Chapter 7

The Alpha stayed for a while longer, and we discussed Mother and general things. He asked how I was adjusting, and I told him it seemed to be going OK. It was just hard that everything was moving so fast.

He discussed the night of the full moon and my change, and how we would run when I changed to solidify my adoption into the Pack. I was afraid I was going to be some horrible looking monster, but they assured me I would not be. That werewolves shift into an actual wolf form. Only those very strong in their abilities could do half-man, half-wolf form as well as wolf form. The Alpha, Riley, the hated Ronnie, and a couple others were the only ones able to do it in the Pack.

The Alpha got up to leave, and both Riley and I stood up to escort him out. Fletcher actually came up to me and drew me into a hug. "I am glad you are here and my new daughter," was all he said. He then drew Riley into the man hug and whispered some stuff to him before walking out of the study.

Riley walked him out while I stayed in the living room, staring idly at the walls. I was still in shock that Mother had found out where I was and was demanding me back. How far will she go to get me? I had a feeling she would go pretty far if given the chance.

I could feel fear and rage making my wolf antsy, and it caused me to start pacing. She was wanting out, I could feel it now that I knew what it was. She wanted to run, and not necessarily away. She wanted action. But she wasn't going to get it. She would have to wait till the full moon. I scolded my wolf, fat lot of good it did.

Riley came back into the house, and I just looked at him. We walked towards each other as tears started falling. He folded me into his arms and held me tightly.

"I just want them out of my life." I cried. "Shh, shh, I know, Sunshine, I know." Riley soothed.

I sniffled and stepped back. "That is it, no more tears will I shed for them, because of them. I am done." I wiped my tears and stood there, resolute. I looked Riley in the eye. "Teach me to fight, to stand up for myself. I won't be like this anymore."

He looked deep into my eyes, and seeing my resolution there, he nodded. "We will start tomorrow." He promised. I nodded and headed into the kitchen for a drink. I grabbed a bottle of water and guzzled it down like I was dying of thirst. Right then, I was wishing I liked beer cause I think I needed the drink.

"Want me to get you some wine coolers instead of beer?" Riley asked out loud. I jumped, forgetting he could read my thoughts and that I needed to learn to mask them. "What's a wine cooler?" I asked naively. "It's a fruity alcoholic drink." He replied. I nodded. Sure, I will try it, I thought. Why not? I was a big girl.

I rested my hips against the counter and crossed my arms. "What do we do now?" I asked. Riley came over to stand next to me, resting his hips against the counter as well. "Mostly we just wait. Take it one day at a time." I nodded.

I turned and walked into his arms, laying my head on his chest. "I never did thank you for lunch. It was delicious." I said. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck. "You're welcome," was all he said. He then nipped my neck, causing me to moan softly and lean into him more. He chuckled. I looked up at him with a mock glare.

He tickled me, which sent me into a giggle fit. I tried to get away, but he was persistent. I finally managed to get free and ran into the bedroom. He was hot on my tail. I was shrieking with laughter. He had done what he set out to do, take me out of my gloomy mood. I don't think I could ever thank him or be grateful enough he was in my life.

I ran and jumped on the bed, trying to get to my side. I had almost made it when I felt a hand grab my ankle and pull. I shrieked and struggled to get away, but the hand on my ankle was clamped tight. Riley pulled me towards him with what I considered to be an evil grin.

He pulled me until he was between my legs. I still tried to get away, leery of him tickling me again, but all he did was drop down until he was on top of me. His hand grabbed both of my wrists and held them above my head.

I stared up at him in surprise. I wasn't afraid, I was more excited to see what he was going to do. He placed his knees on the bed, between mine, so that they supported his weight instead of me. I tried to free my hands, but I swear his hand was like a vise. His eyes had switched to wolf amber. I had a feeling we were playing cat and mouse, and I was the mouse who had just been caught.

He put his head down and started sniffing me, rubbing his head against mine, making little growling noises. He went to the space between my neck and shoulder and licked me. I gasped. He then bit down but didn't draw any blood. I arched into him as I cried out. It was an instant turn on.

