He ran. His paws scrambled for a foothold on the dry leaves and underbrush. He struggled to remember his own name right now. His only drive was to get out, to get away, as fast as he could.
Ethan. His name was Ethan. Eventually, he’d wake up and none of this would be happening. Whatever he’d been dosed with would purge itself from his system. He was having trouble figuring out what was real and what was hallucination, but he knew that his name was Ethan, and that if he stopped running, even for a second, the bad men would find him.
Nothing would help him then.
Whatever they’d slipped him was really messing with his head. The paws, for one thing – they weren’t real. No one suddenly dropped to all fours and formed paws. That didn’t happen, so it hadn’t happened, and it had to be part of the hallucination. He tried to keep from panicking. He knew he was running fast, thanks to the burning in his lungs and the speed with which the scenery flew past him. So, in reality, he couldn’t be crawling. Knowing that it was a hallucination didn’t change the fact that he still felt like he was on all fours, and if he took the time to look down, he looked like he was covered in dark fur.
The drug gave everything around him a trippy, intense feeling. The full moon shined overhead like a kind of beacon, sending all of the muted nighttime colors into sharp relief for his oversensitive eyes. He could hear his pursuers crashing through the woods behind him, far enough away that he couldn’t feel them at his heels, but close enough that he couldn’t rest or drink from the little springs that popped up all around him. He could hear insects, and the bats that feasted on them.
The smells, though – that was the biggest change. Ethan had always had a fairly standard sense of smell. Right now, he felt like someone had turned his olfactory nerve up to eleven. Something half a mile away had died and was slowly rotting away on the forest floor. If he survived and got hungry, he could always feast on one of the dozens of rabbits he couldn’t see yet, but smelled just off in the distance. Another wolf had been here only yesterday, a wolf with a strong scent that taunted him with safety and shelter. He could tell, thanks to his nose, that the men chasing him were wolves too; they just walked upright and wore pants.
Those smells were just his imagination. He struggled for an extra burst of speed as he darted for the road that he thought he detected off to the north. If he could get to the road, someone would call the cops, eventually. He’d have to spend the night in the drunk tank, but that would be okay. He’d be safer there than he was out here.
The road loomed up ahead, stinking of asphalt and motor oil. He jumped out onto the two-lane blacktop and started running. The pavement felt terrible under his tender paws, like he was running his hands along a cheese grater, but he ignored the pain in favor of escape. There was no place to hide on the road. He was going to have to hope that the road brought him rescue sooner rather than later.
The moonlight reflected off of something: a solar panel up on a roof. Ethan didn’t think. He just headed for the old-looking structure. His muscles screamed and his lungs threatened mutiny, but failure was not an option. He couldn’t say what about the old farmhouse caught his attention, maybe it was the lingering scent of that “safe” wolf he thought he’d smelled, but it couldn’t be worse than the wolves he was running from. After all, they’d already drugged him and bitten him.
He leaped across the street just ahead of a speeding SUV. The driver didn’t notice Ethan until he was already across the street, but the horn slammed anyway. It made Ethan jump; the noise seemed so much more jarring with these drugs in his system.
The horn had the added affect of getting someone in the farmhouse to turn on some lights.
Ethan didn’t think he could go any faster. His body proved him wrong.
The farmhouse door opened. The man standing in the doorway filled all of the available space. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with his body tapering to a perfect “v.” Ethan could see that his body tapered so perfectly because the man had obviously thrown on a pair of shorts and come to find the source of the noise; he hadn’t bothered to hide his sculpted muscles with a shirt.
Ethan wouldn’t have either, if he had a body like that.
The homeowner wasn’t just a perfect specimen of male beauty, though. He had a scent. He smelled like wolf, like the people chasing Ethan. But unlike them, he smelled good. This man was the source of the “safe” scent that had caught Ethan’s attention before.
Ethan stopped in his tracks. Everything about the man was perfect. He sniffed at the hand, and then he licked at the man’s fingers. The man wouldn’t hurt him. He didn’t know how he knew this. It had to be instinct. Instinct had identified the other scents as wolf, after all, and it had told him which way to go. It had pulled him toward this house. He’d listen to it now, as long as he was riding out this trip.
