Chapter 7

Alexander stirred; sleep falling away from him gently as he became more and more lucid.

'No dreams.'

The import of his first thought of the day struck him fully. It had been years since dreams, more like nightmares, had not roused him at least once during the night. In his contentment, he pulled the warm body in his arms closer, the gentle murmur of its owner bringing a small smile to his lips.

As reflexive action processed in his mind, Alexander stiffened. He had never awoken with someone in his arms, never felt the comfort of another body that shared his warmth and space in the first moments of the day.

Yesterday crashed back into his consciousness. The party, the fight, Willow, wolves and his mate.

His eyes opened. In the gray light that suffused the room, heralding the coming of the dawn Alexander found his chest covered by black tousled hair.

'Jenabel.' Just thinking her name brought a smile to his lips. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of her closeness, the feel of her skin on his. How her arm curled possessively around him, the way her leg was thrown over both of his, locking him to her.

They had both, upon returning to Jenabel's home last night nearly collapsed in the bed. Jenabel in her red bra and panties, Alexander in his tight black boxer briefs.

His briefs this morning were tighter than normal as Jenabel's thigh had found its resting place atop his manhood which was now straining for release.

Alexander let out a small groan as he carefully slid from beneath Jenabel. She stirred briefly, a soft moan coming from her lips as she curled up in the warm spot that he vacated.

He stood looking down at her. Amazed that such a unique and magical woman could possibly be his. No matter how hard he tried to rationalize what he had learned about her and apparently himself the day before, Alexander could do nothing but accept that he was hers, body and soul for as long as she wished.

Alexander stepped lightly from the room, gathering up his clothes and dressing quickly down stairs. After his aborted attempt to find some time alone last night, and the new revelations that found him because of the interruption, it was important that he take what time he could to maintain his own balance with everything that had happened.

Walking slowly through the compound, he saw several other people up and around in the pre-dawn. They all nodded or gave a small wave and a smile as he passed them. Alexander found it strange to be among such a close-nit community. While it was strange it was also comforting, filling a void within him that he had long ago chose to ignore, believing it would never be filled.

"Good morning Alexander." Sophie Benton's strong but kind voice brought Alexander to a stop as he turned to find her watching him with raised eyebrows holding a steaming cup of coffee.

"Not trying to escape my daughter's clutches are you?" Her tone was playful but Alexander picked up just a hint of worry as well.

"Good morning Sophie, and no, the last thing in the world I would ever want is to escape from Jenabel. It was a very long day yesterday. I do need to change clothes and take some time to process things. Would you tell Jenabel where I am and that I'll be back around one?"

Sophie took a sip of her coffee as she listened to Alexander. She could see the powerful feelings he had for her daughter whenever he said her name. 'The universe couldn't have chosen a better mate for Jenabel.' Sophie mused to herself before putting her hand on his shoulder and answering.

"She won't be happy that you're gone when she wakes up. However, she can be a real pain in the morning, so having you not there will only mildly add to her normal angst." Sophie's genuine open smile had Alexander pulling her into a tight hug.

"She's amazing Sophie, in so many ways. I've never, I never thought, it's all just so..."

Sophie laughed and pushed him away.

"Go home, take a shower, change, and do whatever it is you need to do to finish a coherent sentence. I'll let Jenabel know you'll be back this afternoon."

Alexander smiled sheepishly at her before walking toward the company jeep.

Sophie watched as Alexander walked away. So much had changed in only a few weeks and the changes showed no signs of stopping. As Alexander's borrowed jeep pulled out of the compound Sophie walked back to her house to find Carl at his desk.

"Are you going to call Dmitri?"

Carl looked up at his wife, as always a smile coming to his lips as his eyes roved over her supple curves. His perusal of her earned him an eye roll as she watched him.

"Yes, Alexander will need to learn so much in the next thirteen days, I'm going to ask Dmitri for suggestions on what should we focus on to give him the best chance during his first moon change."

Sophie nodded her head as she walked to him. She gave him a gentle kiss before leaving him to start her own day.

