Series: Shifter Ops Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Every alpha takes the time to guide the young wolves in his pack. When it’s time, he can use his alpha voice to command the wolf to shift, if necessary.
I’m not an alpha. I’ve never led a pack. But when Geo was struggling, I gave the command. Somehow I used the alpha voice. I didn’t know I could do that.
I strip off my shirt, which is too tight anyway, and kick off my boots and jeans. The question of boxers or briefs is easy when you’re a werewolf. The less clothes you wear, the better. When we’re on a mission we wear the boxers made from a material flexible enough to stay on when we shift, so we’re not caught with our dongs hanging in the wind when we shift back. It was developed by the military when we were on the shifter ops team. I guess our government thought having naked soldiers in the field would be unseemly.
I take a deep breath and call my wolf. The Change envelops me. The world contorts, shimmering as if everything around me is changing instead of my own perspective. Tingles fizz up my spine.
Shifting isn’t supposed to hurt. Sometimes I get a brief flash of feeling, like I’ve hit my funny bone the wrong way. If I’m on a mission and taken a bullet, that’s another story, but shifting can help heal wounds faster. Or slower, depending on the severity of the wound.
My early shifts were painful because I was fighting it. My brother talked me through them until I learned to relax. Shifting should be as easy as a sneeze. Human one minute, wolf the next.
I’ll tell Geo this once we’re both in human form, but now it’s time to run.
Geo’s holding back, giving me space to shake out the tingles from the Change. I push forward and rub my body along his. He staggers a little and then presses back. Wolves are affectionate, and we need touch. Geo needs to get used to the feel of being in his fur.
Once we’re done greeting each other, I point my nose up the hill and break into a run. He follows me, loping up the incline.
Behind us, the house glows with the light in the kitchen window. There’s a dark figure there, watching. Julia.
A squirrel darts in front of us, flashing its tail and disappearing over the hill. I sense Geo straining to run after it, but he doesn’t. He waits, following my lead. I bark to give him permission, and with a yip, he dashes off, giving chase.
I trot after him. We’ll run a few miles and chase as many squirrels as he wants. I’ll show him the boundaries of his territory, where his father marked the trees long ago. We’ll mark them afresh and find the biggest hill overlooking Geo’s land. I’ll teach him to howl.
The house behind us has disappeared. I unleash my limbs and race after Geo, giving into the speed and strength and beauty of being a wolf.
When we get to the top of the ridge, I give a bark and Geo stops, turning to wait for my command. I shift into human form.
“Now you,” I instruct.
Geo crouches, lowering his snout as if concentrating, but nothing happens. I wait. I need to give him time to figure this out on his own. He whines a little.
“Shift back,” I tell him. “Just remember the feeling of being in your human form and move your consciousness there.”
He whines a little more. The air around him shimmers as the Change starts to come on, but then it stops again.
“You can do it. I’ll help you if you need me to, but I want you to practice on your own. You just move your consciousness to your human form. Imagine you’re in your human form now.”
More shimmering, but still no shift.
“It’s okay. It takes a while to get the hang of it.” I try to remember how I learned. What helped me. “It’s like…you bookmark in your mind the energy signature of each shape. So right now, bookmark how it feels to be a wolf. Now shift.” I use alpha command on him again.
The Change takes over, and he’s in his young man form, crouched on the ground. “That’s it. Good job.”
He straightens and looks at me uncertainly. He’s not used to being naked in front of others the way those of us who grew up in a pack are.
“Now bookmark in your mind how it feels in this body.”
I have no idea if he understands what I’m saying. It’s a hard thing to put words to. It’s just a sensation.
“Do you remember what it felt like to be in your wolf form?”
Geo gives a single, solemn nod.
I smile. “Good. Now shift back.” I don’t use the alpha command. I let him seek it on his own.