Chapter 2

Jeremy let out series of huffs as he rapidly hit the punching bag. With every hit from his fists, a surge of adrenaline and raw fury washed through him. Three months had passed since he had been placed with the new title or better still, a new burden. It was still strange to him. He never would have thought in a million years that fate would have bestowed that kind of responsibility. But the discovery didn't hurt as much as the loss of his best friend. The trauma he faced afterwards coupled with the lack of recent appearance from Dominic was almost enough to drive him insane. He had tried to live life and move on like everything was fine but he knew it was all futile. Kyle was gone. There would be no more friendly taunts,teasing or banter. No one to reprimand when he went out of line. No one invade the silence of his room with a pebble to the window.

Jeremy paused and wiped the sweat off his forehead and brush away the dark bangs covering his face. His hair had now grown shoulder-length and he wore it in a high ponytail on occasions. Along with the recent physical change was his increase in muscle mass. A week after the discovery of his new status, he had discovered most of his clothes rarely fit again. He felt stronger and more energized than before. He never wondered why till present. There was no need.

Jeremy let out a deep breath and resumed punching the bag. The sun casted an orange glow in the yard and he could hear crickets chirping miles away.

'You know if you hit the bag any more harder, it will apologize.' A voice invaded his mind.

Jeremy paused and spun around. His German shepherd sat on the cool grass, staring deeply at him.

"Not funny, Shiela." He folded his arms with a huge frown. "Not funny at all."

'Ah, I see you're in a mood.' The dog lay on it's stomach. 'What troubles you?'

"What doesn't?" Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Quarter of a year has passed and there seems not to be any progress. I still can't get over the fact that my best friend is gone and the bastard that took him away from me hasn't shown his stupid face around. Probably up to another stupid scheme."

Jeremy paused and took a deep breath.

'And?' Shiela wagged her tail patiently.

"My mom." Jeremy gritted his teeth. "She knew all this time what I was. She has been a werewolf all along and she never told me. She never wanted me to be friends with Kyle and never even gave a reason why!"

Jeremy's eyes flashed yellow at the last sentence. Shiela sat up and growled a bit.

"Sorry, girl," he sighed and bent down, rubbing her head. "It's just that the whole thing is frustrating. One can't just make a decision against another person without giving a specific reason. It makes no sense. She tried to ruin our friendship and now he's gone. As if that's not bad enough, I now happen to be the descendant of some Alpha werewolf who I don't even know much of his origins."

'Don't despair, young one.' Shiela moved forward and nudged his face, her cold nose almost tickling him. 'Perhaps your mother may have strong reasons for her actions.'

"Even so, she should tell me." Jeremy stood up. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Jeremy?" A voice came from the doorway. He turned to the direction and met his mother's gaze. A huff escaped his lips as he turned his back to her and resumed punching his bag.

"What is it, Mom?" he replied without looking back.

"Mandy's here." June's eyes saddened a bit at her son's action. She shifted her weight from one leg to another.

"Okay," Jeremy replied, still punching the bag.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence afterwards. Jeremy did not need to turn around to know she was still there. Her scent was enough.

"Will that be all?" he asked curtly, his gaze still on the punching bag in front of him.

"Dinner will soon be ready," he heard her say.

"Okay, thank you."

"Jeremy..."

"Thank you, Mom," he said more firmly.

June hesitated. She made to say another word but caught the look on Sheila's face. The dog shook it's head. Sighing softly, she made her way back inside.

Jeremy resumed his action with more intensity. It seemed like his mother's presence had ignored a huge spark of rage within him. Each punch brought the bag closer to getting unhinged from the rope. A new scent invaded his nostrils and he grinned. Small footsteps were heard on the grass and he felt hands wrap around him from behind and a small kiss planted at the back of his neck.

"Take it easy on the bag would you, love?" he heard a feminine voice purr.

"Mandy." He smiled softly. He turned around still in her gray and stared into her brown eyes.

"Hey, Muffin." She smiled, as he returned her hold. "Shiela." She patted the dog on the head with a laugh.

'I was starting to think I was invisible,' the dog barked and Mandy laughed harder.

"Not to me, dear," Mandy said. "Not to me."

'I'll leave you two alone.' Shiela trotted away. 'I was hungry anyway.'

She disappeared into the living room and Mandy faced Jeremy.

"So what's got your engines revved up this time?" she asked, tilting her head sideways.

