Chapter Three

“Okay, now that that’s done,” Bridja said while rubbing her palms together, “what do you say to a shift?”

“I thought we couldn’t be outside in our wolf forms.” Frynna glanced over her shoulder and watched the hot Dom stride away. Caide had been attractive in a bad boy kind of way, like many male wolves she’d met. Killian was something else entirely. In dress slacks and a dark brown shirt, he radiated self-confidence and control. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she’d never seen a shifter of color before either. His dark mocha skin was sexy, not to mention his deep brown eyes.

“We can’t during the day. Tonight we can because the new moon’s tomorrow. But I thought we’d go up to the wolf floor, shift, and play until we can head out. Or we could walk to my cabin, but on two legs, that’s several hours. Don’t you want to shift?”

Yes, her wolf encouraged. Let’s shift now.

“Okay.” She could see Killian’s muscles ripple underneath his silk shirt and tore her gaze from him by force. “Let’s shift.”

The second floor of the dome was for the wolf shifters. Inside the door there were hooks on the wall and Bridja instantly stripped and hung her clothes on a hook. Frynna glanced around. There were several other wolves playing or running around. A few were lying on what looked like grass. But none of them were looking her way. She quickly undressed and let her body uncoil.

Shifting into her wolf form was automatic, but it felt strange to do so without her father or one of his mates standing over her. Bridja’s bark drew her attention, wagging her puffy gray and tan tail.

Yes, her wolf said joyously and they darted after their friend.

The entire area was a wolf playground. The floor was covered in dirt and grass and there were even a few trees. She went over and sniffed one, surprised it was real. Then again, since they couldn’t run to their heart’s content outside, this was the perfect replacement. Bridja nipped at her tail and she whipped around, barking a laugh and darting after her.

It had been years since she’d been able to play in her wolf form like that. Usually her father was strict about running five miles and then shifting back to her human form. No deviations allowed. The two of them ran over the mounds, played chase, and after a wonderful game of tag, lay down on one of the grassy knolls and relaxed. Frynna stretched and lay her head down on her paws. Coming to Washington had been a very good idea. She felt free.

A bark drew her attention. She turned her head and spotted a dark black male wolf holding what looked like a Frisbee in his mouth. Bridja barked back and was on her paws and racing toward the wolf in the next second. She grabbed the other end of the Frisbee and they played tug. Amused, Frynna trotted down to watch. When she was a few feet away, another male with almost the exact same coloring as the Frisbee carrying male came up with some sort of rope caught in his jaws. She grabbed the other side and a rush of canine pride flooded through her as she clamped down and dug her paws in. They’d never done this back in Nebraska.

They played with the two male wolves for a couple hours until Bridja stretched and nodded toward the door. Figuring it was time to head to Bridja’s house, Frynna followed her, aware of the two males trotting along at their sides. Bridja shifted back into her human form and began to dress, the two males doing the same. Frynna froze, unsure of what to do. Two naked males were just a few feet away.

“Don’t be a slut, Frynna. Always try to hold yourself up as a lady wolf. I know it’s going against your nature, but do try.” Her father’s words went through her head and she shook it as though to get rid of them. She wasn’t in the Nebraska Pack anymore. Bridja wasn’t looked down upon. Was she? Frynna glanced at the two males’ faces as they dressed. They were talking to each other and didn’t seem to be looking at Bridja, who was only half dressed.

Reminding herself, and her wolf, that they could come shift any time they wanted to, Frynna focused on her human side and got dressed.

“Who’s your friend?” one of the males asked.

Bridja beamed. “This is Frynna. She and I were close in the Nebraska Pack. Frynna, this is Michael and his twin brother, Zachary. They’re transplants too.”

“Yep.” Michael smiled at her as he pulled his T-shirt over his head. Thick, unruly black hair covered his eyes and he brushed it back. “We moved in a year ago. Best pack in my opinion. Better than our previous one, anyway.”

Zachary nodded. “Definitely. We came here to be near the water and asked Alpha Hunter if we could live on Pack lands while figuring things out. He and his mate, Beta Blaise, welcomed us with open arms. I don’t think we’re going to be leaving.” He paused and grinned slightly wickedly. “What other Pack encourages aligning with your wolf?”

“What other Pack knows of it?” Bridja said with a laugh.

“True enough,” Michael agreed. “Hey, we’re headed into town to get a burger. Want to come?”

Bridja turned her bright eyes to Frynna. “What do you think? Are you too tired or would you like to get some food?”

Frynna was exhausted, but she could tell her friend wanted to go and she had to admit, a burger sounded really good. “Sure. Let’s go.”

The burger joint was just off Pack lands, so while there were humans there, there were several shifters as well. “It’s strange to be so close to humans,” she whispered as they found a booth to sit at.

Michael smiled. “It’s a bit of a shock the first few times. But they don’t have the heightened sense of smell we’ve got, so all they know is we’re a bit different.”

“Especially the Pride,” Zachary piped in as he walked up with their tray of food and put it down. “Their tats set them apart.”

“I think that’s kind of cool,” Bridja said. “It tells anyone in the know who they are and is also kind of a coming of age thing. I wish we’d had something like it.”

“Not me,” Zachary said with a shake of his head. His shaggy black hair kept getting in his eyes. It didn’t seem to bother him much. “Michael and I thought it would be cool to get matching tattoos once. One touch of that needle and that was the end of that for me.”

Michael snickered. “He squealed like a pup.”

“So what did the one on Killian’s temple mean?” Frynna asked, hoping she sounded nonchalant. Bridja cast her a knowing glance and she groaned internally. Her friend was going to bug her about the feline.

“He’s a jaguar,” Zachary said. “Man, in his feline form he’s terrifying. Those jaws are made for crushing skulls.”

Shuddering a little at the concept, she listened as the other three discussed several Pack and Pride members she didn’t know. She sucked on the straw of her milkshake and munched on her burger as a wave of tiredness took over.

“Hey, looks like Frynna’s about ready to conk out,” Michael said. “Why don’t we drive you two home?”

She was only half awake during the drive, but she was conscious enough to accept a double date before she and Bridja went into her cabin. “Oh,” Bridja said, bouncing up and down. “I’ve had my eye on Zachary since the two of them moved in.”

“How can you tell them apart?” Frynna asked with a yawn as she followed her into the room she would be using.

“Zachary’s a Dom. Michael’s a sub.” Bridja said the words as though they should mean something. Too tired to ask any questions, Frynna took a shower, changed into her pajamas, and slid into bed. It felt strange to sleep without her chastity belt, but kind of nice too. She curled up to the pillow and slid into slumber.