Brand of the Pack - Tera Shanley Page 0,36

and tears of pain streaked down her cheeks. His own brand still burned as if he were lying on a hot stove. She wasn’t nearly through it. The recurrent pit pat, pit pat of her blood hit the grass below and the brand sizzled on, showing no sign of abating.

Instead of holding Morgan’s hand, Marissa hugged her with her free arm while Grey drew up beside her and prepared to make the first mark. Morgan stroked her hair and held her tight as Grey worked. The girl cried quietly when he put the poultice on her arm. She was tough as nails from everything she’d been through, and talked beyond her age with the maturity of experience, but she was still a fourteen-year-old girl. That kind of pain was agony. The second he took the poultice off her arm, he let the tingles of Change rip through him.

His new pack knelt down, arms relaxed at their sides as he cleaned first Morgan’s wound, and then Marissa’s. When he was finished, he stood back and howled long and low, rising steadily. A few howls from the neighboring property rang out, answering him. Morgan and Marissa ambled into the woods, away from the bright house lights, and began their own Changes.

* * * *

The crickets were a sweet serenade as Morgan stretched every vertebra in her spine to ward off the last of the fuzziness that always came with a Change. Her ears twitched with the humming that seemed to emanate from her chest. It connected her to the rest of the pack. What a curious side effect. She’d run tens of times with Dean’s wolves and had to rely solely on her sight and smell to find them in the dark. She walked east and the vibration eased as she approached a small clearing.

Grey sat completely still, watching her with intense golden eyes. They had only Changed together when Alexis had Turned her, and she remembered almost nothing about those horrible weeks. She cocked her head at a small whimpering sound that came from the brush. Marissa must have been recovering on the edge of the woods. A cloud shifted, and moonlight lit the small meadow. Grey approached slowly, and she stood her ground against the crackle of his power that seemed to charge the air between them. He paused and she licked under his chin, hunching her shoulders until she was under him. He rubbed against her, stopped to smell under her tail, then pressed his huge body along her other side to nuzzle her face. His power, once so overwhelming, became a warm blanket.

Grey’s girth was surprising. They’d spent so little time together in their wolf skin and she’d never stood right next to him. She was a smaller werewolf, more petite than even Marissa and Rachel, but still more dominant than the other two females. Size didn’t necessarily have to do with pecking order, but Grey’s stature seemed to defy that. He had a tiny waist over muscular hindquarters, but his chest was deep and his shoulders broad. Even his neck muscles were thick. He was as dark as the night and her white coat glowed when she stood next to him. She licked his face in approval of Wolf. She placed her paw inside of a print he’d made in the dirt. Hers was about half his size, and she huffed a wolfish laugh at an image of a Pomeranian and a Great Dane. Grey looked at her in surprise and made a croaking sound in his throat. Laughter.

Marissa came out of the brush on her belly and Morgan trotted over to meet her, also low to the ground. She lowered her tail but wagged it vigorously back and forth. Marissa knew her place and didn’t have to worry about being reminded by Morgan. The younger wolf rolled over, submissive, and Morgan sniffed her all over, familiarizing herself with her scent. Marissa had a beautiful, light cream and brown coloring to her fur, her eyes light gray.

The new ebony alpha walked slowly over. Marissa froze on her back, not daring to move as he sniffed at her. He turned, and Marissa tentatively stood. Suddenly, he spun around and lowered his big, barrel-shaped chest to the ground. His back end was up in the air and his tail wagged lazily. His tongue lolled out to the side as he panted. He turned and took off. Marissa and Morgan looked at each other and then tore after him through