As the Moon Teaches

Attempted Transformations

The next morning, Loren woke to the smell of bacon. He was surprised, since he usually cooked breakfast on the weekends. Heading downstairs, he was met with the funniest sight he had seen in a while.

Gregory was standing at the stove in jeans and an apron. His shirt was discarded on the island countertop, splattered in grease. The shoulder length blond hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, obviously not brushed yet.

Smiling, Loren moved to sit on the island counter, watching as the other young man fumbled through making eggs and bacon. He stared, trying to figure out the Alpha, who seemed ready to apologize pretty regularly.

“I’ll make the toast. I want something edible this morning.” Loren grinned, which only turned into laughter at the tired gaze turned on him.

Gregory mumbled something, but then continued with cooking breakfast. He looked sluggish, like maybe he had not slept any the night before. He soon plated the food, taking one plate at a time to the dining table. As he returned for the other plate, he grabbed utensils.

Loren placed bread in the toaster, pushing the timer down before going to get butter. He took the butter to the table, body brushing past Gregory’s. A shiver went down his spine as he passed his mate. That was a weird sensation and he was glad he did not drop the butter.

Once both finished bringing things to the table, they sat at the dining table and stared at their plates. Neither was certain what to say or do. After a short moment, Loren picked up his fork and a piece of toast. He placed some of the fried egg on the toast and began to eat.

As if waiting for Loren to give the cue, Gregory followed suit and started eating. It was an uneasy quiet breakfast, very different from the past week. Gregory sighed and poked at his egg with his fork.

“I’m sorry, Pelian took over last night.” The young Alpha spoke clearly, even though he was tired.

“It’s… It’s alright. You stopped it.” Loren paused in eating to watch the other teen.

Gregory looked surprised, like he was not prepared for Loren to be so understanding so quickly. He had expected Loren to be upset, or even fear what had happened last night. Gregory nearly lost control of his wolf, and it could have ended with Loren hurt badly.

Loren watched as different emotions played on Gregory’s face. He was unsure what was going on in the Alpha’s head, but Loren was sure that he needed the forgiveness. Eating a piece of bacon, he wondered what he could do to show that he was okay.

After breakfast, Loren did the cleanup. Gregory looked like he might fall asleep at the table. Loren stopped beside Gregory and sighed a little noise of discontent. Placing his hand on the table, he leaned over towards Gregory and stared at his face.

“Okay, I need to work on transforming.” Loren huffed. “Get up, you’re helping.”

The Alpha looked surprised at the demand for help. He never expected Loren to want help with something so important, especially from him since they were not close.

“Carleigh was supposed to help, but she’s with her mate. That means you have to help me.”

Loren walked out of the dining room, expecting Gregory to just follow. Heading to the living room, Loren made sure all the curtains were closed so that nobody could peak in. The living room had the most room for them to move about.

Once Gregory joined him in the living room, Loren stripped off his pajama pants and tee-shirt. Nudity was a common thing for the werewolves, as clothes were very restrictive for their bodies when transforming. It was just easier on them to remove their clothes.

Loren closed his eyes and tried to channel Zeala to his physical form. He could feel his muscles tensing, his body quivering as it tried to accommodate the power of his wolf. He felt like his teeth and nails were elongating, his skin itching as hair tried to grow where it normally was not.

“Focus. Let Zeala take over.” Gregory said in a calm and quiet tone, not wanting to distract but guide Loren.

After several moments, Loren had to stop. He was exerting too much energy, trying to get the transformation to happen when it was not going to at the moment. He felt Zeala trying to connect with him, but his body just was not ready for that power.

Settling on the couch, Loren took a breather. He remembered that it took Carleigh weeks of trying to get the hang of transforming. He looked at Gregory and huffed, a little more than frustrated that the other young man could transform so easily.

“You’re only a couple weeks older than me, right? How is it so easy for you to transform?”

“I’m an Alpha. Pelian and I have a more innate connection.” Gregory sat next to Loren, but with plenty of space between them. “It is also why Pelian can push me after you easier.”

Loren made a little nervous ‘oh’ face as he realized the pros and cons of their situations. It was easier for Loren to resist Gregory’s advances because he was not fully connected to Zeala. He wondered if he would have a harder time ignoring Zeala once he could transform easily.

“Let’s keep trying.” Gregory pushed Loren to continue practicing.

Their session lasted until lunch time, when Loren was nearly fatigued to the point of needing a nap. He was more than ready to have lunch when Gregory disappeared to the kitchen. Loren took the time to dress himself before heading to the dining room.

Heading to sit at the table, Loren sniffed the air. Gregory was reheating two bowls of the stew that they had for dinner several nights before. A growl escaped Loren’s stomach as he enjoyed the scent lingering. He had used more energy than he realized in trying to transform into his wolf form.

Gregory brought over a bowl of stew and a bottle of water for Loren, before returning to the kitchen to wait near the microwave for his own bowl of stew. He watched Loren as the younger teen dug in and chased potatoes around his bowl.

Once his bowl was warmed, Gregory got himself a bottle of water and headed over to the dining table. He started slowly, watching Loren as the young wolf devoured the stew fairly quickly. At least Loren was getting a chance to learn to connect and control his transformation. Gregory felt better, now that it seemed Loren forgave him for the incident last night.

“What do you want to do the rest of the day?” Loren asked as he finished his bowl of stew.

“I have work I need to do.” Gregory took a swig of water. “Alpha Andersen would like to step down soon.”

Loren nodded. “Would that mean you would be away from home quite a bit?”

Gregory paused in eating his stew. Looking up at Loren, he wondered if there was something more than just curiosity. Setting his spoon down in his bowl, Gregory shrugged his shoulders. There really was not a good answer.

“I’m not sure, it depends on how things go… but yeah, probably to start.” He looked down at his bowl. “I have to show my strength as the new Alpha of Darkstone.”

“I guess that makes sense. Well, hopefully things go smooth.” Loren gave a small smile.

Loren knew it would be tough for Gregory. Alphas were usually a little older before they took over the pack. Usually they got to work behind the scenes with the prior Alpha to get a handle on things before just outright taking over. It did not seem that Gregory was going to get that little benefit.

“You do realize you’re supposed to be my mate, my fellow Alpha.” Gregory reminded Loren before going about finishing his stew.

Loren froze and stared at Gregory. That meant that he would be nearly as responsible for the Darkstone Pack as Gregory. A bit of panic rose in the young man, not certain if he could handle any part of what came with being the mate of the man across the table from him.