“Relax, little wolf,” the man rumbled. His voice was deep and commanding, and Ethan found his legs folding beneath him. “You’re safe here.” He straightened back up to look at the four men crossing the road. “Pretty ballsy, coming around here.”
“That one belongs to us,” said the one in the lead. He had blood around his mouth: Ethan’s blood. Ethan closed his eyes against the memory, unable to hold back a little whimper. He could still feel where those huge hands had gripped him, holding him down so the man could bite his neck. “That omega belongs to the Bar Harbor pack.”
Ethan’s savior curled his lip. “You’re a little far out of your range, don’t you think? Our High Alpha’s on his way down. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to talk about this with you.” The bearded man stroked Ethan’s head, just once. “Then again, we can talk about this. Just us.” He grinned, feral and nasty.
“There’s four of us and one of you.” The bloody-mouthed man sneered.
Ethan’s protector huffed out a little laugh. “I suppose that I could tie one arm down, if you think that’s fair. Or, and this seems like a better idea, you can go away and not come back.”
“He’s my mate!”
The homeowner seemed to get bigger, if that was possible. “Doesn’t smell mated. Smells like an unmated omega who showed up on my doorstep and put himself under my protection.”
One of the men who stood with the bloody-mouthed man put a hand on his arm. “Come on, Jake. Let’s go. He’s not worth it. We’ll take care of it some other way.”
Jake pointed at the man standing between him and Ethan. “This ain’t over!” The quartet faded into the forest, their scents fading to a memory.
The giant man turned to Ethan. “Poor thing. Come on inside. This will be easier out of direct moonlight.”
Ethan followed. He would no more disobey than he would stop breathing.
The man led him into a fairly normal-looking living room. “I’m guessing that this was your first change, seeing as how I can still see the blood from his bite on your neck.” Long, strong fingers probed at the wound, and Ethan tilted his neck so that the man could have better access. He knew that he should be more careful, but this man just smelled so safe, and so compelling, that Ethan would probably let him do just about anything.
That was a startling revelation.
The man looked him in the eye. “My name is Josh. I’m going to try to show you how to shift. I don’t know if you’ll be able to yet, but we’ll try. I need to know what happened, so I can tell the High Alpha. All right?” He didn’t wait, just sat down across from Ethan and closed his eyes.
Josh’s body shifted. The whole change looked excruciating; bones got longer or shorter, things moved, and Josh grew a long, bushy tail. It took less than a second, and where Josh had been sitting only seconds before, now sat a huge, beautiful wolf.
The wolf gave a little growl. Instinct again told Ethan that Josh wasn’t angry, but giving him a warning. He wanted Ethan to pay close attention. Ethan bowed his head, giving his most submissive posture, and Josh shifted back.
Josh’s shorts had fallen off during the change because the lupine anatomy wasn’t suited to wearing pants. His nudity didn’t seem to bother him, even though his thick cock was fattening up right in full view. “You try,” Josh demanded.
Ethan swallowed. He had no idea how to shift, or even if what he’d seen was real. At the same time, he knew that he could not disobey Josh. He let his body take over. His body seemed to have a good idea of what it wanted to do, at least in this bizarre fantasy that his brain had concocted, and his body was entirely on board with obeying Josh.
All of a sudden, Ethan was crouching in front of Josh on two legs instead of four, shaking and naked, but no longer furry. “This is such a bad trip,” he moaned, now that he had a mouth instead of a muzzle. He brought his hands around to hide his sudden, unexpected hard-on. What was wrong with him? Was it a side effect of the weird smells he couldn’t get rid of? The adrenaline?
Josh tilted his head to the side. “You think you’re on drugs?”
“I don’t usually use stuff like that,” Ethan blushed. He didn’t want Josh to think poorly of him. “But I don’t usually imagine people turning into wolves, either. I think they dosed me with something.”
