The Alpha's Feisty Mate

Sue (5 - Part 1)

I startled awake when voices penetrated through my sleep.

I blinked open my eyes, a big yawn leaving my mouth as I heard the voices of two females. A small girl and an adult female. Oh! Could this be them?

I moved slowly as I tested my wolf form and almost cried with happiness. Not only was I still a wolf, but whatever exhaustion I had didn’t stop me from moving. I was weak and already I could feel the withdrawal hit me from not having my pills but it didn’t stop me moving.

I heard a gasp and looked at the little girl who was pointing at me.

The adult with her stopped to stare at me while my heart did a crazy flip

What if this wasn’t them? Do I try to act like an animal and move away? Or worse, what if it was them and this was a trap? I kept my head down low as I slowly stood up; my heart hammering in my chest, my mouth dry as I tried to fight off hunger and the desire to run back into the facility to get those pills.

“Sue?” The lady said “it’s ok”

I whined, scared yet elated. I stood up fully and watched as the little girl came walking towards me

“Tracy, Wait” The older lady said

“It’s ok mum” Tracy said

She walked up to me and slowly bent down and put her arms around me, hugging me. I almost yelped in surprise until her body heat surrounded me and I took a whiff of her smell.

Pup! She was a pup!

“I’m Lorna and that’s Tracy. I really hope you are Sue or i’m going to look mighty crazy letting my ten year old daughter hug a wild wolf” Lorna said with a nervous chuckle

I whined and Tracy moved away. I turned my head and looked at Lorna when she raised a backpack up and shook it.

“Josh said you would need clothes. I have a few things in here for you. Can you shift back?” Lorna asked me

I nodded my head

“Do you know how? He said you hadn’t shifted in your form for many years…he…well, Once you change back - we can talk” Lorna said as she started to take out some clothes “I’m sorry if these are wrong, it’s a guess”

She came forward and placed the bundle in front of me before taking her daughter’s hand and turned their backs. I sniffed the air, cautious still at this good fortune and shifted my eyes around for threats even as I started to shift back to my human form. I winced in pain as my body contorted and moved, my bones reshaping as my paws became feet and my body returned to it’s normal shape. I had closed my eyes when the shift started and when I opened my eyes, I was human again.

I took a step forward and almost stumbled, my legs a little sore and cramped from sleeping on them. I grabbed the clothes and started to dress myself, pulling on fresh new knickers; black jeans that fit a little loose before putting on a bra that was a little tight and a pink top that was soft and comfortable. I quickly put on the pink socks and almost sighed at feeling the comfort and wiggled my toes in them and almost chuckling at the feel. I grabbed the trainers and put them on, glad it was the kind you pushed the flaps over like in the facility and not the kind the guards wore….because I didn’t know how to do those looppiy loop things with the string.

“I…I’m ready” I said

They both turned and looked at me and smiled. Tracy walked up to me and took my hand, pulling me forward and Lorna reached into the bag and pulled out a pack which caused my nose to twitch and my eyes water in happiness. My stomach let out a growl and I blushed, embarrassed as I put my hand onto my stomach

“I figured you’d be about ready for this. The first one is an egg mayo sandwich and the second one is roast beef, mustard sandwich. Josh told me not to give you too much rich food straight away and that you guys are kept on low carbs and almost no meat diet.” Lorna said, her eyes sad “It’s about an hour and a half walk back home. Once there, we will get you a proper breakfast|”

“They didn’t want us getting too much energy in case we attacked,” I said, opening the first sandwich from its tin wrapper and taking a big bite.

I groaned in appreciation and actually stopped walking for a second to savour the taste. Before long, the egg sandwich was gone and I was tearing at the second wrapper, my growls of pleasure loud as I took one bite after another and I almost cried out in thanks when the beef hit my stomach and I felt energy build up within.

