Shifted

Aspen

The minute she entered the school, we could feel the change in atmosphere. She was electric, humming with a new kind of energy we had never felt. She was beautiful and, from the looks of it, strong. This girl was now the highest-ranking wolf and there was nothing we could do about it. That first day when she went off on me, she had gotten under my skin and I wasn’t sure how to get her out. My brothers were also shocked at how mad she had gotten at me and her willingness to speak her mind. Barrett loved it and Carson found her intriguing. I, on the other hand, thought she needed to learn her place. We were the Trio. The strongest fighters of our generation with the pack and highest ranking males. We deserved respect.

Tonight was the party and we couldn’t wait to relax and enjoy the night off with friends and a few beers around the fire. Our lives were filled with school, training, and patrols so that we had very little time to just be, well, teenagers. My brothers and I got back late from training and had just finished getting ready when an alert went out. Some of the pack members at the party alerted us to a threat outside of the party. We could feel the panic through the link and were on our way to the party when Caleb had sent the message to guard Elsie. The three of us tore off, shifting mid-air to guard her. When we got there, we sensed an unknown wolf, a male, and a strong one at that. He darted off into the woods and followed the chase. I could hear Elsie screaming and she was running towards us in the woods. How dumb was she! This wolf could kill her in an instance and yet she’s running after us. I told Caleb to stop and keep her back. He told us that she knew the wolf and that it wouldn’t hurt her. Carson wanted to kill the wolf. Barrett suggested we just run him off pack lands and let Beta know. They could decide what to do. We ran the wolf to the edge of our pack lands. He seemed to know and stopped and stared me down. When he stood to his fullest height, he was taller than me. He bared his teeth and stared at me with challenge in his eyes. My brothers flanked me, creating our trio and we growled in unison. Our wolves saying, “come on.” The wolf turned his back on us and ran into the night.

We headed back towards the party. We came to the edge and stayed in our wolf forms as we watched. We watched Elsie tell her friends to go on without her like nothing had just happened. She then laid down and looked up at the stars. Did this girl really have no care about this? Does she truly not understand? We shifted and changed into new clothes. We headed out of the woods and over to where Elsie lay.

Carson, Barrett, and I stood over her looking down as she gazed up at us. Immediately, she put on a mask of indifference on her face. She really didn’t care who we were. I couldn’t help but smile. Barrett finally got her to come with us and we headed towards the pack house. She pretended not to be afraid of us, but I noticed how she watched us closely and made sure to be on guard. My wolf whined inside me and I wasn’t sure what that was about. Carson shot me a look and I shrugged. Barrett held the door open and she went inside, immediately taking her shoes off. We all looked at one another but followed suit. Not sure why she cared about getting the floor dirty, but whatever.

The tension between us was thick enough to cut with a knife. She was talking loudly to try and ensure someone would hear us. “She really thinks we are going to hurt her.” Carson mind linked me. “We need to change that. She is part of our pack and we have to protect everyone.” Barrett added. “Well, she also needs to know that we need to be respected.” I interjected. “Do you smell that?” Carson asked. “What?” I asked, confused. Barrett looked at the two of us and he shrugged as well. Elsie walked by and sat on the smallest chair possible.

I watched as she took in my brothers. Carefully looking at them, inspecting their every detail. I could sense she was attracted to us but also really did not like us. When her focus turned to me, I sat up a little taller. Demanding she tell us how she knows that wolf. “Wait, she dreams about wolves?” Carson mind linked. “s**t, this isn’t good. If that wolf healed her in her dreams, that means she is blessed and that other wolf probably is too.” Barrett fretted. I sat watching her as she seemed to be telling the truth. She could tell we were talking and outwardly grew pissed off at us. As she stood and stormed out of the room, I got a whiff of a scent that shot straight to my d**k. She smelled like vanilla, cinnamon, and a warm summer's day. It was intoxicating and I knew this wasn’t good. “Holy s**t. She smells amazing. Why does she smell like that and how did I not notice it before?” Barrett and Carson said. I turned and looked at both my brothers as Elsie shut the door, “Things just got interesting.”

We headed back to the party and Megan was cleaning up the floor by the back door. As we walked right past her we said thank you and shut the door behind us. “Too bad she's an omega,” Barrett groaned, “shes beautiful.” “Didn’t you just get done saying how good Elsie smelled?” I asked. He just slapped me on the shoulder and laughed. Carson said nothing as we headed back and found an area away from the rest of the crowd. Carson stoked the fire, causing the flames to grow. Barrett handed us a couple of beers from the cooler next to our fire and we sat back taking in the party around us. I instantly found Elsie in the crowd. She was talking to Caleb and Ashlynn and didn’t notice us. Caleb took her hand and I almost jumped out of my seat. What the hell is going on with me? I didn’t even like the girl. Carson caught my gaze and frowned when he too saw Caleb’s hand on Elsie’s. “What the hell is Caleb thinking?” he mind linked the three of us. Barrett looked up, “Probably that he is nice and flirts with her.”

Emily approached and sat on my lap without me even inviting her to. Emily was hot and we had been on and off for years. I think she thinks that we will be mates, but I just don’t feel that way. She's a good time and we have fun together, but I don’t see it as anything more. She wrapped her arms around me and Carson said something funny that made me laugh. Alexa was on his lap and she was trying to get Carson to dance. Barrett was bored out of his mind and ready to go back to the pack house. I felt like someone was watching me. I scanned the party and locked eyes with Elsie. She was staring at us with such intensity I couldn’t believe it. She snapped her eyes away and stood and walked away. “Barrett go see if Elsie is alright,” I, mind linked. He looked at me before looking at Carson, who nodded in approval.

I watched as Barrett walked over and stalked her towards the coolers. She was searching for something she clearly wasn’t finding. I could see them talking while Emily desperately tried to gain my attention. She started to kiss my neck and ran her hands through my hair. Carson got up to dance with Alexa next to our fire and I tried to focus on them. Barrett sent a wave of shock through the link and everyone froze looking in his direction. Elsie was yelling loud enough for everyone to hear and I couldn’t believe that she was yelling at Barrett. “What the hell happened?” I asked through the mind link. “She’s mad that Megan brought water. She wanted water, so I had her bring water. Now she’s mad.” “What the hell, man? I don’t understand her at all,” Carson said. “Just walk away and come back. She's not worth it.” I said and sat back down. Emily was scowling at me. “What?” She refused to answer but I could feel the anger emanating from her. I took a swig of my beer hoping it would help me focus on anything but Elsie.

I watched as she left with Caleb and Ashlynn. Clearly upset and done for the night. The breeze picked up and her sweet scent filled the air and I watched as Carson and Barrett smelled it too. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I did know that it couldn’t be good.