Josh chuckled, a deep and dirty sound that sent goosebumps up Ethan’s arms. “Jake did dose you with something, in a manner of speaking. When he bit you, he transmitted a curse. Or a virus, depending on how you see it. You’re not hallucinating. How do you feel right now, little wolf?”
Ethan licked his lips. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Josh. How did he feel? “My neck is pretty sore,” he said, rubbing at the still bloody injury. “It’s hard to say. It’s hard to focus. Everything smells more intense, and I –” He blushed as he realized what he was about to say.
Josh gave him a gentle grin. “Let me guess. All of a sudden you’re hornier than you ever were when you just discovered hormones, right?” He moved Ethan’s hands away. “Something you’ll learn, little wolf, is that there’s no shame in it.”
Ethan bit his lip. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Josh smirked. “Your body is processing all of the changes. You’re welcome to stay here for the night. We can talk about the next steps in the morning.”
Ethan swallowed, and then forced himself to meet Josh’s eyes. “I can stay here, with you?” He leaned in and kissed Josh.
For a moment, everything was perfect. Josh tasted like everything Ethan had ever wanted, and more intense than he’d felt in his life. Huge hands ran up and down his bare back, mapping out his skin while Ethan cradled Josh’s face. He felt himself getting harder as he inhaled the larger man’s scent. He wasn’t the kind of guy who just grabbed onto another person and dragged them off to bed, but right now Ethan would have done anything for Josh. He moaned as their cocks brushed up against one another.
Josh drew back as though Ethan had slapped him. “You have no idea what your scent does to a guy like me.” He rose to his feet. “I can’t take advantage of you when you don’t have the first idea about what’s going on here. I’m going back to bed. You can bunk down in the spare room. Stay in there, and don’t come out until I come for you.”
Ethan hung his head and followed Josh up the stairs to a room at the back of the house. He’d misread the situation, let the white-hot need stabbing through him lead him instead of using his brain. With any luck, Josh wouldn’t hold it against him and would just buy the excuse of the drugs or the body changes.
Hopefully this whole situation would turn out to be a terrible dream, and he’d wake up in his tent back at Range Pond Campground, a couple of beers under his belt, and the scent of the campfire the only thing tickling his nose.
Josh showed Ethan into the room. “You should be comfortable in there. We can talk in the morning. Sleep now; don’t leave the room.”
––––––––
Ethan woke up to sunlight and the sound of the door creaking open. He blinked. Instead of seeing the huge, strong man who’d given him shelter last night, he found himself greeted by a shorter, dark-haired man clad in jeans and not much else. This one also smelled like wolf, but not like any of the wolves he’d smelled last night. He smelled sweet instead, and he winked at Ethan when he walked into the room. “Hey, Josh said that you might have some questions. I brought some breakfast for us.”
Ethan sat up, his face scarlet. “None of that was a dream, huh?”
“Nope.” The new wolf set a tray down on the bedside table. “My name’s Larry, by the way.”
“Ethan.” Ethan flopped back down on the bed. “Please just kill me.”
Larry frowned. “It’s not that bad. In fact, that’s part of the reason I came up here. Looks like your bite is healing up nicely.”
“So you’re a werewolf?” Ethan’s stomach turned as he looked at the plates heaped high with bacon and steak.
“Yeah. Born into the pack. Sixth generation, actually. My family mated me to Josh’s brother back when I turned eighteen. Let me guess. Once you figured out how to walk on two legs again, it was like all you could think about was sex, right?”
Ethan groaned and tried to hide his head under the pillow. “Is it tattooed on my forehead?”
“No. It’s normal. I mean anyone who sees Josh usually feels that way, but here’s the thing. There are two genders when it comes to werewolves: alphas and omegas. Alphas are the big, fighter types. Alphas are always born werewolves, and they’re built for aggression. Omegas are built – designed – for sex. We can get pregnant, give birth, and just like they get out of their head and want to fight everything that moves sometimes...”
“Omegas get horny.” Ethan looked out from under his pillow. “So some drunk turd decides to bite me in a campground, and now I’m looking at a lifetime of cold showers?”
