Page 30 of Dual Nature

“Yes, perfect choice, twin,” Noah agreed.

“Are you jealous about me calling Keanu Reeves sexy?” I chuckled, feeling oddly flattered they would get so protective of me over a man I would never meet.

Ignoring my question, they arranged themselves on the couch with me draped over them, humming in contentment. Another thing I’d learned today was that only alphas could purr; humming was the closest betas could come to making the same noise. This was how the others found us when they returned from whatever they’d been doing—the three of us watching Shrek 3 which I didn’t know was a thing.

“Looks like you guys have had a productive day.” Colt smiled as he brushed some hair out of my face before kissing my forehead, not caring that I was sprawled on Mason’s chest.

“We spent most of the day researching omegas and what it’s like to live in a pack,” I shared, slipping off of Mason to greet Lane and Elias.

Lane pulled me in for a tight hug, resting his chin on top of my head, and purred. “Did you learn anything helpful?”

"It cleared a lot of things up for me, but every omega is so different as to how sensitive they are to things. I do think that I'm a very strong empathic omega though," I informed the others.

“That makes sense. Cory was always aware of everyone's feelings, but I wouldn’t have said he was strong in that area. He was more adept at finding those in pain, emotional or physical, and soothing them. Other emotions he didn’t pick up on as well,” Colt mused.

"That's something we’ll have to keep in mind when you're around the pack. We don't want to overwhelm you," Lane said, more to Colt than to me. "Come on. Zander won’t be back tonight, so let's see what we can make for dinner in his giant kitchen.”

twenty

The next day was fairly the same; we all got up and ate breakfast with each other before Lane, Colt, and Elias went about their days. I ended up back in my nest, reading, trying to gain all the knowledge I could about this new world that I was living in. Pack life was so much more complex than anyone gave it credit for, and I understood why Lane and Colt couldn’t be with me right now. They hadn’t been prepared for an omega, let alone a mate, to show up in their lives, so an adjustment period was bound to happen.

“Snuggles, are you really going to spend all day holed up here again?” Mason asked from the doorway.

Closing my book, I gave him my full attention. “Did you have something else in mind?”

The grin on his face told me he did indeed have a plan. “Remember how you said you wanted to get better at using your senses as a wolf?” I nodded. “What about a game of hide and seek? You could use all the skills you’ve learned as an assassin and whatever I’m sure you’ve learned from those books to see how long you can avoid being caught.”

The idea was rather brilliant; it gave me a chance to figure things out and test the skills I already had. I’d been far too inactive the last few days, and even my wolf perked up at this idea. She wanted to get out and play too. If I wanted the chance to re-enter the world in hopes of finishing my mission, I needed to get a handle on my werewolf side. Not to mention how to act like a normal person despite heightened senses and crazy emotions.

“Okay, what are the rules?” I asked, sliding out of my nest.

“Hey, Noah, she agreed to the game!” Mason called over his shoulder. Seconds later, Noah was standing beside him with an excited energy around him. “She wants to know the rules…”

“Don’t get caught?” Noah suggested.

“Sounds perfect. Throw whatever you got at us, snuggles. I want to see just how badass you keep claiming to be,” Mason challenged. “Now, I’m going to close my eyes and count to five. That should be more than enough time for you to get a head start.”

They both stepped into the room and covered their eyes. “One…”

I flew out of the room and down the stairs, having to trust in my new enhanced abilities as I aimed for the sliding glass door. My wolf was hopping around in my head, excited that she was going to be let out to play. I didn't want to waste time stripping out of my clothes, so I hoped shifting in them wouldn’t slow me down. The second I crossed over the threshold, my wolf leapt forward, and we shifted in mid air, clothes and all. Since I was much bigger as a wolf, my clothes shredded, but my bra got caught on my front leg, causing me to stumble. I snarled at it, yanking it off with my teeth before I darted into the underbrush.

Remembering what Elias had said about scent, I tuned into my surroundings, trying to find the best way to lose the twins. I could hear them barking and snapping at each other as they made their way into the woods, heading deeper, not thinking I would stop so soon. I hunkered low and let my black coat keep me hidden as I moved through the shadowy forest. Even though it was close to the middle of the day, the dense trees kept the forest dim, perfect for me to hide in. Tracking the twins was almost as much fun as being chased by them. It was more challenging to keep out of sight, but this was far more natural to me as an assassin, and my wolf seemed to enjoy not being the center of attention.

I, of course, had no idea how large the forest was or what borders the pack had, but the only rule was don’t get caught. They seemed very much confused on how to find me as they caught my own scent intermixed with theirs telling me we walked in a large circle. Baring my teeth in a wolfish grin, I came up with an idea. Using more of my skills in evading capture, I started to make different scent trails, doubling back or intersecting them to throw the twins off. I could tell they knew that I was close by since they kept circling the same area, trying to follow my scent. It didn’t take them long to understand the game I was playing, making them yip with excitement at my challenge. As I made a new trail, I came across a river, sniffing it to see if I could drink from it. The water was clear and crisp, fresh run-off from the mountains that still had snow on them. The sound of a twig snapping had my alert ears swiveling, trying to locate where the sound had come from. The sound was so quick that it was difficult to pinpoint the exact source. Lifting my nose, I tried to catch a scent, but nothing out of the normal wooded smell stood out to me.

Then a wolf I didn't know burst out of an outcropping of rocks on the other side of the river, barreling into me. I tried to dodge out of the way, but the slick stones under my paws didn't give me enough traction. Getting slammed to the ground, I let out a pained yelp as I landed on my leg funny. The wolf snarled at me, growling low as they snapped their teeth at my face, warning me not to move. I could feel his anger pouring off of him like a slap to the face, but I couldn’t tell if I was the cause or if it was something else.

My wolf was petrified and didn't need any encouragement not to move. Mind racing, I tried to think of a way to handle this, but I was afraid that if I shifted back to human, he would just kill me more easily. Paralyzed by my distress, my wolf let out a long whining howl, desperate for someone to come help us. All the training I'd gone through, the techniques that had been beaten into me day after day, was stripped away within seconds as the realization of why omegas didn't live very long became abundantly clear.

The twins returned my call, tackling the unknown wolf into the river, splashing water everywhere. The face full of icy water shocked my wolf enough that I could coax her into moving away from the fight. To her, there was no fight or flight; it was just flat out run the fuck away from the scary thing. Diving under a bush, I hunkered down and curled up into a ball, trying to keep from running even further away from the two men trying to keep me safe. The fight didn't last long, and soon, three waterlogged naked men stood on the riverbank, yelling at each other.

"Who the fuck was that?" the unknown man asked.

He looked older than the twins. My guess would be late forties or early fifties. His hair was salt and pepper while his beard was just steel gray. He was smaller in stature than the twins, but they were huge in my opinion. Other than Zander, I couldn't picture anyone coming close.

"Don't worry about it. The alphas will explain everything at the pack dinner tonight, Craig. Just know that she isn't a threat. You better be fucking praying to whatever gods you believe in that she isn't hurt," Noah snarled.

I could tell right away that the two of them didn't like each other very much, but Noah was far more dominant than Craig. Thanks to that, there was a lower chance of the stranger trying to go after me again now that Noah was blatantly calling him on his behavior.