Picking up the phone Carl anxiously dialed the number. It was answered on the second ring.

"Good morning Carl, I'm surprised to hear from you again so soon."

"Good morning Dmitri. Sorry to bother you but there have been some new developments regarding the young man we spoke of last week. I was hoping that you might be able to give me some help with the best way to proceed."

Dmitri Vorotaev liked Carl Benton. They had been friends for longer than either of them would care to mention. It was odd that Carl would be seeking his advice twice in just over a week.

As one of three Elder Alphas, Dmitri provided guidance when needed to over forty packs throughout the world. Of his charges, Carl was the one who had needed the least help over the years. He was a strong and wise Alpha, rarely needing anything more than a friendly ear to bend from time to time.

Dmitri walked over to his desk, sifting through the files he finally found the one Carl had forwarded to him last week.

"So something new has come up with this Alexander Dane?"

Dmitri glanced over the file again, military records, a few pictures, the DNA results. Shaking his head, he wondered what other help could be needed.

"Yes, it's about Alexander. He is Jenabel's mate. Yesterday his wolf surfaced for the first time, he almost shifted. The full moon is only 13 days away. He had no idea 'til yesterday Dmitri ... he only has a handful of days before his first moon change."

Dmitri stared at the man's picture for long moments before responding.

"The DNA tests? They are conclusive Carl, it can't be."

Carl had already anticipated this question, hell he asked himself the same thing. A quick call to the Doc had provided the likely reason why the DNA had turned up negative.

"It must have been latent Dmitri. As I told you he was an orphan, he must have been abandoned by his parents, though I have never heard of such a thing. Without being around others of his kind his wolf lay mostly dormant with none of his own kind to teach him, to bring it forth as we do with all of our young."

Dmitri was incredulous.

"An orphan Were Carl? Who in their right mind would do something so cruel? Not to mention how dangerous such a thing would be for all of our kind. If he had been discovered, changed when he was young in the middle of the orphanage, the ramifications..."

Dmitri fell silent, as the many what ifs over loaded his mind. Carl brought him back to the present problem.

"Yes Dmitri, I understand all that, but my main concern is for Alexander. What should we focus on in the next days? What will give him the best chance of surviving and finding the balance he must have during the first change?"

Dmitri calmed himself, taking a few deep breaths before answering.

"You're right Carl, I'm sorry it's just so inconceivable. But yes, Alexander's survival must be our first concern. As for the rest, that will wait until you and your pack get him safely through the change."

Dmitri caught the underlying worry in Carl's voice and quickly replayed the conversation in his head.

"Jenabel's mate, your daughter?"

"Yes Dmitri, my Jenabel. If he can't make the change, if he goes feral and we have to..."

Dmitri cut him off.

"Nonsense, anyone who could finally find their way into Jenabel's heart has it within them to do what must be done. We will help him Carl, lay your fears aside and we will do everything we can to ensure it."

Dmitri looked out the large picture window that provided a startling vista of northern Urals that rose before him. It calmed him, looking out over the vastness of the mountains helped him find his center and resolve.

"Teach him our history Carl. Don't go into great detail but hit the major points, who we are, where we came from, our origins and our laws. I'll call the other elders, we will provide all the help we can, try to give you a direction to take his training to maximize his chances. Don't worry, we'll see young Alexander through this, I'll be damned if my godchild will lose her mate before she truly has him."

Carl smiled as Dmitri's accent became thick as it often did when his ire was up.

"Thank you my old friend, I can never begin to thank you enough for..."

Dmitri once again cut Carl off.

"Enough, we both have things to do, I'll be in touch soon. And I better get an invitation."

This last Dmitri said with his normal good humor causing Carl to laugh, appreciating his friend's constant ability to make him feel better.

"Of course Dmitri, as if Sophie or Jenabel would allow such a slight." Then as an afterthought Carl mentioned the Bouchard's. "It was Jason Bouchard that brought this on Dmitri, he was being a little to ... physical with Jenabel and Alexander was having none of it. He responded to his mate being in harms way just as any of us would."

