Page 45 of Fifty & Feral

“You are sure you want this?” Jack asked.

I sat up so I could look at him. “Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what I want.”

“You can take your time.” Jack stood up, picked up his jeans off the floor, and pulled them on. “Okay, like not a lot of time, but you could think about it.”

I grinned at him. There was something about having him stand in front of me with his bare feet, in jeans with no shirt, that sent my body into overdrive. “I really can’t. We’ve got a ceremony to plan tonight. The pack wants to officially name you alpha, and then you’re going to run with your pack, and then you’re going to come home and do wicked, terrible things to me.”

“Should we practice a lot?”

“You know, it really wouldn’t be a bad idea. We should practice.”

Chapter 23

Jack

Istood next to Mason on a makeshift dais, overlooking the pack that surrounded us. I couldn’t believe how many there were in the pack. I knew the stats, and even a basic breakdown of the demographics, but seeing them all here looking at me was surreal. They all stared up at me, eyes wide and trusting. Throughout the day, I had gone through and met every single one of them, shaking their hands, trying to memorize their faces, their names, their scents. Mason assured me it would get easier, and that it would come to me naturally.

Connor, as my consort, had stood by my side the entire time, introducing himself and shaking hands with everyone. They all seemed thrilled that we were here, like I was some kind of solution to a problem. It was a hefty weight on my shoulders, but I was more than willing to take it on. It felt right. And with Connor next to me, the future was brighter than ever.

Mason addressed the crowd.

“Welcome, everyone, to the full flower moon. We’re happy that you could all be here with us today. The flower moon traditionally represents new beginnings, or growth and renewal. Spring has sprung. Flowers are abundant, growing, spreading their light and their joy. I know it has been a long time coming for us. These years without an alpha have been difficult, but we stayed together through sheer will and perseverance, and finally, the moon has answered us and provided us with Alpha Jack. I am proud and honored to present him to the pack, a brother who was lost to us but now has returned. He grew up without knowing his wolf or his wolf brethren. But he has come back to us. With him, he brings his mate Connor and his daughter Maya. Two new additions to our pack. Many of you who have met him before today recognized and understood that Jack was to be our alpha, and so today, we not only celebrate the full flower moon and the completion of Jack’s transformation, but we also name him Alpha Jack, leader of the pack. Our protector, our guide, and mentor to us all.”

For the first time in a long time, over a year at least, a sense of rightness overcame me. The absolute contentedness that spread throughout my body and settled in my soul was like a soothing balm to an ache I’d become so accustomed to. Standing on that platform with Connor by my side, my daughter smiling up at me, and the dozens of friends that I had made in the past week was pivotal. The spring breeze brushed past me, ruffling the leaves on the trees, like it was beckoning me to the forest.

Before I knew it, my wolf form was bursting through, and I was on all fours. I threw my head back and howled at the full flower moon that shone above us.

Cheers overtook the crowd, and one by one, my pack changed before me, leaving the few humans or wolves who hadn’t yet gotten their fur standing to watch. They were all smiling as well, applauding and hollering. It was a glorious occasion. I brushed myself along Connor’s thigh, and he knelt down.

“Come back to me,” he said, and he kissed my nose.

I licked his face and then let out another howl, and he laughed.

“Go on, go! Take our pack for their run. I’ll join you next time.”

And so I did. I took off toward the woods, and the whole pack followed me. Dozens of wolves chasing after me. We all ran together as one for a while, and then eventually we all began to scatter, exploring the woods, finding our own entertainment for the evening.

After what felt like hours, I returned to the clearing. Maya sat at a picnic table with some friends she had made in the pack. They seemed to be immersed in some sort of card game.

A bonfire was blazing in the center of the clearing, and there was my mate. He sat in a chair, wrapped up in a plaid blanket, his face illuminated by the firelight. He smiled when he saw me approach.

“There you are, Alpha,” he said.

I shifted back to my human form. The shifts were coming easier now. It was seamless. One moment I was a wolf on all fours, the next I was a naked, middle-aged human on all fours, and regretting it because now I had to stand up.

“I’m here,” I said.

And his eyes widened when he took in my naked body. We looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to that.

“I think we’re just going to have to get used to the nudity thing,” he said.

“Yeah, probably,” I said, though it felt weird considering my daughter was not too far away. I grabbed an extra blanket from the chair next to him and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“Is it all right with you if we stay here tonight?” I said. The energy that had invigorated me earlier in the evening had drained out of me. I was in no condition to get into a vehicle, and based on how tired my mate looked, he felt the same.

He nodded. “Mason let me know we can sleep in the same room again. Nobody else is staying here tonight. It seems most everybody ends up sleeping in their wolf form outside on these nights. Especially when there is more than just the full moon to celebrate.”

I had no desire to do that, even if changing into a wolf in my old age seemed to ease the aches and pains that had plagued me for the past decade — I still wasn’t going to sleep outside. At least not when there was a bed available and my mate was coming with me.