JAREK

‘Oh, hell no, Trex. There’s no way. I don’t feel the mate pull or scent her like you’re supposed to when you are in proximity to your mate. I’m not to connect with my mate for two years. If what you are saying is true, I’ll reject her. I’m not mating with a damn dragon-wolf shifter.’

‘She is our mate, dumbass, and she’s not a dragon. Her wings are more of a bird than scaly like a dragon. If you reject her, I’ll see that you stay mateless, so you cannot rule over the pack. She’s the most exquisite being I’ve ever seen. Selene has blessed us beyond measure. We’re going to shift and hunt with her.’

Silver’s wolf is flawed, just as she is. Her fur is the tone of her natural eye color; sky-blue. She’s huge for a shifter wolf and has silver wings that span out a couple of yards in each direction. A silver crescent moon shines brightly on her forehead between her orbs, which hold all three hues-blue, silver and gold.

‘Even her wolf is an ugly freak of nature! Stand down, damn it! She’s not our mate! You better not do anything to embarrass the shit out of me! I would never accept that abomination as my mate!’

Silver’s wolf glares at me and growls, then looks beyond me as if something more interesting stands behind me. I have to duck so her wings don’t hit me in the head when she passes me and saunters over to Xillon. She whimpers, licks his cheeks and nuzzles his neck with her nose as she inhales deeply. Xillon’s stiff as a board with fear etching his features. He suddenly shifts into his massive grey wolf Xavier and they take off in a flash out of the dungeon’s exit.

‘That should be us. Come, let's go,’ Trex howls and shifts without my permission and follows Silver and Xavier.

‘Her name is Larrisa jackass,’ Trex growls and shoves me so far back in his mind I can no longer speak or see what’s going on.

XILLON 

‘Mate! Must have my mate!’ Xavier proclaims as he growls and starts pounding his way through my defenses.

I fight hard to keep Xavier from shifting. Silver is stunning, but she’s not ordinary. When has she ever been normal, though? Silver having wings and having light blue fur shouldn’t come as a surprise. Beyond that I have a year before being able to have knowledge of my mate. Her intoxicating scent of watermelon and the ozone after it rains wafts in my direction, and I can’t resist the mate bond that’s tugging at me so strongly I can barely breathe.

‘Xavier, what’s going on? What is she exactly?’

‘Her name is Larrisa. Such a wonderful name to a beautiful soul. Larissa is a wolf, you dumbass.’

‘She’s blue with wings. That crap isn’t normal.’

‘Shut the fuck up before I take you down. I'll get you thrashing around on the ground, like a fish out of water. Then I will take complete control. You’ll never see the light of day again. I have the power to do so.’

I roll my eyes, then freeze as Silver growls at Jarek and starts walking in my direction.

‘You can call her Annalise, or Larrisa from now on. She is our mate and you will treat her with respect. I’ve kept you from hurting her all this time. Starting now, you will protect her and safeguard her from Zane and Jarek. Although, I don’t think she needs your assistance anymore. Larissa carries a power unlike any other and Annalise has always been formidable on her own, even without Larrisa’s aid.’

I inhale sharply as Larrisa licks my face and takes a whiff of my neck. I lose all control as Xavier shifts and we take off with the speed of a lightning bolt, following our mate into the forest.

ANNALISE 

How dare he command me to shift, while telling me he hates me? Jarek can kiss my ass.

‘Annalise, it’s me, Larrisa, your wolf. I’ve got you. We possess the capability to do this. Let’s shift and rip his head off. That looks like a marvelous idea to me.’

‘Sounds terrific idea, yes. But my parents wouldn’t be too fond of us if we did that. I wish we could, though. He has made my life hell until now.’

My eyes burst open, and I’m pissed that the first person I see was Jarek. So much anger courses through my system that if it weren’t for my parents, I would take a bite out of him. Landing on all fours, a fire consumes me and sweat gushes from all of my pores. I can’t help but scream as an excruciating pain shoots through my body and my bones begin to crack and bend. It ripped the little clothing I had on to shreds and falls to the ground.

‘I’m! Bloody hell! Help me, I’m dying here!’ I scream at Larrisa through our mind link.

‘The first transformation into your wolf is always the hardest. I’ve got you. Stop fighting and let me take full control.’