Dmitri was not surprised by this. He knew of the "tradition" that existed between the two packs, thought it foolish but as long as they were okay with it who was he to judge.

"I will mention it to Elder Connors just so he is aware of the impending problem. He may be able to head off trouble before it starts. I'll talk with you soon Carl."

Dmitri hung up the phone and stood regarding the mountains, watching as a storm moved slowly up the valley toward his home.

"An orphan; who could have, who would dare..." His words trailed off as he turned back to his desk, there were things to do, the answer to his questions about who could do such a thing would have to wait ... but not for long.

-vVv-

Sunlight warmed Jenabel's arm as she fought to retain the bliss of sleep. 'Just a few more minutes.' She was too comfortable, wrapped in the heady comfort of the warm bed, the sultry scent of amber lulling her senses in a sensuous fog. Her hand slid out, searching for the source of the alluring musk that at once gave her deep comfort and set her passions to burning.

Jenabel's hand found only the cool sheet beyond her own warm spot, the scent a lingering reminder of her mate. Eyes snapping open she quickly perused the room, finding it empty.

"Gone." The word was said with a forlorn tone as her head fell back to the pillow.

Jenabel replayed the previous day in her mind. Alexander's acceptance of the truth regarding who and what he was came surprisingly easy. Just the thought of him brought a smile to her face. He had fallen asleep quickly last night. The same was not true for Jenabel.

After spending her life knowing that somewhere out there her mate moved through his days, each one bringing him one step closer to her she had been in no hurry to let sleep take her.

Jenabel had watched him last night. The slow rise and fall of his chest as sleep washed away the trials of the day. Her fingertips gently traced the scars that bore testament to a life filled with mortal danger. She laid her head on his chest, listened to his heart beat slowly, its cadence acting as a lullaby as she slowly drifted to sleep curled around him.

Jenabel's eyes closed as she lay there, the morning sun heating her body but that heat paled in comparison to the fiery warmth brought forth in her when her thoughts strayed to how he had kissed her last night. It was passion and love and want and feral desire all rolled up into one perfect and un-nameable emotion. Jenabel's hands slid over the sheets as she licked her lips.

She had waited so long. So many times she ached for the physical contact of her mate, the one who would complete her. She longed to revel in the shared discovery of such intimacy and passion with the other half of her heart and soul.

While it was common for the unmated of her kind to find sexual release fairly freely, for Jenabel it had never been that easy. Oh she had tried; the desire to explore the depths of that release burned strong and deep for her. There had been a few attempts. A few boys and men who kindled a spark, who made her body react, but in the end they were irresolute wraiths, fumbling gropes, a few stolen kisses that left her empty.

Now she had found him, found her one true match. He would teach her, show her the heights of passion that she so yearned to explore.

Jenabel's thighs rubbed together, the silk of her panties playing softly over her delicate center. She felt the wetness pooling there. Visions of Alexander's blond hair between her legs, his soft but insistent tongue tasting her, his fingers opening her, and stretching her ran through her mind. A soft moan escaped her lips as her need for him rose, threatening to consume her as her hand slid teasingly over her abdomen. She wondered if this same touch from Alexander would burn, leaving a scorched trail on her body as he caressed her. Jenabel's fingertips had just delved beneath the waistband of her panties, intent on easing the need that clawed at her, when an incessant knocking began down stairs.

'No no no... ' Jenabel's need would have to wait even longer it seemed.

Grabbing her robe she took the stairs two at a time, intent on killing whoever was at the door.

"What!" Jenabel's voice carried as she swung the door open only to find her mother standing there with a grin on her lips.

Jenabel sighed and walked back into the house leaving the door open.

"And good morning to you too." Sophie was well accustomed to the morning Jenabel. She knew this morning her daughter would be in rare form.

"I brought you some coffee." Setting the large mug in front of her daughter as they both sat at the small kitchen table.

"Alexander will be back in a few hours. He needed a little time to himself this morning. He was up and gone before dawn."

Jenabel just glared at her mother while she took a long sip of the coffee. Sophie shook her head and smiled.