I took the last bite of the sandwich and slowed my chewing down, trying to savour the taste. I saw Tracy hold out a bottle of water and took it gratefully, unscrewing it and drinking a good portion of it before feeling like I could enjoy the coolness of the water. I capped it again and looked at the ground in embarrassment

“I’m sorry” I whisper, mortified at my behaviour

“It’s ok” Lorna said

“I’m always hungry like that after I go out for a run” Tracy said giggling

“How did you know to trust us?” Lorna asked

“Tracy. When I smelled her…I realised she was a pup…I mean….She’s a shifter, a wolf” I whispered

Lorna nodded

“I just don’t understand how since you and Josh smell human. All Josh said was to trust him and the answers will be clear. I knew I could trust you when I smelled the pup and her goodness” I said with a frown

Lorna indicated that we start walking, so I followed her and Tracy as Lorna started to speak, explaining her situation

“Josh’s dad was bitten by a wolf. Now we know it was a shifter but at that time he didn’t know. Josh was born but there was nothing to say he was a shifter. Josh and I met at work. We used to work at an accountant’s. Josh was training in accountancy and I worked in admin. We started dating when we were in our mid twenties” Lorna explained “After five years of dating and on my thirtieth birthday, Josh proposed to me”

I looked at her in confusion and her eyes widened

“I forgot. You were taken to the facility so young, there’s much you don’t know. Erm..proposal means he asked me to marry him….erm..to be his mate” Lorna explained

“Oh!” I said, surprised

“Human’s can’t sniff out their mates like shifters can. So when Josh felt he knew - he asked me to marry him and I said yes. A year into our marriage, the company we worked for started to not do well and in the end we moved to Edinburgh - That’s in Scotland. Josh got a job working for a big company as an accountant and I continued working in admin which is where someone does paper work and does whatever the boss needs doing. An accountant is someone who works with numbers” Lorna said

“But Josh doesn’t do that “I said

“No, not now he doesn’t. Let me explain” Lorna agreed “We were working with this new company for a while when Josh was called into the office one day and got asked to do a new type of accounting. It turned out that there was a new facility in the Isle of Mull opening and needed security cleared people for a top secret project. The money was great and if someone passed all the clearance, the benefits of the job was even better. But it would mean a move. Isle of Mull is a island that you have to use a boat to go to the mainland

to”

“Oh” I said, nodding

Some of what she spoke about was familiar. Chris would often taunt us that we wouldn’t get far if we ever escaped because of Mull. I never understood what he meant

“Anyways” Lorna continued “The day Josh was cleared for the role is when he spoke to me about it but I wasn’t keen, something didn’t feel right. Not only would we be moving so far, but we weren’t allowed to discuss the job. Josh had hope for the money because it was good. For two days we spoke about it and I was ready to put my foot down and say no when”

Lorna cut off, biting her bottom lip. She looked at her daughter who was walking ahead of us, singing a song I had never heard.

Clearing her throat, Lorna spoke quietly

“I found out I was pregnant” Lorna explained “I panicked. I thought about the money for this job and decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. So we said yes. Within two weeks, we were all packed and moved. Back then, there were locals still living here - people who had lived here for generations. We got given a small apartment not far from the main area where the boat would come in and at first Josh and I were happy. The money was good, we didn’t have a lot of bills and I was pregnant. until”

“Until what?” I asked when she cut off

“Until Josh started working” Lorna said sadly “ For the first three months everything was as it should be. He worked with numbers and I worked with the local pub because the facility didn’t have anything I could do and I didn’t mind because the pub hours were great and if I got too tired, I could sit down. The people on the island were wonderful. Some still are. We made friends with some of the locals while other people were closed off. It was only after, I understood why”

“What happened?” I asked her

“I was four months pregnant when I decided to go visit my family in London. That’s where I am originally from” Lorna explained

“Where’s that?” I asked “It sounds familiar”

“It’s a long way away,” Lorna said, waving her hand. “I went home for three weeks and when I came back, Josh was different. He used to flirt and smile a lot but when I came back, He was quiet. He barely slept and worked a lot more hours. My mum and dad started living in another country far from the UK, a place called spain. When I was a few days away from giving birth, my mum came to visit me. In this time, Josh had changed completely. He started keeping secrets, he was always working and he was always stressed. When I told him we could leave the island and go back to the mainland, he would get agitated and told me not to speak about it”

“Why?” I asked .

“I didn’t know then. My mum came to visit and she was here when Tracy was born. Josh got time off to be with me and I was so happy. I had my husband, my baby and he was being paid for it. I got gifts and baby baskets from them with notes of welcoming Tracy into the world but what I didn’t know then was that they were threats” Lorna smiled sadly

Suddenly she stopped and called out to Tracy who skipped back to us. I looked around with surprise as I saw that while there was still forestry around it, it wasn't as dense. She indicated to a small flat rock and sat down as she pulled out more food from the bag and passed it around.