I couldn't do anything with my hands, but I could with my legs, and so I wrapped them around his hips, pressing down on them, causing him to press his hardness tight against me. He pulled back and growled at me. I growled right back. He used his free hand to slowly pull up my dress, up my thighs, hips, waists, then breasts. He then released my hands long enough for him to whip the dress over my head. I went to reach out to touch him, but he quickly caught my hands again and held them tight. I growled again in frustration. His chuckle was a little throaty.

He then continued his sniffing of me, going from my throat to my breasts. He took his free hand and unsnapped my strapless bra and quickly took it off, exposing my breasts to the cool air, making my nipples hard.

He nuzzled my breasts, then took on of my nipples in his mouth. I cried out and arched against him, tightening my legs around his hips. He growled with my nipple in his mouth, and the vibrations set me on edge.

With my legs wrapped around him, he couldn't slide my panties off like he wanted, so with another growl, he just ripped them off. At this rate, I was going to need new panties soon. He used his free hand to cup me, and he inserted a finger, causing me to moan.

He came back up to my face and nuzzled me as he kept up a low growl. His finger was working magic on me, and I couldn't help but thrust against him. I moaned again when he inserted another finger.

I kept arching into his hand with the thrusting of his fingers. I growled at him and tried to nip at his chin. He growled back and bit my neck. I closed my eyes and moaned. He played me like I was a violin and had me coming in just moments from his fingers. I cried out and struggled to be free so I could touch him. I was dying to.

He gave another throaty chuckle and continued to finger me. I was going nuts from the constant friction against my heated flesh. I thrashed against him, almost bucking him off. He tightened his hold on me with both hands. He laid fully on top of me, preventing me from doing anything. He let go of my hands so he could strip off his shirt, then grabbed my hand again, then used his free hand to undo his pants and slide them off. I gasped at the feel of his bare flesh against mine.

I tightened my legs around him, drawing him closer. He put his hand back against me, and I nearly screamed in frustration. I didn't want his hand. I want him.

Finally, I could feel his hardness against me, pushing into me. I bucked my hips, trying to get him to go deeper, but he held himself still. I growled at him again. I ground my hips against him dying to have him in me. He suddenly let me go, grabbed my legs, and threw them over his shoulders while at the same time thrusting hard into me.

I screamed out and arched into him. I dug my fingers into his arms, drawing a small amount of blood. It just made him thrust harder and faster into me. It was faster and more furious than ever. It was over all too soon. We hit the pinnacle and fell slowly back to earth.

He collapsed down beside me, both of us panting for breath.

I couldn't speak. I was too winded.

He rolled onto his side, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me. He then moved us to lay properly in the bed and just held me. I cuddled as close to him as I could, resting my head on his chest. I loved listening to his heartbeat. It was soothing.

We eventually dozed off to sleep, only waking long enough to cover up.

I woke up screaming from a nightmare. I was back at Mother's, and she was there with the wolf who attacked me. They had me chained back up in Mother's kitchen and were taking turns on hurting me. Mother was whipping me with her belt, and the wolf was taking little bites out of me.

When I woke up, I was thrashing and screaming. Riley grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to hold me still. I fought against him, he ended up laying his whole body on me to try to stop my thrashing.

He put his mouth to my ear and started saying something I couldn't make out, but he was saying it in a soothing manner. He held me down and just kept whispering in my ear until I finally slowly stopped my thrashing and screaming. I calmed down enough to stop moving against him and just panted for air.

He moved to the side of me once he knew I was no longer thrashing, and just held me in his arms, continuing his soothing words. I curled up into him, chest to chest, my head buried in his shoulder. I laid there and cried heartbreaking sobs. The fear from the nightmare was still with me, but slowly dissipating.

My sobs eventually quieted down, and I just laid there sniffling. Riley was still speaking soothing nonsense. I think I fell asleep because the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was still in Riley's arms.

I snuggled closer to Riley, the nightmare nearly forgotten. He tightened his arms around me and nuzzled me. "How are you?" He asked me. I nodded against his shoulder, "OK, I guess." My answer was muffled. His hold tightened even more.