"Okay, okay, I know you're in a horrible mood." Sophie's eyes took on a wistful cast as she continued. "I'm the same way when your father is away. Waking up alone just isn't any way to start the day."

Jenabel rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips curling just a bit as the coffee began to cut through her natural morning angst.

"You should warn Alexander you know, wouldn't want him running scared the first time he wakes up with you doing your morning banshee impersonation." Sophie laughed as she said it. Jenabel's morning affliction was common knowledge at the compound. Most everyone avoided her if possible until at least an hour after she showed her head.

Jenabel shook her head at her mother and took another long drink of the coffee. She noted it was after 10am.

"Has Daddy talked to Dmitri?" Now that her earlier desires had been squelched and her brain was starting to fire on all cylinders, the pressing needs of the next handful of days came crashing down on her.

"Yes, he spoke with him this morning. Dmitri is going to contact the other elders, get their opinions, and then help your father come up with a plan. He said in the meantime the best place to start is teaching him our history, who and what we are, what the rules of our kind entail, etc."

Standing, Jenabel took her now empty cup to the sink.

"It's too bad Cross isn't here. He knows our history better than anyone."

Jenabel saw the dark cloud that crossed her mother's features.

She lifted her eyebrows questioningly.

Sophie shook her head and pulled out her cell phone. Pulling up the messages she cued the last one from Cross which he left late last night and slid the phone across the table to Jenabel.

Jenabel listened to her brother's message and could only shake her head and smile.

"Hey Mom, its Cross, looks like I'll be out of touch for about six weeks. They had an adviser drop out at the last minute from a research study up in Canada and I'm the only one that can fill in. Tell Jenabel I'm sorry I missed her party and I'll see you guys when I get back. Love you."

Jenabel closed the phone and handed it back to her mother.

"He's following his own path Mom. You can't hold it against him. Brad and I, we love being here, its home. You know how Cross is, he believes that his answers lay out in the wide world, that his mate is searching for him and it's up to him to find her."

"Yes, I know, it's just that boy..." Sophie stood and hugged Jenabel tightly. They all missed Cross but understood that he had to do as he was moved to.

Sophie released Jenabel and walked to the door.

"Come over once you're put together. I'll make you some breakfast and after you can pace a rut in my patio floor waiting for Alexander."

Sophie's laugh lingered as she closed the door behind her.

"Alexander." The word escaped Jenabel's lips as a wistful sigh. After waiting so long to find him not having him close now that he knew and accepted her weighed on Jenabel's mood as she walked up the stairs, wishing he was here, wanting him in ways she couldn't define.

-vVv-

Alexander walked slowly around the stones at the glance. It was peaceful, the sky a pure crystal blue, a soft breeze blowing in from the north. The place itself seemed filled to bursting with an unknown energy. It gave Alexander the sense of being on the deck of a large ship, the power of the engines far below providing the smallest vibration which traveled up from those dark depths to be transmitted to everyone aboard.

Seating himself on the ground beyond the circle, he found himself once again missing Jenabel.

"This won't work anymore." Alexander said to the wind.

He had always sought solitude when life became tumultuous. He found in those still, quiet places he could focus his thoughts, find the path he needed to follow. It seemed that his tried and true method of steadying his course had now lost its ability to provide that inner clarity.

"I'm not who I was yesterday. Hell I'm not who I was before the moment I found her."

Alexander's words held no sorrow, for at the core of that truth, of the fundamental changes in who and what he was, lay Jenabel. He would never lament the loss of anything that had passed before now that she was his. He couldn't get over how deeply and quickly she had become so very important to him. There had been people in his life whom he cared for, would have died for if need be. But the all consuming depth of his need for Jenabel made every other such connection he had felt in his life pale in comparison.

Alexander stood, accepting that who he was now didn't require solitude. The man he was and would be now required his mate.

With a last lingering look at the glance he truly grasped that it would be here, in two weeks, where he would possibly face his biggest trial. The knowing of it only galvanized him. He was determined not to fail, not to lose his one chance at truly belonging.

