All Her Secrets

Finally Done - Tyler (redone)

A/N: Well, that was interesting. Let's see where this goes, shall we?

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Goddess, why do these f*****g tests have to be so long? 

    Jax asked me, clearly annoyed, and began to pace faster. I sighed and filled in another bar on my answer sheet. Flipping the page, I saw the last problem and replied,

Doesn’t matter now, just got to solve this and… 

    Taking a moment for calculations, I filled in the final bar, exclaiming,

FREEDOM!

    Jackson howled with my mental exclamation, jumping like a puppy. Containing my laughter, I shoved my note card into my back pocket. Folding my test shut and standing, I resisted 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, snap, c***k!

    My joints cracked loudly, causing my desk mate to glance up with a glare. Smirking, I rolled my eyes at him, suddenly very excited for the new semester.

New quarter means new seats, Jax.

Fina-f*****g-ly! That guy’s been driving me up the wall all semester.

Quarter.

Same thing.

    Just to drive home Dustin’s annoyance, I rolled my head and stretched my arms behind me, listening to the loud and satisfying snaps of bone. The tension I had been holding for the last several weeks drained more with each c***k. With a deep sigh and another glare, Dustin continued his test and I grabbed mine. 

    Sticking my pencil between my teeth, I jogged to the front of the room and placed my research methods final, with my answer sheet tucked inside, on Dr. Zachary’s desk. Placing my pencil behind my ear, I waited for her to look up and nod. Rapping the wood twice, I walked out the double doors and stopped suddenly as Jackson barked, jumping around.

What are you doing, trying to give me a heart attack?

Can’t you smell it?

 Smell what?

    Jackson growled, and I continued walking outside. I knew he was desperate for a run, but when he growled again, louder and deeper, it slipped through my control. I knew my eyes were glowing, so I leaned against the wall of the nearly abandoned hallway. Closing my eyes, I waited for a moment until I was certain my slate grey eyes were back.

Jax, you cannot do that! Goddess, do you want us to get in trouble?

No, but it got you to stop.

Why? Why am I stopping?

That smell! By the Goddess man, can’t you smell it?

    I took a deep breath, catching whiffs of floor disinfectant, various body sprays and perfumes, and something that was vaguely like the “meatloaf” the cafeteria serves. At the very back, so faint it almost wasn’t there, there was something that was vaguely like the woods behind the Pack House in the summer when the wildflowers were blooming. My eyes snapped open, and I continued to take discreet sniffs, aware of the humans around me, but desperate to catch more of that heady scent.

What is that? 

    I asked Jax as I joined the straggling students headed toward another hall.

Finally, you get it. I’ve been catching it for about a month, but it’s so faint.

What IS it though?

I can’t tell… Not in this body at least.

Jackson. No.

Fine...

    I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair again, trying to calm Jax down. I couldn’t allow a Change here, even if he was jumping at the bit for a run, but we were in the middle of a hallway for Goddess’ sake! Closing my eyes and walking by muscle memory, I took shallow breaths, actively trying to not continue catching the scent driving Jackson mad.

I just want to get away from these f*****g humans.

Run?

    I knew he was anxious to run again, but I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to let him run. When he went on a run, I could take a backseat and let him control our body for a while. I began to run to my truck, suddenly desperate to be free to think. The stress of finals, Alpha training, The Passage ceremony coming up too f*****g fast, the fact that I was still UnMated, and trying to keep Jackson cooped up was all suddenly too much at once.

    Climbing inside quickly, I shoved my key into the ignition and pulled my door shut at the same moment. Listening to the truck idle, I took a couple of deep breaths and waited for my hands to stop shaking. All my responsibilities were almost suffocating.

Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’re okay.

Are we? Everything’s coming up so fast, Jax. Are we ready to be Alpha? Are we really ready?

Yes, we are. Your Dad would not be passing the title over if we were not ready. We've been asking for years, so something's changed. We must be ready to be Alpha. You are ready.

    Jackson continued to speak calmly, and I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I had been dealing with mild anxiety for a while, around the beginning of high school, when Alpha training began in earnest. Another couple of deep breaths later, my hands stopped shaking and I managed to pull out of my parking space. Turning down the road that took us out of town, a reminder popped up on my phone and I groaned.

We have to go to Donovan’s party tonight…

Do we really?

We promised.

You promised.

Jackson.

Fine.

    I love having Jackson as my wolf. He was very agreeable and rarely lost his temper, unlike Thomas’ wolf, Beau. I thank Selene every day that I was the firstborn. Though we could have shared the title, like we shared DNA patterns, I knew that Thomas wouldn’t be able to lead our pack.

    Jackson barked his laugh, saying, 

I’m just glad you don’t look completely identical anymore. Goddess, he’s such a hothead.

To be honest, me too.

    Ever since Thomas had shaved his hair short, and gained a few battle scars from his fights, there hadn’t been any twin mix-ups. We were almost physically identical, but two completely different people to talk to. Thomas was a joker and a hothead, while I was calm and confident.

    Thomas was not jealous of me at all, he enjoyed his second-born status quite a lot. As did his mate, Sam, who was more mature than Thomas, Tobias, Trenton, and Taylor combined. It allowed them to live in Seattle, with some of Sam's family. 

    Sam's difference to Tommy was what made him perfect for my brother. I was very proud of my pack for being very inclusive of abandoned l***q wolves, but since he came out, everything had flowed even better than I had expected. Being an Alpha’s kid, coming out as gay could have turned south extremely fast.

It flowed well, to your knowledge.

Yeah, I guess... Dad never did tell me everything about that... I'll have to ask him.

    Being the largest pack on both American continents, along with being one of the largest in the world, our size induced fear. We received death threats, my family and I, daily. They increased in focus and amount on Thomas and Sam when they came out as being gay, but shortly afterward, a large group of Rogues decided to see if this would make us weak. 

    Those who were not killed were captured and placed through The Rogue Trial, one by one. A ritual that my grandfather began in our pack forty years ago after another group of Rogues attacked, and now we were known globally for it.

WOAH! TYLER! BRAKE!

    I snapped my attention forward and slammed my foot on the brake. Muscle memory brought me to the spot that Jackson and I discovered freshman year. Muscle memory had also forgotten that when the ravine overflowed a month ago, a large portion of the bank where I normally park had been swept away.

Okaayy… That was mildly terrifying.

Yeah…

Ready?

I.. Yeah, let’s just do this.

    Stepping out of the truck, I watched where I placed my feet as I stepped back away from the edge carefully. Mentally shaking myself in preparation, I stripped and threw my clothes into my truck and locked the doors, leaving the window down and my keys on the edge where I could reach them when I got back. Taking a last deep breath, I gave into Jax and let the transformation take over.

    “Ahh-!