** Final Chapter!!! **

Chapter 17 (Part 1)

Ryan and Angel walked to the forest line hand in hand. She could feel herself getting more and more nervous as they moved closer to the wood line. Ryan squeezed her hand to try and reassure her that it would be ok. When they were under the cover of the forest Ryan began to explain what she needed to do to phase.

He explained to her just to think wolf, and relax her body to allow her wolf to take it over. He also made sure to remind her that when she was ready to change back to think clothes. She repeated that part over and over to herself. She could only imagine how embarrassing it would be to have to walk back up to the house with Ryan's shirt wrapped around her body. She could hear Jack and Tony never letting her live it down, bringing back up the time when she phased back naked over and over again. No, she wasn't going to let that happen, she had to remember clothes.

Angel stared in amazement as she watched Ryan phase into his wolf. His whole body was shaking until it was just a blur, then it was replaced by a huge black wolf and his human body was gone. It was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen in her life. It made her excited to make the change herself.

She concentrated her thoughts on changing into a wolf, trying to relax her body as much as possible. She could feel her body start shaking, and her vision blurred. She felt shivers rolling throughout her body, and then her vision was lost. A few seconds later her vision came back and she could feel that she was lower to the ground. She looked down and seen the huge silver paws where her hands should be. She let out a whine of excitement when she realized that she had phased for the first time at her own will.

The big black wolf walked up and rubbed his muzzle against hers. She rubbed him back when she heard a thumping sound to the left of her. She looked over to see the piece of silver fur bouncing up and down on the ground. She stared at it turning her head from side to side.

'That is that thing? That's the same silver fur from last time I was a wolf, and when I caught it, it had bit me.' She remembered the pain in her rear last time she had clawed at the silver fur.

She heard a soft bark or maybe it was a laugh from Ryan's wolf. She looked up at him and he turned his body to the side. He started to wag his tail and pointed back at it with his nose. What is he doing she thought to herself.

'He's showing you that the silver fur you are so confused about it your tail' the voice inside of her said with a laugh.

Angel knew that if she was in her human form she would be blushing. How could she be so stupid, of course it was her tail? That's why she felt the pain when she had sunk her claws into it last time. She shook her head feeling stupid that she hadn't figured it out on her own. Ryan let out a bark, and she looked up to see him swinging his head to the side as a signal for her to follow him. She got to her feet to run towards him, she took two steps and fell on her face.

'Agh, stupid four legs,' she thought to herself as she got back up. 'It's going to take some time to get use to these.'

She walked slowly over to Ryan, who was showing his teeth. He wasn't showing them in an aggressive way, he was smiling. She knew that he was rolling over laughing on the inside at her clumsiness in her wolf form.

They walked slowly for about a mile while she got use to her new limbs, then took off into a full run. It was exhilarating to her to run as a wolf. She could run so much faster in this body. As she got to know her limbs better she found that she could change directions without even slowing down. Although she was fast, she found that Ryan was much faster.

They ran in the forest together for hours. Every now and then Ryan would spin around mid run and knock her down. They would roll around on the forest floor lightly nipping at each other. She felt so free in this body, and knew that she would be using it as often as she could. They slowed their run as they neared the edge of the forest.

Ryan stopped to run his body along her and lick at her muzzle. She licked him back then lowered her head and raised her neck to him. He gave it a light nip to acknowledge her action. She didn't even notice herself making the gesture it just came naturally to her. Something inside of her made her do it. Her wolf knew that it was her job to show the Alpha respect and allow him dominance over her.

Ryan took a step back and she watched as his body shivered and a human form where the wolf had just stood. She heard him whisper 'don't forget clothes' as her body began to shake and vision began to blur. She lost her sight for just a second then was standing in front of her mate in human form. She instantly looked down and let out a sigh of relief when she seen that she was fully clothed. Ryan smiled at her and took her by the hand as they walked back up to the house.

"Did you enjoy that?" he asked.

"It was one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced! I can't wait to do it again!" She said with excitement.

As they moved closer to the house they could hear the sound of hammering coming from the farm house.

"I guess I should go and help them" Ryan said. "I will be back home soon" he told Angel as he walked up to the farm house.

Angel spent the rest of her day wandering around the house. She tried to stay focused on cleaning but her mind kept drifting. She thought about how much had changed in her life over the last month. She had found out that she was a werewolf. She had discovered the reasons behind why she was so different, that she had longed to know the answers to for years. She had a pack now, a new family to share her life with.

The three men came into the house just as Angel finished making dinner. As they all sat down to start their meal Tony tapped his fork on the side of his glass to make a dinging noise. They all looked over at him with surprise, and wondered why he would have done that.

"I have an announcement to make" he said proudly. "I was able to contact an Alpha from a pack about 50 miles from here. He said that he would hold a bonding ceremony for you two. He will be here on Saturday." he finished with a smile. Angel jumped up from the table and ran around to give the man a hug.

"Thank you, thank you for taking care of that for us. I'm so excited!" She said as she walked back to her seat.

Ryan squeezed her hand under the table as he nodded at Tony to show his appreciation for what he had done. Angel was excited about the ceremony. She couldn't wait to be officially bonded with Ryan. She couldn't wait for them to be soul bonded together so that she could fully claim him as her mate.

She wanted to leave her mark on him to show other females that he was off limits to them. From what Ryan had explained to her the bonding ceremony was like a wedding to most humans. The soul bonding would tie them together for life. They would be even more connected than they are right now. It would allow them to be one with each other, to be able to hear each others thoughts. It was also leave a mark on her. It would mix his blood with hers, and any other man that would smell her would automatically know that she was already taken. It would be the same thing with him, and other females.

They were both worn out by the time they went to bed from their long day of running as wolfs. They fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows. When they woke up the next day Ryan went straight to work on the farm house. Tony had headed over to the mill to see if they were still looking for employees. Angel went for a morning run, and then did a little laundry before heading off for her shift at the Diner. Betty could see that she was overly happy as she skipped though the diner all day, never letting the smile fall from her face.

"I don't know what it going on with you little girl, but whatever it is I like it. I don't think I have even seen you this happy in the three years that I have known you" Betty told her while she waited for a customers order. Angel couldn't argue, she was happy. Happier than she had ever been in her life.

The next few days seemed to fly by. Before she knew it, it was Saturday. Today was the day of the bonding ceremony. The day that would bond them as mates for life. The Alpha from the other pack arrived with his beta and two other men at around noon. Ryan had shown the men around the territory, and introduced them to Angel, Jack, and Tony.

They spent the day bonding with the new Alpha and his pack mates. They were the closest pack to their own, and Ryan said that it was good to have an alliance with them if they even needed help with anything. Angel felt like the day dragged on as she waited for the ceremony.