Under the Hill

Renlian:   I have found myself in rather a predicament. I am face to face with a pack of wolves. Not any kind of wolves, werewolves. I know what they are but they don’t know that bit of information. The large one in the front is sniffing me up and down. I am assuming he is the alpha.   I feel an intense draw to this wolf which by my guess is a mate bond. Wolfs can mate with all sorts of supernatural creatures. I just never imagined I would be one of them. This is particularly inconvenient as I can't tell him what I really am. To him I smell like a human, I knew that much. Wolves don’t ever have human mates so this isn't going to be easy deceiving him, but running doesn’t seem to be an option.   The wolf to his right, my guess his Beta, began tugging at his tail to pull him away from me. He didn't budge, just sat down and stared at me. I continued to stand there perfectly still. Mate or not, it's best not to piss off a wolf. And I also had to make him believe that I had never seen his kind before.   The wolf to his right ran behind the trees and emerged in his human form with a pair of shorts on. My guess is they have clothes stashed all around these woods. I watched him approach me from the corner of my eye all while never breaking my attention from the Alpha in front of me.   The man approached slowly. "Don’t freak out." he said to me warily.   "Freak out, why would I do that?" I said with a hint of humor mixed with my anxiousness.   "Glad you can have a sense of humor during all this. I am Max."   "Renlian." I replied not breaking eye contact with the wolf in front of me who also didn’t break eye contact.   "That’s a pretty name. Well Renlian I don’t even know where to begin explaining what is happening right now. Uhhh."   "In front of me are giant wolves , one of which went into the forest to turn back into a person to be able to speak with me. I have read enough fiction I can guess what you are."   "Well that’s helpful. But, I suppose we need to explain why we are in front of you."   "Well, either he wants to kill me or in werewolf fiction they talk about chosen mates. Am I off the mark to guess that is what is happening here?"   "No, that is exactly what is happening."   "And for wolves it is an intense desire the moment they catch their mates scent?"   "Yes."   "So, I both am and am not in danger right now?"   "That would be the jist of it."   "If I try to step backwards right now would that be a bad idea."   "Yes."   "Then how do we get out of this stalemate?"   Max approached his alpha slowly. Three of the wolves in the back ran off. "In wolf form his wolfs personality can take over. Once we get him to shift back he will have better control. But in order to do that we need to get you out of here."   "And how do you suppose we do that?"   "The wolves that just took off are heading back to the pack house to retrieve a car. Once they get to the nearby service road I am going to tell you to run. And the wolves remaining will hold him down. Once you get in the car and drive off he should be able to regain control and shift back."   "Chances of success?"   "50%."   "I have dealt with worse odds." at that moment one of the wolves in the back signaled to him that it was time. He crouched down to shift.   "RUN!" and I bolted straight behind me. One of the wolves who was here before was now in his human form and holding a car door open for me watching behind me warily. I didn’t look back but I could hear the sounds of battle behind me.   I made it to the car and the wolf slammed the car door, jumped into the passenger seat, and then they hit the gas.   Once we were far enough down the road the 3 men in the car with me visibly relaxed. "He shifted back." the man in the passenger seat told me.   I felt my shoulders release. I hadn't realized that my whole body had been holding its breath til now.   "Its been one hell of a day." I said.   "I can imagine. Probably far more than you bargained for." I just nodded my head. "It's Ian by the way."   "Renlian."   "that’s a pretty name."   "Thank you. So what next? I imagine I will not be sleeping in my own bed tonight."   "Sorry. Yah. Your life is about to be uprooted. The wolf whose mate you are is our alpha. And an alphas mate is often targeted by other packs to get at the alpha. You will have to move into the pack house so we can keep you safe."   "Makes sense." About twenty thousand things were going through my head right now. How the hell I was going to make this work I had no idea. "Mind if I ask a few questions?"   "Shoot."   "So. You are shifted in the daylight so the myths about only turning on a full moon are false."   "Correct, though we are at our most powerful on the nights of the full moon."   "Noted. Are you vulnerable to silver."   "Haha, no. Not sure where they got that one from."   "Solid. Wolfsbane? "   "That yes. In most cases it isn't fatal unless the wolf is weak in constitution but it does greatly weaken us making us easier to kill. It also slows down our healing so recovering from a fight is more difficult."   "Good to know."   "You are handling this unusually well."   "I am good in a crisis. Adrenaline makes me exceptionally clear-headed. Once it wears off, I'll be hit with everything it numbed away."   "That's good, I think?"   "To be determined."   The rest of the drive was in silence. We soon pulled up on what looked like a small town with various homes and shops. I assumed all of this is part of the pack territory. After passing through several rows of neighborhood we pulled up on a mansion which I guessed was the pack house.   When we pulled up a tall man was standing there. He was built with solid muscle, had jet black hair and silver eyes. As soon as I saw him my insides filled with a yearning. That must be him.   When we parked Ian hoped out the car and then opened the door for me. My eyes locked with Alpha's. Being this close to him took my breath away.