Mat looked pointedly at Tristan, “Alpha or not, if you hurt her, I will hurt you…” he growled, “And I’ll know, cause I’m going with you all.” Faith and Jake were nodding their agreement as well. I smiled at them.

“If I hurt her, I will let you.” Tristan responded, not taking his eyes off me, “Also, if it makes you feel any better, my sister kicked Vincent’s ass in a training spar earlier this morning. You can thank Aramyth for giving us the name.”

I laughed, I couldn’t help it. I doubled over, leaning against Tristan a little as I laughed, picturing Kami kicking his ass and Vincent tucking tail to go sulk, “Oh, oh my. Thank you. I needed that. I’m glad someone was able to put him in his place. He’s always been creepy, looks at me like I’m something to eat.” I shuddered a bit, “Ugh.”

“Aramyth knew what she was doing, giving Ryder his name.” He stroked my hair gently as I leaned against him.

“She used to show me images of her tearing him apart to make me feel better. She’s always looked out for me.”

“Can.. Can we see her?” Tristan asked quietly.

“Um, I can try. I’ve only shifted once. I didn’t shift until last night, the first full moon after my eighteenth birthday.” I blushed a little, suddenly a little self conscious.

“You got this Aly, you’ll do great. But we’re going to want to give her space. Help me clear the chairs.” Mat spoke up and Faith hopped up to help him, as did the others.

“Everyone along the wall, except you Tristan. Back up and give her space, but your presence may actually help her.” Jake said as he waved the others over to him.

Tristan kissed my forehead and then backed up about 10 feet or so. I moved off the table and let Aramyth guide me through shifting back at will. She came forward, taking the reins as I felt my bones crack and shift. It still took me a good 60 seconds to fully shift and it still hurt some, but it was a lot better than an hour.

I shook out my fur and sat on my haunches, looking at them all. Tristan came back over to me and ran his hands through my fur. Aramyth let out a rumbling purr in her chest. I never would have believed that wolves could purr, it was more like a growl in their chest, but we called it a purr nonetheless.

“You’re beautiful Aramyth, just like Alyce.” Tristan murmured. He stepped back a ways and shifted, letting Ryder out.

Ryder was huge too, bigger than your normal Alpha and his fur was darker than a moonless night in the woods. His eyes were a dark, dark green. Ryder rubbed against Aramyth and she nuzzled him back. He then sat beside me and the others came over to greet Aramyth.

“You’re both huge, she’s nearly as big as an Alpha male and you’re bigger than any Alpha I’ve ever seen.” Mat commented as he came over and rubbed Aramyth’s ear. She swatted him with her tail.

Faith smiled and grabbed my bag off the table, handing it to Daemon, “Y'all better hold on to this. It was her go bag for her escape tonight. Holds everything she owns that’s important to her. It also holds paperwork to prove her identity. It’s a top of the line forgery, but it’s the truth nonetheless.”

Aramyth huffed at Faith, giving her a look of disapproval. Faith narrowed her eyes at her and scowled, “Don’t you look at me in that tone of Aramyth young lady! You might need them at some point and if your originals still exist, which I highly doubt, how exactly will you get them from Silver Moon hmm?”

The room went silent, waiting for Aramyth’s reaction to being scolded by Faith. Aramyth whimpered and laid down, covering her ears with her paws. Everyone else laughed.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get away with yelling at an alpha like that.” Victor chuckled.

“If I were yelling at her as anything other than a mother, I probably wouldn’t, but she’s been the daughter I never got and always wanted since she came here.”

“We need to wrap this up and head back. Alyce, you need to start prepping in an hour and it’s going to take us half that to get back.” Mat said, glancing at his watch. We had been out here all day.

Tristan shifted back and Mat handed him a pair of shorts he'd pulled out of a cubby in the corner. As wolves we usually had clothes hidden all over for shifting purposes. Tristan slipped them on and looked at me. I used the same technique I had last night and returned to my human form, which Tristan instantly blocked from view with his own body and a growl, he had at least turned his back to me.

I rolled my eyes at him a bit and smiled. Mat reached around him, holding out a pair of leggings and a black tank top, which thankfully had a built-in bra since there were no undergarments available. I slipped the clothes on and patted Tristan’s back so he knew I was decent. I secretly appreciated his not looking at me while keeping the others from looking as well.

“Alright, let’s go. Mat you’re going to help me prep and serve tonight. I don’t trust anyone from the pack after this morning and I can’t be around Tristan all night without raising suspicion or getting in serious trouble. You on the other hand, I can. It’s normal. So you’re my personal bubble guard/waiter tonight. Thanks for volunteering.”

Mat groaned like he actually minded, but we both knew he didn’t. Faith and Jake would be expected to present with the Alpha as his Delta’s, or they would help to.

“All of you will want to keep an eye out for Jewel, Vincent, Ethan and Levi. They are all bad news. The younger wolves are dramatic and entitled little brats. Jewel is the pack slut, and well y'all know what Vincent is. Ethan and Levi do Andrew’s dirty work and absolutely cannot be trusted. I am ok with you telling Kami and Titus as little or as much as you see fit. I know you only sent them away to spare Kami the details until you knew exactly what you were dealing with.”

“I will relay the information they need to know. No sense in making Tristan go through all the details again. I will likely tell Titus everything so he is fully aware of the situation. Kami will get the basics, but will likely seek you out in the future to fill her in. Do not feel obligated to share more than you’re comfortable with. She will understand.” Daemon replied.

“Thank you.” I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as we left The Fort and made our way back to the pack house to do the final preparations for the banquet tonight. Tristan held my hand the entire way, only letting go when we were close enough that someone might see us. I think he was taking the ‘making a spectacular scene’ announcement to heart.

Our group went their separate ways as we neared the houses and pack buildings. Faith, Jake and Mat headed for their home to get ready, the Moonlight members headed for the pack manor, as did I, but I headed for the basement and they headed for the stairs. I saw Tristan and Daemon give me a curious look, to which I simply shrugged and gave a small smile before darting down the stairs.