So I do. I let go, and let Larrisa take complete control. If I hadn’t given her control, I fear it would have taken ages to shift. I remember it taking Xillon and his twin sister Yarrah up to two hours to transform into their wolves. Close to three hours for Zane, but Jarek only took an hour. There was no way I could handle going through this for hours.

Within mere moments, I stood tall and proud as my wolf, Larrisa. I seem to tower over everyone in the room, who is all looking at me with awe. Strong masculine scents of several types of trees, citrus, mint and something else I can’t quite place wafts through my senses and my heart beats out of control.

‘Our mates are here.’ Larissa says through our mind link.

‘Believe me. You don’t want any part of anyone who is present in this room. Also, we are too young to be given a mate. I’d rather pretend this isn’t happening right now. I'll turn down whoever our mate turns out to be. I’ve been attracted to all of them, especially their wolves, but I won't let myself get involved with any of them.’

I’m taking everything in when I hear Jarek and his wolf, Trex, talking about me. The more I listen in on their conversation, the more pissed off Larrisa and I become. Then Xillon and his wolf Xavier start a conversation. Not as bad as Jarek’s and Trex’s, but not great either. Then Zane and his wolf get into it and Larrisa and I do all we can to push away our anger. It seems Larrisa and I have three mates, and only one of them will have the chance to be so lucky to be mated and marked by us.

‘Those two need to be taught a lesson, but I’m famished. I must get my claws into that scrumptious human behind that human who hates us, though, before we hunt. His wolf is calling out to me and the mate bond is strong with that one. The other two humans need to be castrated. I can do that for you and we can reject them. No skin off my back. It will be painful when the rejection takes hold, but they are not worth our time.’

I chuckle within my mind. ‘You mean Jarek, my brother, and the other worthless asshole over there by my mother and father, Zane? By all means, go right ahead.’

If I am to be honest, Xillon is the best looking between the three. I’ve always wished that I could put my hands through his short, curly, dusty blond locks. He has these bright grey eyes that seem to twinkle any time he’s around me, now that he has gained his wolf, Xavier. He’s of average height for a male wolf shifter at six feet eight inches and has bulky, well sculpted muscles. His dimples when Xillon smiles really get my hormones riled up.

Before I can protest, Larrisa glides in Xillon’s direction. She sends a death glare towards Jarek and purposely tries to knock him over with the wings we supposedly have. I wish I could see them.

‘Pine and citrus. He’s the one I favor.’ Larissa says, as she licks Xillon’s face and savors the aroma of his neck.

‘Well, if I had to choose any of these assholes, it would be Xillon and his wolf, Xavier. He has always treated me nicer than the other two.’

Upon Larrisa taking in Xillon’s scent, Xavier takes over and we dash into the forest.

ZANE

‘Mate! Mine! She smells delicious. We must mate her and mark her.’

‘That right there is an abomination. I’d rather be mateless than fuck that, let alone mark it as mine.’

‘You are not worthy of such a precious wolf. You don’t deserve me either. I should leave you to rot as a human.’

‘You’re telling me it is our mate, but I don’t smell or feel a magnetic pull towards it. I’m calling that thing it because it’s not a fucking wolf. It’s like I said, a fucking abomination.’

‘Before everything is over, you’ll be graveling at her feet, begging for forgiveness.’

‘Fat chance Janus.’

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger, Xillon shifts into his wolf and he and that thing take off into the forest. Then Jarek shifted into his wolf, Trex, who followed shortly after.

“What just happened?” Luna Celestia and Cadance, the pack doctor screech simultaneously.

‘We must follow our mate.’ Janus insists.

‘That thing is not our mate. Stop trying to take over. I will not let you.’

Now, more than ever before, I know the importance of getting Silver away from here. One way or the other, I must rid this pack of her presence. As Jarek has always said, Silver will be the pack’s downfall. As future gamma, I’ll be taking over the pack’s security and military tactics. I need to protect everyone from her.

‘You will not touch her.’

‘Get out of my head, damn it. Better yet, why don’t you get the hell away from me all together? I am not dependent on you. I was stronger and healthier before you ever came along, Janus.’

‘A life without my mate is no life at all.’ Janus says and a searing pain shoots through my skull as he abandons me.

I know he’s still there somewhere. Or I would have felt anguish from the tether that connects us severing. No doubt he’ll be back when I least desire him around. Good ridden’s, for now is all I can say. At least now I can do what needs to be done, without interference from my wolf.