“Well you’ll want to find a mate.” Larry grabbed a piece of bacon. “There’s reasons for that. But really, it’s the best. My guess is that the people who turned you – the alpha who turned you – planned to mate you. Our pack, we don’t turn humans without them knowing exactly what they’re getting into.” He looked away. “I’m sorry that this happened to you. But Ethan, we’ll find a mate for you.”
“I liked Josh.” He clapped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry. I know he didn’t want me. And liking how one guy smelled isn’t a basis for a relationship.” He groaned again. “This is so screwed up. I should just go.”
Larry cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t recommend going too far. Unmated omegas attract a lot of unwanted attention.” He grimaced. “I think – I haven’t spoken to Josh about this, but it’s what I suspect – that he just didn’t want to take advantage of you given the situation.”
A chill fell over Ethan, one that finally quelled the fever that had spiked in him when he’d found his human body again. “This is it, then? My life now? I’m just... going to get mated to some guy, and change into a wolf sometimes?”
Larry sighed and reached out. “It’s not a bad thing, Ethan.”
“Is being mated what I think it is?”
Larry squirmed. “It’s not like human marriage. It’s more complicated than that. Your instincts will tell you what to do. When you join the pack, it’s good. You’re part of something bigger than yourself, Ethan.” He tilted his head. “Unless you were straight before you were turned?”
Ethan shook his head. “No. I’ve got that going for me, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “Can I tell Josh thank you? I promise that I can behave myself.”
“I’m pretty sure that it’s not you he’s worried about, Ethan.” Larry led him out of the room. “It’s best to just move on.”
Ethan took one last look down the hall. He could smell Josh, even at such a distance and behind the door. “Thank you for everything,” he murmured. “I’ll never bother you again.”
It didn’t make sense that he would feel so bad about leaving. He’d met Josh for only a few minutes. Larry had probably been right. Ethan had just been jacked up on hormones and struck by Josh’s sheer beauty. He wouldn’t want anyone like Ethan.
Larry took Ethan back to a farm-like property that backed up onto a large section of woodland. The main house belonged to the High Alpha, who turned out to be Josh’s father and Larry’s father in law. Larry had a small ranch house on the property, which he shared with two small children that he proudly introduced as his.
The High Alpha’s primary omega, a woman by the name of Abigail, came out to meet with him. She told Ethan that the search for a mate was already underway. He wouldn’t have to go “unfulfilled” for long.
Ethan tried to be polite, but it wasn’t easy. Larry, at least, was sympathetic. He’d had his whole life ahead of him, and now he had nothing. He was going to be handed off to some stranger as though his own desires and needs didn’t matter. He sank into himself, interested in neither food nor drink as the days stretched on.
––––––––
Three days after Ethan’s life changed forever, Abigail and Larry came to him. Someone had gone to the Wal-Mart and gotten him a pair of gym shorts, a small kindness that he felt more deeply than he could express. “How are you feeling?” Larry asked him.
“A little less like I’m trying to think through some kind of fog,” Ethan told them, slipping into the clothes.
“That’s your body adjusting to the new hormones.” Abigail put a hand on his shoulder, and he leaned into the touch. “I’m sorry. We don’t have any turned wolves in this pack. None of us have any idea how you’re feeling right now, or how things are shaking out with you. I know it’s all very difficult.”
Ethan bit his lip. “I still miss him.”
“Your boyfriend? From before?” Larry sat beside him.
“No. I was single. We were camping to celebrate being young and single,” Ethan snorted. “When I was around that... that alpha? Is that the word? Josh? He was all I could think about. Now that we’re apart, it’s different. I can think, I can breathe, but I still miss him. I still want him.” He shook his head. “God I’m pathetic.”
Abigail put an arm around his shoulder. “You’re not pathetic. Your wolf wants who it wants. He was there for you when you needed him, and you haven’t been exposed to any other alphas. That’s kind of what we’re here for.”