“We are not far from home.” Lorna said “We will eat this and then I will help you change”

“Change?” I asked, confused

“Yes. Sue, we need to make sure you get home and off this island safely. No one can know you are here or we will all be in danger” Lorna said

I nodded, taking another sandwich and biting into it. My mouth watered when the meat hit my taste buds with crunchy salad and some type of sauce. I devoured it quickly and almost laughed in happiness when she gave some crisps - ones that Josh had also given me in the facility when he snuck them in. I took the bag happily and smiled as both Tracy and I polished of the food and snacks. Beforehand, she had given me water but this time she held out a can I had seen some guards drink

“It’s fizzy. It’s pretty bad for you if you drink too much and for you especially as it will be your first time but it is full of caffeine and sugars. It will hopefully help your energy level” Lorna explained

“Take it!” Tracy giggled “Mum never lets me have it! So if she’s giving it to you, it’s special”

“Oh really?” Lorna said

She grabbed Tracy and pretended to wrestle with her. I saw Lorna tickle and pretend to bite her daughter as they played, her childish laughter surrounding us as I watched. My eyes watered as I remember my own parents and I sniffed, drawing their attention

“Do you know where I come from?” I asked her

Immediately Lorna stopped playing and became sombre. She nodded at me before hugging her daughter and telling her to play within

sight and not go too far.

“Tracy was almost one when Josh and I had a major fight and I had packed my bags to leave the island. I couldn’t handle the secrecy anymore. The island had changed too. His facility had started off on a small three level building but they wanted to expand. They had bought out many of the locals and those people started to leave the island. People who I knew and cared for. That night Josh came home slightly early and I was all ready to go with Tracy when he found our bags packed and he broke down. He finally told me what was going on” Lorna said, shaking her head

“What was it?” I asked, curious

“That this wasn’t just a normal facility and they were bad people. That they were a group of people who were experimenting on animals and that they were being given funding from someone big and Josh was someone who they used to make sure all their accounts matched. He told me he was being monitored at work and when he used the office phone. He wasn’t sure if anyone had bugged the flat but hoped they hadn’t. Then he told me about you and some of the others” Lorna whispered at the end

I took a deep breath. My heart hammering inside of me

“He told me how a few days before, he found you and two other children that came to the facility and were staying there. When he asked why, he was told not to question anything. But he worried because you all were so young but there were no parents. He told me he was trying to figure out what was going on and to help but didn’t want to endanger us. That night I stayed but Josh and I tried to make plans in the shower with whispers on how to leave” Lorna said. She took a deep breath and then continued “After a week, I planned to still leave but only so I could go to Manchester, it is where Josh’s dad lived. His mum had passed away when Josh had been sixteen and I knew I could get his dad to help us. We were scared our phone calls were being bugged too”

“Oh no” I said, my eyes wide when I took my first sip of the fizzy drink. I looked down, the taste dancing on my tongue and bubbles tickling my nose I coughed a little, my heart pumping in an excited rhythm.

Lorna laughed as she looked at me

“It’s good isn’t it?” She asked me “Take it easy, you don’t want to crash”

I looked at her, horrified that it could do that to me. I looked at the drink cautiously as Lorna chuckled again

“I mean, too much sugar too fast can make you burn out. As a pup, Tracy would have crazy energy but then use it all up and sleep for hours” Lorna laughingly said

“Oh, ok” I grinned and took a small sip, enjoying the taste “How did you know about Tracy?”

“I went to visit Josh’s dad. The day after I arrived, I was sitting down to talk to him when Tracy did something” Lorna said

“She shifted” I said at the same time as Lorna

“Yes” Lorna said “I screamed so hard and loud. But Paul, Josh’s dad just got up and tried to calm me down. Tracy was this furball trying to find her feet and I was hysterical. It took him almost half an hour to calm down at which point, poor Tracy - she was whining, trying to find herself. Paul spoke quietly to Tracy and helped calm her down. All that time, I kept crying and thinking I was in a dream and what the hell I would tell Josh. Finally, Paul got Tracy to calm down and shift back to her human form. That is when I discovered the truth. That Paul’s own father had been bitten. Paul explained that for some reason, both he and Josh had skipped the change for some reason and that is why he never spoke to us about it”

“I bet that was a shock” I said, laughingly as I looked at Tracy who was chasing squirrels and speaking to them

“Shock isn’t even the word. I couldn’t believe it. Werewolves. Shifters…it all seemed surreal. I mean, that is stuff from movies. Not real life!” Lorna said in a high pitch “Paul and I realised I couldn’t stay on the island any more. Especially when he worried about this facility. He told me of a pack he knew not far from where he lived and that he would ask for help because the alpha of that pack was someone his own father knew and kept in touch with for this very reason if something like this was to happen” Lorna sighed “But all our plans changed”

“Why?” I asked her, feeling sad

“Paul and I had a plan, that we would have me move back with him saying that Paul needed family around him for medical purposes.