"Just the usual frustrations." Jeremy released his hold on her. "Did I miss much in school?"

"Not much," Mandy deadpanned. "Our football team lost."

"Big surprise there." Jeremy rolled his eyes with a huff. "I hope it was a respectable scoreline."

Mandy had an uncomfortable smile on her face as she shook her head.

"That bad?" Jeremy winced.

She nodded.

"Ouch." He shuddered.

"Well, I would say we were just missing an extra piece of muscle." A sensual smile appeared on Mandy's face as she traced a finger along his chest.

"That's just too bad." He caught her finger and held it to his chest."Not that it would matter anyway."

His face creased into a frown. After his physical change months ago, he had volunteered to be partake in the school football team both as a way to escape his emotional torture and to pay homage. He did well in practice but his mind just wasn't fully in. Weeks before the tournament, he pulled out much to the disappointment of the coach and the delight of Hank. He inwardly snickered as he knew the joke will be on the redhead now that they lost.

"Are you okay, babe?" Mandy drew his attention back to the present.

"I wish," he sighed. "Apparently the punching bags aren't enough. Even though I picture Dominic's ugly face on the bags..."

Mandy cleared her throat with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, so maybe he isn't ugly per say." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Bit you get my point. I need a reprieve."

"Why don't we try going on a run?" Mandy suggested. "It's been a while we did that."

Jeremy thought about it. She did have a point. Maybe some outside breeze could do the trick.

"Alright," he agreed.

He led her to the living room where his mom sat watching a program. Shiela lay at her feet.

"Going out," Jeremy said, without casting a look her way.

June had opened her mouth to reply but the sound of the door closing cut her off. She sighed and leaned back into the sofa.

"You know you really have to squash this stuff with your mom," Mandy admonished as soon as they were out of the house.

Jeremy didn't reply. His hand held hers as they walked along the street. A sense of deja vu was filling within him. Where had this happened before?

"It's not healthy, you know," she pushed.

"Can we not talk about that now?" Jeremy asked, an edgy tone to his voice.

Mandy shook her head bemused but relented.

They were soon deep in the woods. The previously sour mood had disappeared from Jeremy's face and was replaced with vigor.

"Someone's pumped." Mandy smirked as she watched him take off his shirt. He folded it and placed it on a large rock.

"Well, it's an opportunity to beat you once again in a race," he responded, his blue eyes twinkling.

Mandy rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. Her breath seized momentarily as she watched him take off the rest of his clothes. It wasn't the first time seeing him in the buff but she couldn't help the rise in her temperature on seeing his newly developed muscles. From his shoulders and triceps and biceps, she scanned. Her eyes moved downwards to his pectorials. They were perfectly toned and formed. She felt her face heat up as her eyes went further downwards.

"Enjoying the view?" His voice brought her gaze back to his face. There was a teasing smirk on his face.

"You wish." She stuck out her tongue at him and turned around.

Jeremy watched intently as she pulled off her shirt. His smirk vanished as her blue bra came in sight. Her jeans was the next to go and her matching blue lace panties came into view. He swallowed a bit, hoping she didn't hear that. She dumped her clothes by the base of a tree. He watched as she reached being her and unclasped the bra,removing it and tossing it to the rest of her clothes. A mixed look of arousal and curiosity appeared on his face as she took off her panties tossing it to the heap.

"Is it just me or did your butt get bigger?" he asked in the most innocent way he could, getting a surprised squeak from her.

"It's probably just you." She turned around to face him, traces of a blush leaving her face. He chuckled at that.

"But you would like that, wouldn't you?" she said dryly.

"That among other things." He smiled, looking at her bare form from head to toe.

"Of course." She shook her head.

A frown then appeared on her face as she scrutinized him.

"Something is not right," she stated, tilting her head sideways.

Jeremy stared at her, confused.

"Ah." She snapped her fingers in realisation. Walking towards him, she reached behind him and pulled out the rubber that kept his hair in a ponytail. His raven hair came lose and dropped to his shoulders.

"Oh, now that's better," she purred in satisfaction. "You look like a Greek god. A hunky sexy god."

"Really?" He grinned and posed.

"Yeah. My hunky god."

"Thanks, babe." He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It was short and brief, but a low whine escaped her.

"There'll be more of that later." He winked as he walked past her and faced the north. She pouted but followed nonetheless. They stood side by side.

"You ready?" He spared a sideway glance at her.