Ethan smirked. “I wondered why I was suddenly getting pants.”
Larry laughed. “Most wolves don’t care about clothes. Sorry, we kind of forgot. So we’ve already mentioned that it’s not exactly safe for an unmated omega to go running around. Not safe for you, that is. Your scent does things to the alphas.”
“And it’s not healthy for you, either,” added Abigail. “You have needs. You think we haven’t seen how down you are? Some of that is probably due to the change, but you’re at an age when an omega really needs a mate.”
“So we’ve found some of the unmated alphas, and the ones who only have one or two mates.” Larry cleared his throat. “Ordinarily your parents would help you to find a mate. That’s not an option, so we’ve done what we could. I know it probably feels weird to you, and we’re not going to force anyone on you.”
Ethan shuddered. The whole idea repulsed him. He was going to be tied to someone, for the rest of his life, based on scent and a quick look. Still, the wolf inside of him knew that this was the only option. “Okay.”
“In other packs, they’d fight for you.” Abigail gave him a little smile. “Whoever won the free-for-all would have the right to mate you. Some omegas like that. That alpha would give you the strongest pups, after all.” She gave him a dreamy little smile.
“But your wolf will tell you which one is right for you.” Larry rolled his eyes. “Geez, Abigail, you couldn’t hold off on the whole ‘pup’ thing? You know that’s going to be hard for him to wrap his head around. Anyway, just follow your instincts, and you should be fine. Your wolf can tell who you’ll work best with. You need to trust it, and not just today.”
They let him clean up, have a shower, and then it was time to go and face the rest of his life.
He squirmed all the way out to the site. He had no idea where he was. Evidently he’d run far from the campsite where he’d been bitten. He guessed it didn’t matter anymore because he’d never go back. After twenty minutes they got to the parking area. They had a fifteen-minute hike to a clearing. While Ethan would have liked to be stronger and have some more dignity to this situation, he had to grab onto Larry’s shoulder as a wave of scent crashed over him.
He inhaled the forest smells, of course, but those paled in comparison to the wolf smells. The clearing was crawling with alphas. He recognized that scent now, the vaguely musky, demanding, mouth-watering scent that called out to him. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered to Larry.
“You can.” Larry supported Ethan as his footsteps faltered. “You’ll be fine. Everyone here is at least open to the idea of being your mate. Of caring for you, loving you, forever. Okay? My mate and I weeded out anyone we didn’t think was a decent alpha.” He patted Ethan’s back. “Relax. You can do this.”
The assembled alphas muttered among themselves as Abigail and Larry hustled Ethan through the crowd. Ethan tried not to feel like chum in a bucket, being waved before frenzied sharks.
A tall, handsome alpha with chestnut hair and blue eyes stood up in front of the crowd. “Hi, everyone. This is Ethan.” He gestured toward Ethan with a gentle smile. “He got attacked and turned by some strays from Bar Harbor. It was obviously traumatic, but he needs a mate sooner rather than later. You’re all here because you’re willing to be chosen by Ethan. You all know how this works. If you’re not willing to let him choose, take off. If you’re not willing for him to choose you, take off. Okay? He’s been through some crap. He’s not like the rest of us who’ve grown up with this.”
One or two alphas hesitated, and then stepped away. Ethan decided he wasn’t going to be hurt by that; they were being honest.
Larry rubbed his shoulders. “All right, Ethan. I know this is hard. Follow your wolf. It knows what you need, who you need. Close your eyes if you have to.”
Ethan took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. The scent of alpha was too strong. “Close my eyes,” he muttered. “That’s a good idea.” He slammed his eyelids shut and stepped forward.
Something inside of him directed his steps. Scent was part of it, a large part, but other drives directed him left or right and into the crowd. He could smell the excitement and then the disappointment as he slipped past alpha after alpha.
He tried to tell himself that he wasn’t chasing after anything in particular, that he wasn’t looking for Josh, and on some level that was true. Josh had rejected him, and he couldn’t hold out for someone like that. At the same time, he knew the feeling that he wanted.