A twig breaking in the distance stilled Alexander as he made his way back to his home. Reaching out with his senses he looked for what had made the disturbance. Aside from a few squirrels and the odd bird there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. Stepping forward he sensed them too late.

Searing pain coursed through his back as sharp fangs dug deeply into his shoulder. More pain came from his leg where another beast latched onto his thigh.

Alexander fell to the ground under the onslaught. Now that the surprise had worn off his mind cleared as he focused on the attack. Both wolves had released him; they circled around him, watching him, seemingly taunting him. He tried to stand, found that he could but feigned that he could not. His left shoulder burned, the powerful jaws of the muddy brown wolf had dislocated it and his arm hung useless at his side.

As he watched the gray wolf stop in front of him the icy tendrils of its thoughts found their way into his mind.

'You should have thought twice before attacking our Beta you stupid dog, and all over some stupid bitch.'

Another voice seemingly as young as the first agreed.

'It's not a good idea to mess with the Bouchard's, now I guess you'll have to learn that lesson the hard way.'

Alexander feigned fear when his true emotion was one of pure fury.

The attack on himself, this was of no consequence, he had long experience dealing with physical pain, had already pushed it to the back of his mind and moved on from it.

'Bitch.'

The word hung in his consciousness, its many connotations whirling through his head causing his thoughts to fly just as fast and chaotic.

'How dare they? HOW DARE THEY?'

'She's MY BITCH.'

Images flashed through his mind.

Jenabel holding a child with azure blue eyes and raven black hair.

Of Jenabel on her knees moaning Alexander's name during his son's conception crashed through his mind.

And then the world, seen through the red haze of his rage stilled and everything came into focus. Jason had not wanted to harm Jenabel, he wanted Jenabel, wanted to claim her, wanted to mate with her.

His fury curled in on itself; becoming a tight ball of flaming ire that as the instant ended blossomed into righteous action.

The wolves tensed as they felt a subtle shift in their prey.

Watched as the blue eyes that a moment ago had held obvious fear clouded over to form dark ember flaked pools as the man before them blurred into action.

When the two wolves had attacked him, all of them had tumbled off the path into the dense trees. Alexander's first action was to leap up and over the gray wolf slamming his shoulder full force into the tree behind it. The speed of his movement coupled with the sickening crunch of setting his shoulder back into place stunned the two wolves. When they focused again Alexander stood before them, blood dripping from his shoulder and leg but seemingly not hampering his ability to impersonate walking vengeance.

The gray wolf moved first, darting in fast looking to take Alexander's legs out. With a deft motion Alexander side stepped, gauging correctly that the stupid fuck had come full speed never expecting him to not be there as he ran right by him and kept on going.

Alexander turned on the brown wolf, which bared his teeth and leapt high in the air, jaws aiming for Alexander's throat. Ducking quickly, the wolf sailed above him. As it did Alexander rose fast, hands up and extended. When they met the fur of the canine's soft underbelly his fingers coiled into the flesh, causing the wolf to howl as Alexander pivoted, using the wolf's own momentum to hurl it into the trees.

Spinning around Alexander's hands flashed toward the gray wolf who had turned and was now almost upon him. The animal's dank hot breath flowed over Alexander's face as he held the wolf's jaws just inches from his neck. Muscles flexed and burned, he could feel the wolf digging in its hind paws, its own muscles slowly overpowering the force of Alexander's. The wolf's eyes gleamed, sensing the battle was soon to be over, that his Beta would be avenged.

-vVv-

The plate fell from Jenabel's hand as her motion toward the sink abruptly ceased. It splintered into brilliant white shards upon smashing into the hard stone floor.

"Alexander..."

Her voice was hushed, filled with fear, something was wrong, something was terribly wrong.

Carl Benton practically ran into the kitchen where Sophie was just rising to go to her daughter.

"Where is he Jenabel, where is he?"

Carl had felt the shocking burst of fear at the same moment Jenabel had, he knew it could only be coming from one person since he couldn't track the source. Had any full pack member been in any kind of danger he would have immediately been able to pinpoint where they were. As it was he just knew someone was in great danger and that someone was Alexander.

