The Second Covenant

We scented the regret and submission, the males of our pack, exposing the soft flesh of their throat, offering us their blood in return for their transgression. We could see the blood pumping under the skin, smell it, our mouths watering to taste that powerful, life giving liquid. A growl, a very happy growl rolled over our tongue and we felt them answer, felt their beast rise to our call. They were ours, we could muzzle up to that soft, vulnerable arch of skin, breathe of the pack, taste the blood, thick and sweet and…

Oh god, no, no, no, no! “Druex make it stop.” I whispered fighting the pull, closing my eyes so I wouldn’t see. But it only made it worse, the wolf needed my eyes to see and she slashed at me angrily with sharp claws, snarling at me, making me spasm with the pain. “No, don’t touch her.” I heard Druex say and I reached for him blindly. His hand slid over my skin and I burned, burned with the need to change, to open my eyes and let the wolf see what we were touching. But I refused to surrender to her. “What’s going on?” Aunt Kate was terrified.

I felt the fear in the room, smelled it like a thick, heady aroma. I wanted to turn and chase down the smell, bite into that pounding pulse, taste that fear sliding down my throat. “Please Druex, make it stop.” I whispered, trying so hard to fight her, but she slashed again and I writhed, would have dropped to my knees but Druex’s hands held me steady. The others closed around me, surrounded me with the smell of the pack. “What are you doing to her!” Peyton demanded and my wolf wanted to leap on him, tear out his throat for daring to speak to my Ulfric in that tone. “No Cherish.” Druex told me and hands pressed up under the back of my sweatshirt, grounding me with the feel of flesh on flesh.

Skin, not fur.
Human, human. Not wolf. “Give the beast to me.” Declan was at my back, was keeping me steady and in my own skin. “I told you no wolf shit. Damnit I told you!” Druex said loudly and my wolf howled in triumph. Anger, a way out. If we were angry, we needed to fight. “Do it.” Druex growled and spun me around, pulling my back to his front. Hands slid across my face and lips touched ours. But we didn’t want him, this wasn’t our mate.

We fought not to let the other touch us, struggled and clawed and kicked. “Damnit.” Druex turned me again and hauled me up on my toes, slanting his mouth over mine, kissed me hard and deep like he was trying to taste that furred shape inside me. In the next moment I let go. Let her spill up out of my mouth and into Druex. She rocketed into him and he staggered away from me.

Declan caught me before I fell and cuddled me back against him protectively as the light exploded around Druex. In seconds he went from a man, to a beautiful wolf. My wolf. “Oh shit.” I heard Peyton say and then I slid down to the floor, with Declan’s help, and the silver wolf stumbled over to me. “Sorry.” I said hoarsely and he butted me with his head.
“Oh shit.” Peyton said again and I looked over to see that the mothers were no longer in the room and my coven was backed away from us, watching with a mixture of awe and fear.

“Great.” I muttered dejectedly and pressed my face into the soft white fur of my mate. “Holy hell!” Riley said and came closer. “Cherish? Can we touch you now?” He said, kneeling close to me. I swallowed because it hurt to talk, like someone had rammed a shovel down my throat and dug out a piece of me. “She’s fine now. We keep treating her like a wolf who’s seen more than one full moon. Our beasts make hers react, not always in a safe way.” Declan said, no inflection or tone. Riley’s hand touched mine where I had it fisted in Druex’s fur. “Cherish?” I turned my face and looked at him warily. But he wasn’t afraid. He was worried. “You really have to stop with all the drama. It’s getting old.”

I smiled weakly and sniffled back the tears that had started. “You’re telling me.” I rasped. “Someone go tell mom I’m fine please?” Uncle Tyler went. Declan picked me up and put me on the couch, settling me so that Druex could rest his head in my lap. Tristan put a pillow between me and the arm of the couch so I could lean comfortably and my father put his hand on my shoulder. I smiled weakly and stroked Druex‘s silky ears. “We’re not even to the good part of the story yet.” He sighed. “No, not yet.”
“It can’t possibly get any worse that this.” Dom said with a shudder. I bit my lip and lifted my brows. “Oh yeah. It can.” Tyler came back with the moms and they all gasped over Druex. My mom had a bottle of water, and seemed to be taking this rather well. But I could smell her distress. She smiled tremulously and sat down next to me.