After several minutes of chasing a feeling. His inner wolf cried out, Mate! The familiar scent that defined safety and comfort stood before him. His wolf directed Ethan to his knees, so Ethan obeyed. He bowed his head before he opened his eyes, showing submission.
Josh’s callused hand dropped to Ethan’s cheek. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked, in his rumbling baritone. His pupils were already blown wide with lust.
“I am. I want to be yours.” Ethan swallowed. “Alpha.”
The other alphas stepped back as Josh took Ethan’s hand and led him back through the woods, to the parking area. Need surged through Ethan as Josh loaded him into a pickup truck, buckled him, and then drove him back to the ancient white farmhouse.
Josh didn’t say anything as he carried Ethan up the stairs. There wasn’t much to say. Ethan could smell his mate’s arousal; feel Josh’s skin grow damp with sweat as he ran his hand over what felt like miles of bare skin. Ethan could feel himself getting hotter, too, and felt his shorts get sticky with slick. Larry had explained that to him, how he’d never need to buy lube again, and Ethan finally felt grateful as he sat on the edge of the bed and watched his alpha.
Josh all but tore his own clothes off. Ethan stared. He’d admired Josh before, but now he found his mouth watering. He was allowed to want Josh now. “Can I touch?” he asked.
Josh gave a little laugh. “All you want, little wolf,” he said, his voice half a growl. “Wanted this so much, as soon as I saw you.”
If he’d wanted this as soon as he saw Ethan, why had he made Ethan wait? Ethan didn’t ask, he just went with it. He could see his mate’s cock, proud and hard and red against his belly, and he licked a stripe up the underside. “I’ve wanted this for days.” He could hardly think for the need that lanced through him right now. All that he could do was wrap his lips around the flared head and take him in.
Josh let out a low moan, wrapping his fingers into Ethan’s hair and closing his eyes in pleasure. He only let Ethan have the pleasure for a few minutes, though, before he pulled Ethan off of him. “Little wolf,” he said. “Omega! As good at this as you are, we have to form the bond. I have to mark you as mine.”
Part of Ethan quailed at that. What would that involve? The rest of him didn’t care. “Anything you need, Alpha.”
Josh smirked. “On the bed. On all fours.”
Ethan scurried to obey. His own cock rose hot and heavy between his legs, and he thought the sheets might combust if he didn’t get some relief. His alpha positioned himself behind Ethan and probed at his slick, wet hole, “You need it,” Josh all but purred into his ear. “You want it bad, don’t you?”
“I want to be yours.” Ethan nodded, face scarlet. He’d never wanted someone this bad before. “I want you in me. Please, Alpha. Please.” He didn’t care about shame or pride or dignity anymore.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Ethan could hear the strain in Josh’s voice; feel the tremor in his fingers as he stretched Ethan out as quickly as he could.
“I’m ready now, Alpha. Please.”
Josh grunted, and then Ethan felt the blunt head of his alpha’s cock pressing into him. A few short thrusts later and Josh was fully seated inside Ethan.
Ethan had always liked sex, but this? This made every lover he’d had before feel like the fumbling kisses of middle school, when he’d barely begun to recognize that he liked guys. Josh had been built for Ethan, or maybe Ethan had been built for Josh. It was more than just a collection of parts that fit just right. It was scent and taste and instinct that combined to give Ethan the feeling of clouds of angels.
Then Josh moved.
Ethan cried out as Josh set an athletic pace and hauled him upright. Every nerve ending in his body was on fire, and with the way that his mate was holding him, all that he could do was take it.
Josh growled into his ear as he sank his fangs into Ethan’s neck, just as he spilled his release into Ethan’s body. At the same time, something hard swelled up near Ethan’s rim, sealing the pair together, and Ethan yelled as he spilled his own release onto the sheets.
Josh lowered them down onto the sheets, licking at the wound on Ethan’s neck. “You’re mine now,” he said, still growling. “Forever.”
Ethan relaxed into his mate’s embrace. The finality of the words should have frightened him, but his inner wolf howled with joy.