Sam stretched, her body feeling relaxed and languid. Content didn’t begin to describe how she felt. She’d been with the pack for almost a month. Her days were spent with the different pack members learning about each one and better understanding her role as Nafarius’ mate. Her nights were spent with Nafarius, often times the two of them wandering out into the woods to make love surrounded by nature.
There was little privacy within the mountain. With the small alcoves giving way to one another it was easy to see and hear what everyone else was doing. It had taken her a few days but eventually Sam adjusted to the lack of privacy. The pack was a family but unlike most humans they believed in close physical contact. Whenever she walked through the alcoves individual members reached out and touched her. Often times when she was standing still one or more of the pack members would move closer until they circled her legs, leaning into her for comfort. She found herself smiling and running her hands through their hair in a gesture of fondness and comfort. Having been alone most of her life it was a new experience but one she had quickly come to treasure.
Thinking back over the existence she had come to love, Sam couldn’t help but worry about tonight’s events. Tonight was another milestone for her. It was the first full moon since she mated with Nafarius and was infected. The final step to becoming his mate for life was to undergo her first change in front of the entire pack.
“You’re frowning.” Nafarius reached over and smoothed his finger over the lines that had appeared on her forehead. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Sam rolled over and faced her mate. True to tradition, Nafarius had not taken animal form since the night of their first mating. He would not be allowed to change until she did later tonight, if she did. “What if I can’t…”?
Nafarius, knowing what she was going to say, pulled her close. “Hush, there is no reason for you to worry. I come from a long and prestigious line of werewolves and now so do you. There hasn’t been one among us that wasn’t able to make the change. You’ll be fine.” Kissing her forehead he rolled over and got to his feet. Looking down at Sam still nestled in among their blankets he pushed all his fears aside. He refused to think about the possibility that she might not be able to make the change and what that would mean for the pack, and for him.
“I must go, Roland is waiting for me.”
“Where are you going?” Sam sat up and quickly pulled one of the loose fitting summer dresses she’d been given over her head. She had noticed that the female members preferred them to jeans or pants of any kind. After asking Maddie Sam had learned that it was a cost cutting measure as it was easier to slip out of a dress when one starts to change.
“The food supply is getting low; Roland and I are going out to see what we can find.” None of the pack had been allowed to hunt for the past month. Again, tradition dictate that they wait until the hunt could be lead by their leader and his mate.
It was one of the first things Sam was expected to do tonight after changing. She had to prove herself to be able to provide for the pack, which meant making her first kill in animal form. She had spent the past month learning what her new role would be as well as preparing to meet several challenges. Some she looked forward to but there was a part of her that would be relieved once she had firmly established herself.
“When will I see you again?” She asked.
“I’ll be back before the sun completely sets. That is when you and I are expected to appear before the pack.” Nafarius leaned down and kissed her gently. “Rest, you have a long night ahead of you.”
Sam nodded but as soon as he was gone got up and went about cleaning their small alcove. She couldn’t rest, she couldn’t sit still and she wanted to be out among the pack members. Unfortunately, she knew that they would keep their distance. It was a way of reserving their complete acceptance of her until she had proven herself in the most basic ways. If she could not change she could not lead.
The day went by unbelievably slow. Eventually, the solitude got to be too much for her and Sam was forced out into the common area. As she had suspected most of the pack kept their distance, only a few coming up and offering her a comforting touch. Maddie, who seemed to have given Sam her unfailing loyalty that first night, was the only one that stayed with her. She was quiet, offering Sam her silent support.
As the day progressed Sam could sense the rise in tension. She felt the sun begin to set behind the mountain and she knew that her time had come.
Slowly, the pack members filled out from the mountain and into the clearing leaving Sam to prepare alone. Taking a deep breath she looked around the place she had come to call home before closing her eyes and searching inside of herself.
Her animal was there; she knew it. She’d known almost instantly that Nafarius had been successful in infecting her. It wasn’t long after their first mating that she’d begun to notice changes in herself. Every one of her senses seemed to sharpen and she understood the world around her in a different way. She’d always believed that animals were more in tune with Mother Nature and now she had proof. She could smell the changing season on the wind, she knew the age of a tree simply by touching the bark-covered trunk, and she knew the hierarchy of animals that dwelt in the forest around her.
After a time she grew accustom to the changes and Sam had turned her energies to learning other things about herself. She had spent several hours alone in the woods looking into herself until she found her animal. The wolf was deep inside of her, not yet aware of its own existence. It was as if the beast was asleep waiting for some signal to waken it. Now, as she stood there alone, Sam tried to decipher that signal.
Sam could feel the pull and the power of the full moon and it was her most reverent hope she would be able to use that power to summon her animal. Still possessing human pride she ran her hand down the front of her skirt, smoothing out any wrinkles and checked to make sure her hair was in place. Once she was fairly confident that all was well with her appearance Sam squared her shoulders and stepped out from the mountain.
An immediate hush fell over those assembled. There wasn’t one pack member unaccounted for. Those few that had ventured into town for necessities had made sure to return so as not to miss this momentous event. Their leader would take a mate but once and there wasn’t one among them that didn’t want to be there as witness to her first change.
Flashes of her first night in the clearing ran through her head as the crowd parted allowing her passage to the center of the circle. Nafarius stood waiting, still in human form, off to one side. Even from several feet away Sam could see the tension that started in his eyes and ran through his entire body. She tried to give him her most reassuring smile but feared she’d failed. He wouldn’t be allowed to interfere and she knew it was going to cost him.
Sam stepped into the circle and slowly turned around. Everywhere she looked stood the men and women she had come to know and to think of as family. The moon, having reached its zenith pulled at her and the members of her pack and she watched as each one slowly started to change.