Chapter 6

"What?!” she shrieked and Nick would never forget the look of shock on her face. He had to choke back his laughter before speaking slowly as if speaking to a simpleton. "As soon as you leave I will go look for my chosen mate so we can spend that quality time you are talking about." "But you and I-" "Are nothing, we never were and never will be." "But the Alpha-your father." "I am Alpha here and my father has no say in my life. All that stopped the day he tried to pair me up with you." On the last word he looked her up and down and shuddered with disgust. Suddenly the room was bombarded with the acrid smell of burning peppers coming from her. Some would say he was being too hard, but those who knew their history would say he wasn't being hard enough. "Go home; your pure blood doesn't interest me." With those parting words he turned around and headed to his backyard; leaving Matt to deal with the aftermath. If he knew Kate-and he was sure he did-she'd be giving him hell all the way to the door. Suddenly he caught his sisters’ scent and he snapped around to find her rushing towards him. "What do you need Sarah?" For a second she looked like she wanted to say something but then she looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that I really am sorry for this." “Why do associate yourself with her? You didn’t before; you hated her as much as I.” Nick eyed her with worry. “Are you sure you’re ok? Whatever it is, you know you can come to me right?” Sarah looked over her shoulder and Nick followed her gaze to where Kate stood waiting for her. “Yeah I’m fine,” Sarah told him. Nick opened his arms and she stepped into them. "As long as you behave, you will always be welcomed.” He murmured against her hair. “And if you need me I’m only a call away." "Thanks Nick" She stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Love you." "Love you too." "Not going to kiss me good bye too?" Matt asked from behind her and Sarah walked away without looking at him. “Goodbye big brother.” She shot over her shoulder. "When I claim my mate everything will be perfect.” He told Matt when they were alone. "What if she rejects you?" "I won’t allow it, willing or not she is mine." With that Nick turned and headed to the back of his house once again. "There's no way I will take no for an answer." “So if she says no, what are you going to do? Are you are going to go caveman on her?" Matt asked sarcastically, following close behind. Nick shrugged and replied, "If I have to." His backyard was bordered by a large forest and that's where they headed. They crossed the backyard in silence, each man lost in their own thoughts. Once they were surrounded by trees they made their way towards their favorite spot. Nick pushed all of the morning’s occurrences to the back of his mind. When they reached their destination, he undressed and methodically folded his clothes before setting them down next to the nearest tree. Matt also began to undress but Nick stopped him and urged him to go to bed then raised his hand to stop Matt's protests "I'll be fine on my own and you need the rest." "Take Axel with you" "One hour." He compromised knowing Matt wouldn't give up. "Give me one hour and then send him." Matt conceded reluctantly and turned to walk back to the house. Nick watched him walk away and shook his head when he saw Matt pull out his always present cell phone to call Axel. For some reason-unknown to him- Matt often chose to forget that Nick could take care of himself. Then again, he knew that Matt only worried about his safety and any insult he felt about having a babysitter had to be ignored. When Matt stepped into the house, Nick turned around and made his way deeper into the woods. As he walked he deepened his breaths and concentrated on the world around him. When he noticed nothing amiss he turned his concentration inward-on his body. In his mind, he pictured his wolf and kept his eyes closed as he began to shift. He felt his bones crack and shift. Tufts of fur sprouted all over his body. His nose grew long into a snout. His teeth elongated, his feet and hands became paws. The transformation took only seconds. When Nick next opened his eyes, it was to look at the world around him from a completely different point of view. His eyesight, hearing and sense of smell-everything really, were ten times better and Nick loved it. To prove his point he let out a howl of pleasure and took off. Freedom It ran through him in rush after rush of pleasure. The deeper he got into the woods, the more he relaxed. It felt wonderful-to be able lock away his troubles for the time being. Slowly, he let the strings he kept tightly wrapped around his wolf and his control hang loose. With every step, his wolf took over a little more. Forcing his human half to take the back seat-not entirely, that could be dangerous but enough for him to be able to relax. A task easily accomplished because as a wolf he found it so much easier to enjoy the world around him. In his current body it was difficult to concentrate and worry about human trivialities. He only worried about catching his prey, marking his territory, and running until he could run no more and reaching the stream where he could quench his thirst and rest. With no destination in mind he picked up the pace until he was running as fast as he could. His legs carried him through the woods at a blinding speed. The trees he passed were nothing more than blurred shapes. He knew this forest like the back of his hand and he headed for his favorite spot. That's where Axel, also in wolf form, found him fifty-nine minutes later. Nick was resting, head on his paws, on top of his favorite boulder by the stream. Only the thump oh his tail acknowledged his bodyguards presence and Axel took that as permission to join him and went to sit beside his Alpha. They lay there, under the warmth of the sun, enjoying the tranquility of the forest until boredom set in. When it was time to play he got up and made a dash for the woods. As time passed they were joined by others of his pack. They'd been lured into the woods by his joy filled howls. For hours they ran and Nick’s joy soared. Even though he loved running on his own, the wolf wasn't a solitary animal and running with his Pack made him just as happy. They ran as one and when hunger set in, hunted as one; and once they'd filled their stomachs and quenched their thirst they headed back to the house. As they neared the backyard he concentrated on his human form and so did everyone else.  Walking as humans once again, the pack dispersed, they bid each other farewell and he went to pick up his clothes. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, like he always did after shifting, he dressed quickly; with anticipation coursing through his veins because it was his turn to keep an eye on their quarry. In record time, he reached his car and was digging in his pocket for his keys when his phone rang. He pulled both out, with one hand he answered and with the other he unlocked his car. "She just rode out on her bike.” Christian told him without waiting for a greeting. “It doesn’t look like she plans to return.” "Stay with her but not too close! I'm on my way; I'll call you when I get into town" He hung up without waiting for a response and set the phone beside him. He rushed into the driver seat and signaled Axel to hurry into the passenger side. Within seconds they were out of the driveway and headed into town. He didn't need to tell Axel where they were headed. With keen hearing he'd heard both sides of the conversation just fine.