Once I had Tracy here, I would say that Paul needed more support and that Josh should come here and move too. But it wasn’t that simple. Josh phoned us two days later to tell me that a whole group of people who lived right at the edge of the island in the opposite direction - They were murdered” Lorna said

I gasped “No!”

“Yes. Josh said he suspected it was the facility but not sure why they would do that. He told me he was by the dock where the boat came in because he was sure that we were being bugged at our flat and that it would be too dangerous if we suddenly left but if I didn’t come back, that they may send someone to investigate. Paul had a feeling that the facility may have known about shifters and guessed they were experimenting on them. He didn’t speak to that alpha about Tracy because he didn’t want to have them exposed. Paul and I decided I would go back and work in stages to try coming back to him and Tracy and I went home two days later with Paul explaining to Tracy she couldn’t just shift in front of people. He spent the last two days coaching her with knowledge he had from books, internet and from his own thoughts” Lorna continued “ When we got back to the island, Josh had a new number and gave me a new mobile phone, telling me to keep the other one active too. We would often go for walks when he was home so we could talk privately and some of the people noticed. We said we needed a bigger space and that Tracy was feeling cooped up in a flat”

I nodded, listening to her explain everything

“I told him about Tracy and what Paul said and he couldn’t believe it. Josh was shocked and thought I was nuts until you did the same” Lorna smiled at me

“I did?” I asked in surprise

“My trip to Paul had been gone three months and Josh still didn’t believe me. Then one night, he came back home early. Tracy and I were napping and he came back, woke me up and told me we were going to go for a long walk. I was so frightened. We got into our car and Josh drove us around here, not too far away. We got Tracy and walked deep into this area. At that time, there had been a couple of other houses but very far apart. We kept walking and he told me not to say a word until we were further away. Then he turned around and very calmly asked me to repeat what Tracy did. So I told him again. Then he he told me about you….that because Josh had proved himself trustworthy and reliable, when a couple of key people were off; he was asked to cover and monitor you and you were being strapped down, in pain and crying” Lorna said in choked voice

I sniffed, remembering my painful childhood. I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard my younger self cry out in pain, calling for my parents. For my pack.

“H…He said that when one of the doctors broke your wrist, you immediately shifted to fix it” Lorna sniffed “Poor josh was so shocked and that’s when he was told by the director that shifters existed but not openly. That they had been working with a rogue who wanted to harness the power of an alpha and that is why they worked with this human. But the thing was Sue, this human - he wasn’t fully human. His own father was bitten by a shifter but he could shift his hands into claws and his eyes could change but that was it. The doctor himself had extra strength but he couldn’t shift….but he wanted to desperately” Lorna sobbed quietly “and so, he kidnapped children's he suspected were shifters. And they admitted to Josh that the people who lived on the other side of the island were a wolf pack. A quiet, peaceful pack that they had approached to observe”

“Oh no” I whispered “please…don’t say-”

“Yes” Lorna nodded “The facility attacked the pack, killing most of them. The ones they didn’t, they took as prisoners to experiment on. They were working with some big, powerful people because no-one on the island questioned the slaughter because they made it look like a fire broke out at a BBQ party that escalated. Josh knew we were in trouble. The director made a threat to Josh and he acted like he agreed with the experiments but he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. He knew he would be looked at. They told Josh that we couldn’t leave the island and Josh told them the same story Paul and I had come up with. When Josh told me, I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to leave immediately but I couldn’t risk them finding out about Tracy or harming us; so we were going to be smart about it. Bind our time and leave to get help. But every night, Josh saw you. No other shifter, just you. And you affected him so much”

I nodded, tears running down my eyes as I sniffed back my memories. Memories of his kindness, his loving nature.

“He would talk about you all the time. How you were so sweet, how you were kept weak by only being given water and bread and veg without much meat and that they would shove pills down you to keep you compliant” Lorna sighed again

“Why didn’t you leave?” I asked her “you had that plan and with Paul-”

“They murdered Paul” Lorna cut in quietly