I didn't want to leave the cocoon of Riley's arms. I felt safe and content there, but I knew I had to get up. I sighed grumpily and slowly pulled away from Riley to sit up. "I wish we could just stay in bed all day," I told him. He sat up as well and drew me close for a one-armed hug, "I do too, Sunshine." He agreed.

I dragged myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom to potty and shower. Maybe a shower will wake me up and get rid of this glum mood, I thought. Just as I was about to step into the shower, Riley knocked on the door and opened it when I said 'come in.' He stood in the doorway in all his naked glory, causing me to gulp. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing him like this.

"Care for some company?" He asked with a devilish grin. I giggled and shook my head no that I didn't mind. So we showered together once again. As well as made love. By the time the shower went cold, we were wobbly and pruned from the water, but I was in a lot better mood.

Riley stepped out of the shower and dried off before turning to me and drying me off as well. We went into the bedroom and got dressed. I put on my typical shorts and a tank top, and I noticed that the normal size I had been wearing the last few days was baggy on me. It looked like I was still losing weight, which I was fine with since I wanted to look good enough to be with Riley. I know I have image issues, which I never had before meeting Riley. My weight just was. But now, seeing that he was my mate and an extremely attractive one, I wanted to look like I deserved to be with him. Today he was supposed to teach me the basics of fighting. I was looking forward to it.

Riley dressed in a pair of gray sweat shorts and a white tank top, with white sneakers, he had pulled his hair back into another braid. Even dressed like that, he was gorgeous. How did little old Poppy Miller get so lucky? I asked myself.

I grabbed a pair of sneakers as well and put them on. Then I was ready for whatever came my way, at least I hoped I was.

We went into the kitchen for some breakfast, Riley cooked, and I cleaned the dishes. Breakfast was a comfortably quiet affair. Each of us lost in thought.

Once we were done with cleaning up, Riley escorted me outside. We walked towards the Alpha's house then to a building a little ways behind it. It was large, square, and only one story.

There were people going in and out of it, all dressed similarly to Riley and me. I was a little worried about being around a lot of people. I still wasn't used to it.

Riley held the door for me, and in I went. My attention was immediately drawn to the ring in the middle of the room. There were two people in there fighting. They had on protective gear, but even with it, they were taking a beating from one another.

All around the ring were different weights, boxing bags, and various other things to help strengthen and tone up. Riley headed towards one of the free boxing bags and motioned for me to follow him.

I followed him to the bag, and the lesson started. He showed me the stance to use when getting ready to fight. Then he showed me how to make a fist and punch. I made the mistake of tucking my thumb into my hand for the fist and was scolded by Riley for doing so. He said if I were to do that and hit someone, I could likely dislocate or break my thumb, which would defeat the purpose.

He showed me how to hit, using my weight for strength and how to keep my elbow to the side and facing down, while the back of my fist should be facing the sky. He had me hit the bag multiple times until I got it right, then he had me switch hands and do it all over. He wanted me to be able to fight with both hands equally. Not to have any one hand dominant when fighting. It was hard work, but surprisingly fun.

Once I had done the punching to his satisfaction, he moved on to kicking the bag. He had me do a basic round kick, where I balance on one leg and use the other to kick the bag. It was more complicated than the punch because I had to pivot my hips and foot to kick the bag with my shin.

Once I got it right with one leg, he had me do the same thing as with my fists and switch feet. It was tiring, but again fun. Once I had proved sufficient in both punching and kicking, he led me to the weights. I apparently had to build up some strength. Just because I was now wolf and had some extra strength, I needed more. He had me start on 50-pound weights, and they were a little heavy but not too uncomfortable for me.

We spent our morning working out, only stopping to go back to the house to get lunch, then we went back to work on strengthening my legs. Those weights he made a little heavier, and again it was a little uncomfortable but not badly so.

By the time he had me do what he had wanted, I was exhausted and sore, but pleasantly so. He said that we were done for the time being, and we headed back home.

I went into the house and living room to plop down with a groan. "Oh my God, I am so tired." Riley sat down beside me with a small chuckle. "Wait till the real training begins." He said. I turned my head and stared at him wide eyed. "That wasn't real training?"