"To kick your Alpha butt? Sure?" She smirked.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and laughed. As if in symphony, they shifted simultaneously.

Mandy couldn't get over the sight of Jeremy in his beastly form. This was the third time she had seen him shift as she helped him previously get accustomed to his powers when he newly gained them. But still, the big wolf that stood beside her was always a sight to behold. His fur was as dark as Gerard's and Alpha Ronald's and he was almost as huge as the latter. There was a yellow strip on his underbelly and the normally black moon tattoos on his neck in human form were present in the middle of his head in wolf form and they glowed yellow. His eyes were different from the regular wolves as they comprised of dark scenery with brighter golden irises.

'I know I'm a sight to behold, but we've got some running to do,' he barked a mind link to her.

'Right,' she replied.

'One...two...' They crouched.

'Three!'

They took off into the woods. They were at first neck in neck before Mandy quickly overtook him.

'Ha!' She turned around momentarily, giving him a victorious gaze before sprinting on.

Mandy smiled inwardly, the wind caressing her white fur as she sped on. This was one of the perks on running in her wolf form. She felt at peace and at one with nature. From the way, the wind whistled in her ears to the softness of the soil under her feet as she ran. She put it in mind to convince her mate on doing this everyday.

Turning around as she ran, she noticed she couldn't see Jeremy again. She wasn't worried as she knew he was still nearby due to his strong scent she detected.

'Ha! I'm winning! Take that, Muffin!' She cheered as she could see the destination of the ending point of their race. A lake which was now visible at the clearing of the woods.

In her moment of euphoria, she was startled as a blur of darkness quickly sped past her. It was so quick that a normal human eyes couldn't detect it. She yelped, suddenly losing her balance. When she regained it, she stared in shock at the black wolf standing by the lake, wagging it's tail.

'You were saying?' Jeremy barked. She could detect the tone of laughter in his voice.

Mandy's ears dropped as realisation hit her. He had been giving her a head start the whole time. They shifted back to their human forms and Mandy huffed.

"Another win goes to Alpha Griffin," he whooped, pumping his arms.

She turned around and pouted.

"I can't believe you did that" she grumbled. "Toying with me like that."

Jeremy paused and faced her. "Come on, babe. Don't tell me you're upset," he said.

She didn't turn around.

"Mandy?" He walked towards her.

She didn't budge. Jeremy knew it really got to her.

"Mandy, come on. Don't be like that," he pressed.

She only huffed. While she remained still without turning around, she gave him all the time in the world to check out her nude form. His eyes roamed from the top of her head downwards and he felt a surge within him. A grin appeared on his face.

Mandy jolted as she felt arms wrap around her waist. She opened her mouth to respond but was silenced by his lips on the nape of her neck. She gasped lowly at the touch and goosebumps appeared on her shoulders.

"Still not going to respond?" His voice was husky. She could now feel something pressed on her butt and she squealed. His hands around her waist were now moving upwards.

"You know you can't resist." He kissed her jawline and she shivered.

Mandy was thankful for a lot of things. Mated to a werewolf was one. But mated to a special breed was on a whole new level. If someone told her three months ago, that Jeremy would be this charming and seductive, she would checked them into the nearest psychiatric ward. How he did a 360° personality change from shy and stuttering to hold, assertive and suave was one of the biggest surprises in her life. She didn't mind though.

His hands had now cupped the undersides of her breasts and she felt her resolve wilting away.

'Damn it, I can't stay mad at him.' She groaned inwardly.

'Just let him have his way,' her wolf whined. 'It would be beneficial for us.'

"Oh, come here, you beast." Mandy spun round and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a heated make out.

Jeremy's eyes widened a bit at her sudden move. But he returned her kiss nonetheless with dexterity. His hands roamed around her back then slipped downwards to squeeze her butt. She squealed into his lips and he grinned. He squeezed tighter and pulled away from her. He kissed her bottom lip and her eyes clamped shut, her lips parted a bit as his lips went lower. First, her chin, then her chest. She waited in anticipation for him to go lower as she felt the heat between her legs.

And just like that, it was over. Suddenly she didn't feel anything again.His touches stopped. She opened her eyes only to see no one in front of her. She heard a splash behind her and spun around. Jeremy had gotten into the lake and rested at the edge.

"Come on in, the water's warm." He smiled innocently at her.

However, she could see amusement dance in the blue pools of his eyes.

"Jeremy, you jerk!" she screeched as she charged towards him.