The Alpha’s Hidden Mate

Chapter 12 Mae

I woke up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping. I don’t think I have ever slept as soundly as I did last night. As the fog of sleep lifted from my mind, I started to piece together the details of yesterday.

I am a werewolf, I have a wolf, I have a mate, he is outrageously sexy, he is also a werewolf, he wants me to lead his pack with him.

I realized I was tucked under Liam’s head, our limbs completely intertwined. He was still sleeping, softly breathing and simultaneously holding me tight. It felt like we fit together like puzzle pieces.

Last night we had gotten ready for bed and then talked for another hour. Movies, books, music, favorite color, favorite food - I wanted to know everything about him and him me. I think I had been mid-sentence when I drifted off to sleep, unable to avoid it any longer.

Now I felt invigorated, awake, and strong. Liam started to stir and opened his eyes too look at me.

“Good morning,” he said in a gruff morning voice.

“Good morning,” I replied sitting up. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than I have in a long time,” he said, also sitting up and stretching. He was wearing a white t-shirt that showed off his biceps and chest.

Oohf.

“How about you? How did you sleep?”

“Good, great actually. I feel incredibly today. Like I could run a marathon,” I said, getting out of bed and moving my limbs around. Liam chuckled his incredibly sexy chuckle.

“Werewolves are faster, stronger and heal more quickly than humans. I think now that you have Pearl, your wolfy attributes are presenting themselves,” he said with a smile

“I want to shift,” I said, the words just tumbling out.

“You do? Are you sure? The first shift can be really painful. And you’re so new to this world I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything,” Liam said with a concerned look on his face.

I climbed back into bed and sat in front of him.

“I’m sure. If I’m going to be the Luna of this pack I need to fully embrace all parts of who I am and learn as much as possible. Plus, I think it’s only fair to Pearl since she was locked away in my mind for all those years.” Pearl gave an agreeable nod on my head.

“Ok, how about this. Let’s order up some breakfast, eat, and then we’ll go to a secluded area of the woods and you can shift there. But don’t forget we have to get you back in time for lunch with Charlotte.”

I grinned.

“Yes, that sounds great,” I said. I opened the duffle bag that Charlotte had loaned me and pulled out a pink pair of spandex shirts and a white tank top. I figured there wasn’t much point to getting all dressed up if I was going to get naked again to shift soon anyways. I went into the bathroom and quickly changed. When I stepped out, Liam was wearing a pair of jeans and no shirt.

I may have literally drooled looking at him. His arms were muscular and defined, his was chest powerful, and he had abs for days that ended in a v at his hips. I thought about running my tongue all over him.

Liam pulled on a dark blue t-shirt shirt and looked at me. I tried not to look too guilty, like I’d just been caught as a peeping Tom.

“I ordered some waffles and eggs to be brought up, I hope that’s ok,” he asked. I nodded. I didn’t trust my voice yet.

A knock at the door allowed me to regain my composure as Liam grabbed some food for us. It smelled delicious and I was amazed again at how much I was able to eat.

When we were done, Liam packed up a small backpack with a random assortment of things and we went down the same elevator we had come up in the night before.

We walked around the outside of the building and down a small path that didn’t seemed utilized very often. He lead me to an area that was slightly less dense, and took off his backpack.

“Ok, the key to shifting is to allow your wolf to take over. Don’t fight the pain of it, just allow it to pass through you. The more you fight it, the longer and more painful it will be. The more practice you have, the easier it will get. Ease your mind and allow your wolf to come forward and take over. It won’t feel natural at first but try not to fight it. I’ll go first. Since you aren’t a part of the pack yet, we won’t be able to talk to each other when we’re in wolf form. Just follow me and stay close.” Liam took off his shirt and stepped behind a bush. I could still see him but it was allowing him a little modesty

I still blushed furiously as he pulled off his pants.

He closed his eyes and I heard popping and snapping. His body began to change shape and sprout dark hair. In an instant there was a huge black wolf with glowing green eyes where Liam had been. He had a solid foot on me in height and probably 350 more pounds. I walked cautiously up to him.

“Echo?”

He bowed his head and stepped forward. I reached out my hand and touched his head. In turn be licked my face and wagged his tail. He could take down a mastodon, but he was also a puppy. A very cute murder floof.

I was eager to try now. I undressed behind the bush and tried to quiet my mind.

“Just let me do all the work, and it will be just fine,” Pearl said to me.

I felt her come forward in my mind, with me setting back. It was strange but also comfortable, like sitting in a movie theater watching myself on the big screen. The pain hit all of my joints, my skin was on fire as fur started to sprout. I tried my best to not tense my muscles and let it pass. But surprisingly it didn’t last long.

Pearl opened her eyes and the world looked a little bit sharper. She gazed at Echo, and Echo gazed back. They walked up to each other and nuzzled their noses and necks together. Pearl wasn’t quite as big as Echo, but she was impressive in her own right.

Echo lowered his front legs, tail still in the air, wagging, and let out a playful yip. Pearl responded with her own yip and took off running, getting Echo to chase after her. She dodged around trees and boulders gracefully and expertly. Pearl gave Echo a run for his money but he eventually caught her. They playfully wrestled for a while until they ran together through the forest.

It felt incredible to be in my wolf form. Running, feeling the air whipping through my fur, the power in my legs - it was like a part of my soul that I didn’t even know was missing was suddenly awakened. I felt at home.

We ran for a while until Echo lead us back to the originally area where our clothes were. I felt Pearl start to pull back as I tried to take back control. Shifting out of wolf form seemed to go much easier than shifting in.

The moment I was in human form a felt a blanket wrap around me. Liam was in basketball shorts in front of me, pulling the blanket around me to keep me warm and give me some modesty. I felt so amazing, so free, so at home; my emotions were so high that I couldn’t help but cry. Liam looked horrified.

“Mae, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He was looking me over.

“No, no, I’m sorry. I’m just so happy,” I sniffed. “I finally feel complete, like this is where I am meant to be.”

Liam pulled me into a hug. His scent and touch was so calming. I was also very aware that he was shirtless. He released me, smiling.

“That makes me so happy, Mae. That’s all I want.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out some water for me. I was parched.

“Tell Pearl that we’ll do it again soon. But we need to get back so you can have lunch with Charlotte. She will kill me if you miss it.”

I quickly got dressed and walked with Liam to the pack house. As we got close I had a thought.

“Hey Liam, we can go through the main entrance.” I knew the implications of that would be that people would inevitably see us together. But I was ready. Shifting, running, being a wolf, had given me such a sense of purpose and belonging that I didn’t want to be a secret anymore.

I also felt very secure in my feelings for Liam, and I didn’t want him to think I had any doubts. So I was ready for rumors and questions and opinions. Because I knew the truth. Liam is my mate, my true love, my other half.

Liam’s face lit up. He grabbed my hand and very confidently and proudly led me to two large double doors. Directly in front was the doors to a large banquet hall and various rooms around us. It was basically lunch time so the hall was buzzing. We were in full view, and in two heart beats the hall quieted a few decibels and I felt a few hundred eyes on us.

Liam steered us to the left to a larger elevator than we had been using and got in. Liam was grinning ear to ear.

“Secrets out,” I said to him. He leaned down and kissed me.