All The Secrets

Finally Done: Tyler

God, why do these things have to be so damned long?

Doesn't matter now, just fill in this last bubble and...

FREEDOM!

Jackson howled with my mental exclamation. Shoving my note card and my pencil into my back pocket as I stood up, I had to resist the urge to skip to the front of the room. Instead, I ran a hand through my hair and pressed my knuckles against the desk.

Pop, pop, crack, pop

My joints cracked so loudly that the person sitting one desk over looked up and glared. With a smirk, I rolled my eyes. I couldn't wait for the new semester, which meant new seats. Dustin had been driving me insane all quarter. Just to drive home my point, I stretched my arms behind my head, listening to the satisfying snap of my shoulders as the tension I had been holding there for the last hour and a half was released with several loud snaps.

Dustin glared at me again, before sighing deeply and returning to his own test.

Looking around the room, I noticed that a few people were sleeping, and I held back laughter.

Well, we know which people think that break has already started, son't we, Jax?

Sure, sure, but turn in yours already! You promised me we'd go for a run after you finished this test.

You've been really antsy recently. I tell my wolf as I grab my test and begin to walk to Dr. Zachery, my research methods professor.

Can't you smell it?

Smell what?

I placed my final on her desk, rapping the wood twice. Lifting her head, she nodded, and I picked up my pace before breaking into the main part of the Ester Black Communications building. Breaking into a run, Jax began to growl at me and I stopped in my tracks.

What?

THAT! That smell!

I took a deep breath, catching whiffs of floor cleaner, body spray, and something that smelled sort of like the woods behind my house during the summer, when the wildflowers were blooming. I continued taking discreet sniffs, trying to catch more of the heady scent.

What is that?

Finally you get it. I have been catching it for a week, but it's so faint.

What IS it though?

I can't tell. Not in this body...

Jax, no.

Fine.

Where is it coming from?

I don't know. It's been driving ME crazy all week.

I know.

I ran a hand through my hair and leaned against the wall. Jackson had been acting insane all week, suddenly jumping and growling randomly. At least, to me it was random. I guess he'd been catching whatever this scent, this amazing scent, around the school.

Run?

Yeah... Let's go.

I ran to my truck, desperate to let Jax run for a while. I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep because of his anxiousness all week, and I was feeling it.

Don't forget, we have Donovan's party to go to tonight. We promised.

You promised.

Jackson.

Fine.

And I need a nap.

Wolf nap?

That's good with me. So long as I actually get some good sleep.

I won't interrupt.

Good.

I loved having Jax as my wolf. He was very agreeable, and almost never lost his temper, unlike Thomas' wolf, Beau. I thanked the moon goddess everyday for being the firstborn. Thomas and Beau wouldn't be able to lead our pack, even if he was my twin brother and we shared the same DNA.

I'm just glad that you two aren't identical anymore. I would hate to be called that hothead's name. Ugh.

Me too.

Ever since Thomas shaved his hair short, there had been no identical twin mix-ups. We were identical, but we were so different to talk to. Thomas was a joker and kind of a hothead, where I was calm and confident. Years of training with our Father, the Alpha, had done me well. I was the leader our pack would need. Thomas enjoyed his second-born status, and so did his mate, Sam.

Sam was more mature than Thomas and Beau combined, but that's what made them perfect. Everyone had suspected Thomas was gay, myself included, but since his coming out, everything's flowed surprisingly well for them. I pride my pack on being very inclusive with any wolf who finds themselves rejected by their own pack for being l***q, which was unfortunately common. Especially for an Alpha's kid. If you and your mate couldn't have an heir, biologically, then the title was generally passed on to the next child.

I do think that Dad was very happy when I brought home my first girlfriend, a she-wolf named Macy, in junior year of high school. Thomas had just come out, and Dad was beginning to sweat bullets. Travis had no interest in leading the pack, and Dad didn't want to force him, but if I was gay... It would have looked weak.

Being the largest pack on both the American continents, along with being one of the largest in the world, Dad could not afford to look weak. We received death threats daily, even if we were a benevolent pack. Our size induced fear, and we were known globally for The Rogue Trial, a ritual that my great-grandfather began after a group of Rogues attacked.

We're here! Finally! Have I ever told you how slow you drive when you're thinking? Good goddess, man.

What are you waiting for, let's go!

I jumped out of my truck, realizing that muscle memory had brought me to the place I discovered two years ago. It had been months since Jax's last run, so out of desperation, I found this stony ridge and now it's where we go for every run.

Giving into my wolf, I stripped quickly before letting the transformation take over.