"No, it was just the introduction to training. Right now, we are building your strength and getting you used to hitting."

I groaned. "When do I start the real training then?" I asked him. "When you've built up some more strength and the kicking and hitting are second nature to you," was his reply.

I groaned. "I see a lot of nights soaking in the tub. Speaking of which, I think I will go do some soaking now." I got up slowly from the couch, my body telling me I had done stuff it had never done before and was letting me know it didn't like it.

I went into the bathroom and started filling the tub up with water as hot as I could stand it. I stripped and stepped into the tub, letting out a moan of satisfaction. I turned on the jets and relaxed.

Riley came in, stripping his clothes, and headed to the shower. I had a great view of him as he washed, thanks to the clear glass walls. I was getting a little excited watching him and the water cascading down his body. I wanted it to be my hands that roamed his body with soap.

He turned towards me and watched me as he washed. Was I ever going to get used to him being able to read my mind? I should really practice this and see if I couldn't read his mind too. He had an advantage over me, and I wanted to be able to do what he could.

I licked my lips as I watched him wash his cock, and his eyes narrowed. He was getting harder the more I watched. I couldn't look away. His body was mesmerizing.

He finished his shower, stepped out, and headed my way. I moved to the other side of the tub as he slid in. He pulled me to him until I was sitting on his lap facing him. My legs automatically went on either side of his hips, I could feel his hardness against me, and I moved a little against him, causing him to groan. I smiled.

I trailed my hands down his chest to his groin and cupped him in my hand. His eyes went to wolf amber, and I knew I was getting to him. Soon he showed me what it was like to make love in the tub.

I laid against him in the tub, my head on his shoulder. I felt like I was made of rubber, and didn't want to move. Riley held me close. He eventually let me go and moved to get out. I didn't want to move at all, so I stayed in the tub a while longer. He kissed me before getting completely out. Once he was out, he went and dried off.

"I am going to start dinner, you stay and relax for a while longer." He told me. I nodded and just laid back. I didn't stay too much longer because the water was getting cold. I finally summoned the energy to get out and shivered at the cold air. I grabbed a towel and dried off quickly. I then got dressed in a nightgown. I didn't see the reason to get fully dressed again when we weren't going to go anywhere.

I went into the kitchen to see if I could help out in some way. Riley looked to be making spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread. It smelled yummy. He had me get plates down so he could spoon the spaghetti onto them.

We sat at the table in the nook. I must admit Riley was a very good cook. The workout today and his cooking skills made me extra hungry because I ended up getting seconds. Once we were done, I was too tired and full to do the dishes, so we actually put them all in the dishwasher. Wish I had paid attention to the fact he had one sooner.

We headed to bed, he stripped to his typical nudeness, and I just stayed in my nightgown. I think as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. Thankfully I didn't have a nightmare that night. But I did get woke up a time or two thanks to Riley. The first time, he pulled me into his arms to snuggle together, the second time to make love. I didn't mind. I liked being woke up that way.

I actually woke up before Riley, and I just laid there and studied his tattoos. The majority of them were Japanese traditional. But he had a few that were tribal, and he had one on his back that was of a wolf howling at a red full moon. I loved memorizing his tattoos. They were an intricate part of him. I traced a few with a fingertip, which woke up Riley. I smiled at him as he opened his eyes, and he smiled back.

He kissed the tip of my nose then drew me in for a hug. "Morning, Sunshine."

"Morning." I hugged him then pulled away to yawn and stretch. He did the same.

I got out of bed and did a couple of stretches to work out any kinks I had left from yesterday. Riley watched me from the bed with eyes full of sudden desire. I forgot my nightgown had been taken off during the night. I blushed once I noticed but didn't do anything to cover up. I turned towards the dresser and sashayed my way to it.

Just as I was bending over to get some clothes, I felt a hand caress my butt. I turned to Riley and stepped into his arms. For the second time, we had sex on the dresser, and it was just as good, if not better, than last time.

We decided to jump in the shower for a quick wash, then got dressed for the gym again. That was the routine for the next several days. Going to the gym, working out, coming home, and sleeping.