Page 22 of Dual Nature

"This hunt will help you and your wolf settle in together. If you want to eat, you have to catch it and take it down yourself," Colt explained.

Okay, easy. How hard can that be? As a trained killer, all I have to do is figure out how to use this new body.

"These three are going with you. If you need one of us alphas, just call out to us and we'll find you. It's going to be fine, little one. I have faith in you and your wolf to figure this out. All you have to do is stop fighting her," Colt stated, giving me a scolding look.

My ears dropped, as did my gaze, when the fear of disappointing him became too strong. Then I felt a snout nuzzle under my jawline, bringing my head up to meet a set of light green eyes on the face of a dark gray wolf. I could tell by his scent that it was Noah, so I booped him on the nose with my own, letting him know I was okay. Another dark gray wolf stepped up, giving me a toothy grin. Mason had a little more white mixed into his coat, making it easier to tell them apart by sight. Finally, I spotted Elias sitting by the doggy door, watching me with a cautious hazel gaze. He was a beautiful deep red mixed with black. I'd never seen such a color on a wolf before, but it gave him something of a regal look. Seeing that he had my attention, he jerked his head and exited the kitchen with me right on his heels.

We left the house at a quick trot, and I couldn't help but get distracted by all the sights, sounds, and smells that assaulted my senses. Birds flitting about in the trees, squirrels dashing through the underbrush, and the scent of so many wolves, it made my head spin. The guys kept me in the center of the pack as we moved deeper into the woods, following some unknown trail to what I assumed was their hunting grounds. In all my experience I couldn’t say that I'd spent much time out in the boonies of Tennessee, but it was beautiful—all tall trees, rolling hills, and mountains. The fresh air was crisp with the winter chill, but nowhere near as cold as it had been in New York. My ears swiveled, picking up every snapped twig, as I focused on finding my first kill as a newly shifted werewolf. The guys slowed and spread out a little more, giving me a chance to get a sense of where we were and how I wanted to handle this.

Hunkering down low, I kept to the shadows, using my dark coloring to my advantage. My attention shifted to the wind as I approached. If I stayed downwind, I’d have a better chance of keeping my scent from giving my location away to any prey. Just as I was about to break out of the dense foliage and into a clearing, I spotted a rabbit feasting on some plant off to the left-center. Through the eyes of my assassin training, this was a perfect score, an easy hit. How threatening could a bunny be to a predator?

My wolf, however, had other ideas. It was too out in the open, and if we missed, the others would steal it from us, forcing us to go hungry. I had to fight back the urge to growl, knowing it would scare the rabbit, but I refused to let this chance pass us by. Squaring up into position, muscles tense and ready to attack, I grabbed hold of my wolf and took control, charging forward. The speed that I had in this body was fantastic, and I easily made it across the clearing, but what I didn't count on was a fox making for the same rabbit that I was. The bastard snatched the damn thing right as I was about to pounce, then darted back into the dense underbrush with his prize. Snarling, I took off after the fox, but, being smaller, he easily evaded me by diving into a burrow with a swish of his tail as if to flip me off.

That little asshole! I swore, which came out as me barking like a damn chihuahua.

My three escorts appeared out of thin air as I started to dig at the hole, letting out frustrated yips. Elias brushed up alongside me and pushed me away from the hole, urging me to get back to the matter at hand. I sneezed at him in irritation, and he swatted at my nose before giving me a warning snap of his teeth to show he didn’t appreciate my actions. This caused my wolf to turn into a puddle of despair, sinking to the ground and army crawling over to him, whining for his forgiveness.

Get the fuck up! He isn't that mad at you. It was a simple scolding because you were behaving like a child, I groused at my wolf, but she was having none of it. Elias needed to forgive us, right here, right now, or she was going belly up and begging.

Thankfully, Elias took pity on us and licked my face, urging me to get up so we could go hunting again. Somehow I had a feeling this was as new to everyone else as it was to me. If I was going to be prostrate on the floor any time they were upset with me, it was going to make for a very interesting day. My nature was to push my limits until I found where I couldn't cross the line; those were the boundaries that I lived by. Indulging in a full-body shake, I got my head back in the game and dragged my wolf along with me, running further into the forest. As we picked up speed, she seemed to calm down, the two of us flowing into one symbiotic unit. Now I understood what Colt had said about this helping us meld together. I just had to help her get with the hunting program.

A deer darted out in front of us, and my wolf wanted to slam on the brakes when we saw the antlers on the buck. In my very basic knowledge of the animal, I knew it was still young, only having a few sprouts that didn't seem too dangerous. We are gonna take down this deer. Do you hear me? Think of how full you’ll be when we're done. Won't that be the perfect ending to our first hunt? Begrudgingly, my wolf agreed. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed the guys following a little further back. If I wanted to get this deer into the right spot, I was going to need their help. Unfortunately, this was where my wolf drew the line. Omegas did not tell other wolves, let alone betas, what to do. If we wanted the deer, we had to do it ourselves or abandon the idea altogether. Growling in frustration, I started working on the next plan of action. That was when I saw the fallen tree leaning at a forty-five degree angle, providing the perfect place for me to get the right takedown.