Jenabel burst into a run before her mother could reach her. "He's between the Glance and his house on the other side of the lake, he's hurt!" Jenabel yelled over her shoulder as she ran from the house. She shifted in mid-air landing on the ground beyond her parent's patio and immediately breaking into a full run. Carl was hot on her heals.

'The feeling has changed Jenabel, he's not afraid anymore.' Her father's words in her head cut through the fear that coursed through her. She reached out; searching for the tenuous link she had with Alexander. Her father was right. The fear was gone, replaced now by rage, fury so powerful so feral that she was sure he had shifted.

'He's shifted; it's the only thing that makes sense given the strength of the emotions rolling out from him like the incessant power of a runaway freight train.'

'Calm down Jenabel, we'll be there soon. Alexander will be okay.'

-vVv-

Alexander's fingers flexed in the hot fur of the wolf's neck, its snapping jaws inched closer and closer to his face as he struggled to find the strength to end this. At the thought of needing strength Alexander felt a stirring in his mind the incessant pacing of something wanting to be released to be given control.

Alexander shuddered at the thought as he fought with the wolf. Jenabel's words came back to him about going rogue, the possibility of losing himself to the other half of his nature.

'Find the balance.'

That was the other thought, the other part of what Jenabel had said. That he had to find a way to trust and balance his nature.

'I can't shift, I don't know how.'

The gray wolf's front paws dug into Alexander's chest causing deep gouges that soon had his chest colored bright crimson as the pain bloomed large causing him to lose a little more ground.

In his minds eye he found an image of a blond wolf. Large and stately, its fur almost a golden color, it paced slowly back and forth, watching him. There was no hint of danger from the animal, the animal that seemed so familiar.

Alexander's consciousness moved closer to the wolf, noted that it was the largest wolf he had ever seen, probably double the size of the one currently trying to disembowel or behead him. The closer he got the more clarity the beast gained. A full powerful chest. His back straight and symmetrical. Thick legs flexing involuntarily as he paced slowly back and forth.

Alexander's grip tightened further on the wolfs neck, his fingers and hands finding new strength, his arms bulging with renewed force as the animals incremental motion toward his face ceased.

The blonde wolf in his vision curled its lips in a snarl, its ivory white fangs glistening in its massive jaws as it raised its head to the heavens.

The wolf in his grip yelped as the pressure from Alexander's fingers began to cut off its air supply. Opening himself briefly to Alexander, he found waves of unrepentant rage roiling off him. An instant ago this dog who dared touch his Beta had been all but beaten. Now, fear found the wolf as the constricting fingers pulled tighter at his neck.

In his head, Alexander's wolf released a riotous howl, its tone and volume deafening and at the same time empowering. It was a roar of strength, of rage, of unstoppable force and it infused Alexander with all of its attributes.

Alexander's roar echoed through the forest and across the mirror-like surface of the lake. Birds leapt to the sky away from it, the small animals of the forest hid from its tone. Were's within its range stopped in their tracks, turning as one toward the primal howl of blood lust.

The gray wolf's neck bulged against the cloying hands at its throat. It jerked around helplessly trying to free itself from the man's grasp but it was a losing battle. In the next instant the vertebrae in its neck gave up the fight against the unrelenting pressure as they were crushed by the onslaught. The gray wolf went limp in Alexander's hands, but he didn't release the now lifeless body from his grasp. Instead he rose, turning slowly and striding purposefully toward the other wolf who was slowly slouching away from the scene.

It stood still, locked by the ebony and amber eyes of the man before him, holding his pack-mate as if he weighed nothing. He was covered in blood, eyes blazing, seething with a blood need that could, it seemed, only be satiated by more blood, namely his.

Alexander's icy voice made the breath catch in the wolf's throat.

"Tell Jason or his father or whomever else has an issue with me, that I'm here, that if they come, death will find them. Jenabel is mine. Do you hear me, MINE!!!?" His declaration cut through the still air; once again all those that heard it were shocked by its power, the fury and truth contained within it.