s head, cooling him down. “I’m here with you, I promise,” I whispered.
“It hurts,” he cried.
“I know, baby, I know. It gets easier, I promise.”
His hands were tense. He was fighting the shift. “Hey, hey,” I whispered, squeezing his hand. “Don’t fight it, baby, it’ll be worse.”
“I… don’t… want to… shift inside,” he groaned.
“Okay, let me help you up, I’ll take you outside.”
Once I helped him outside, I helped him sit down. “Did your wolf tell you his name, Callum?”
“Ares,” he whimpered again.
“Well, Ares, I’m excited to meet you, and I know Artemis is too.”
Callum chuckled. “He wants to meet you too, Ava.”
I gave him a small smile, taking his hand and sitting down in front of him. Oscar was watching, unsure what to do. “Okay, baby. I just need you to relax, okay? Let Ares do his thing, he’ll help you.”
He nodded, letting out a deep breath. Almost immediately, his bones and joints changed and moved as Ares took over. In no time at all, a beautiful sandy brown wolf stood in front of me with piercing green eyes. He was panting, understandably.
I reached out to him through the mindlink. “You did so well, Callum, Ares. It will get easier, I promise. Do you want to go for a run with me?”
He nodded.
I gave him a smile, before losing my clothes and letting Artemis take over.
Artemis walked over to Ares, rubbing her side and head against him. Scent marking him. Because of course she was. I half expected her to present her backside to him. I felt unbelievably drawn to Callum, and Artemis to Ares; it was strange, unexpected. Neither of us were old enough to recognise a mate bond, but I couldn’t deny the connection. I’d have to talk to him later and see if he felt it too…
Ares rubbed himself up along Artemis, making a point of licking her face. He was big, the size of an average Alpha, so he was nearly the same size as Artemis.
“Alex!” I shouted through the pack link. He was asleep. He somehow slept through the commotion of me helping a six foot mountain of muscle that was one of his sons who was also fighting a first shift down the stairs.
“ALEX! Wake up, come outside.” I threw a command behind it this time, knowing he’d have no choice.
In less than a minute, he was in the doorway, watching Ares and Artemis get to know each other. I turned to look at him, and even on Artemis’ wolf-face, he’d have been able to see my smile.
“Callum…” he whispered, almost in shock. “Your wolf is stunning, son.”
Ares trotted over towards his dad, sitting in front of him, wagging his tail.
“Ava,” Callum whispered through the link. “How do I shift back?”
“Imagine what you look like as a human, and push Ares towards the back of your mind. It might take practice, but that will get easier too.”
Within a few seconds, Callum was sitting in front of me, his face shocked. I shifted back to sit in front of him, and a massive smile appeared on his face. “How do you feel, Callum?”
“Weird…”
I laughed. “I promise it’ll get easier and less weird. Shall we go for a run?”
He nodded, with a smile. He let his eyes close, let out a deep breath, and let Ares forward. I followed suit, and Alex after. “Smashed it, Callum, that was amazing as a second shift,” Alex sounded so proud.
Artemis yipped excitedly, before sprinting towards the trees, hearing the thundering of paws that said Ares and Kieran were following.
We ran for hours. Eventually, Alex disappeared off home to give Callum and I some time together; to let Artemis and Ares get acquainted.
“Hey Ava…” Callum asked through the link, a little confused. “Why does Ares want to go hunt for something for Artemis?”
I chuckled through the link. “He’s trying to impress her, Callum. He wants to show that he could provide for and look after her.” I smiled internally. He definitely felt it too.
“If he really wants to do it, you can let him take more control and almost ‘take a step back’ if you’d rather not be involved. I do it if Artemis hunts because I’ll be honest, eating animals I’ve killed grosses me out, but sometimes wolves need to hunt.”
“What if he won’t give control back?”
“You have to trust that he will. If it really comes to it, Artemis is an Alpha, so we can force him to submit, but I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“Okay… I’ll try this.”
“You’ve got this, Callum. You will still be able to talk to me, so you can let me know if you have trouble.”
He let Ares take over, who then strutted towards me, licking straight over Artemis’ face. She leaned into him, purring happily. My crazy strong, awesome Alpha wolf was purring.
Artemis lay down by the lake, and Ares yipped happily, before darting off into the forest. He returned just a few minutes later, dragging a deer behind him. A deer. Ares brought Artemis a deer as an offering.
I took a step back, letting Artemis take control. Eating a whole deer wasn’t my thing. She made a point of pulling the deer apart, dropping some in front of Ares, insisting that he eat too. The two of them sat together, eating happily, before licking the blood and goo off each other’s muzzles.
“Callum, you alright?” I asked him through the link.
“I’m good, Ava, really good.”
“Good,” I smiled. “I’m going to shift back and swim. Artemis and Ares might have had fun, but I feel gross and like I’m covered in blood.”
I shifted back, watching Callum do the same. I offered him my hand, pulling him up to stand. He pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Thank you, Ava,” he kissed my forehead.
“You don’t need to thank me, Callum. Of course I’d help you.” I smiled, tilting my head up. I let my eyes drop to his mouth, before tiptoeing and pressing my lips against his.
He picked me up, arms under the top of my thighs, my legs around his waist. He deepened the kiss as he walked towards the lake. I heard the unmistakable sound of wolves running through the trees behind us, and I’m pretty sure they slowed down to see what was going on, but I didn’t care who saw us at that moment.
As soon as the water was up to my waist, I jumped out of his arms and dunked myself. I wasn’t kidding when I said I felt like I was covered in blood. As soon as I resurfaced, Callum picked me up again, before moving back towards shore.
He dropped to his knees, laying me on the ground where it just dried out. He fell on top of me immediately, his body in between my legs, his erection pressing against my core.
This time was different. This wasn’t sex for pleasure’s sake. This was making love.