Digging my nail into the wood, I streaked up the tree, and just as I’d planned, the deer ran right by it, right in line for me to drop on its back. Latching my jaw around the base of the deer's neck, I used my weight and momentum to take it down to the ground. Quickly, I had to switch my hold on it and sink in closer to the head, shaking it back and forth as I clawed at it with my front paws. The deer was strong, and it kicked out at me, catching me in the side. I yelped and lost my hold. As the deer struggled to get up, I swiped my paw over its eye, sending it reeling back, off balance, giving me the chance I needed to finish the job. Ripping out its throat sent blood spurting everywhere, and I was thankful that I wasn't white; otherwise, it would have looked like I'd been in a horror movie. Dropping the pound of flesh I had in my mouth, I watched the last few minutes of its life drain away. Elation shot through me from my wolf as we let out a howl to announce our achievement for all the pack to hear.

The betas trotted up to me and started to lick my face clean of blood. Mason and Noah both gave yips of excitement as they tried to get me to play with them, while Elias backed off to sit out of the way. He watched closely with his tongue lolling out of his mouth in a way that felt much too silly for both the man and his wolf. My wolf knew the moment the alphas arrived, and before I could stop her, she backed us away from the kill and laid down, her wagging tail the only display of accomplishment. Zander sniffed the deer, checking it over, before he padded over to me and licked my face in approval. Colt and Lane took hold of the deer and started to drag it to a more open area where they could feast on my kill.

Once the alphas had dug in, the betas ventured closer, testing to see if they were welcome. Colt and Lane didn't seem to mind, but Zander snapped at them to chase them off. He tore a chunk of meat off and plopped it right in front of me then took a step back before sitting to watch me eat. I crawled forward and licked at the gift, still not sure if I was allowed or if he was testing me—we had been in trouble with him before all this happened. Zander nudged it forward and took another set back, giving me no doubt I was expected to eat this, which I did with great pleasure. When I was done with that portion, Colt and Lane both offered me more which I gobbled up the feeling of being cherished by my mates making it taste all the better.

Finished with the deer, everyone having eaten their fill, Colt sat down and lifted his head, loosing a howl that was quickly followed by Lane and Zander. The rest of us got pulled into it as well, binding us all in this moment while inducting me into their pack.

Only there was something else that it triggered as well…

fifteen

Heat flooded my body, and I didn’t mean my temperature was rising. No, this was a feeling I'd never experienced before. It was almost like my body was aching, yearning, and demanding to be filled. My wolf pulled back from me, triggering my shift. Somehow, she knew that my needs couldn't be tended to like this. What we were desperate for had to be taken and given in our human body. The feeling of being thrust back into a body with two legs and arms was just as awful as the first switch to being a wolf, only not as drawn out. Crouched in the mud, I gasped for air as a blinding need took over, making me feel like I'd been drugged. My body pulsed, forcing a cry out of me when it felt like I’d just wet myself. Swiping a finger along my leg, I realized it was slick like lube, which only made me panic more. That was not normal for humans. What the fuck was happening right now? Looking up, I found all six wolves circling around me, eyes bright with desire. They were taking deep shuddering breaths of my scent which was thick in the air.

"What’s happening to me?" I begged, worried even as my wolf tried to reassure me. As much as my human brain was freaking out, my wolf was excited. She was practically pacing in my mind, trying to tell me something that I just wasn't understanding. Lane shifted first, making it look so much easier than what I'd experienced so far. His golden brown eyes were filled with lust as he moved toward me with slow, cautious steps as if I might run away from them.

"Finley, I need you to stay still. Do you hear me?" Lane instructed.

I gave a jerky nod, but when I caught his scent on the light breeze, warm, clean, and comforting, I gasped. My body was begging me to go to him. I felt so empty, incomplete, and wanton, needing something only he could give me.

"Tell me what’s going on, Lane," I whispered, afraid to do anything that would make this worse.

"You're going into heat, and in doing so, you're sending us into rut. Do you know what that means?" Lane bit out through clenched teeth, letting me know this was serious.

"No. I mean, kind of? Going into heat is when dogs breed… Is that what's happening to me? If this happens, does that mean I could get pregnant? Do you want kids? I never planned on having kids. Assassins don’t have kids! Wait, I'm on birth control. Will that matter?" I rambled, so utterly lost at the reality of being unable to control my own body.

Never in all my twenty-nine years of life had I been more scared than I was right now. Everything about this was out of my control, and that was not okay with me in the slightest.

Colt shifted, and the others followed, leaving me surrounded by six naked men who were very much interested in whatever pheromones I was putting out. I was used to one-night stands, the nature of my job not allowing much more than that, but these men were built on a whole other level that I wasn't sure any woman could handle. My nerves must have finally bled through to my wolf, and for the first time in the last few minutes, she reacted as something other than a lust-drunk schoolgirl. It occurred to her that we might be in some kind of danger from these men, and she wanted to hightail it out of here. It took everything I had to fight her desperation to run, knowing that Lane had told me not to do that very thing. What would a wolf do if its prey took off? Chase it, of course, and at this moment, their prey was me.

"Little dove, we need to get you somewhere safe. You can't be out like this or else every male in the pack will be after you," Zander said, his voice rough like he was fighting off a growl. "I can feel you fighting the urge to run, but that’s exactly what we need you to do. My home isn’t far from here. Head straight east and don't stop until you see my house. You won't be able to miss it, I promise."

"What happens if you catch me before I get there?" I questioned, feeling like this was a stupid plan.

Zander closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if to calm himself, but it seemed to do the opposite. "You’ll either get fucked in the dirt or in a bed, but one way or another, I'll be pounding into that pussy before long."