Orphan Ch. 08

Alexander pulled her close. He understood what Cross must feel now that he felt as he did for Jenabel. Carl picked up the conversation again.

"So yes, finding our mate is right up there with protecting our children and our pack, it is a defining force in our lives. Once we find our mates, we are pulled to complete the bonding with them, usually during the next full moon. We share a part of ourselves and accept a part of our mate."

"What you're feeling now is the pull to complete the mating. However, it is not quite that straight forward for the two of you."

Carl watched as Jenabel curled closer to Alexander.

"As you are not fully Were yet, if you and Jenabel tried to complete the mating bond it could possibly kill you. With your Were gene being latent for so many years we just don't know what the outcome would be."

Alexander interjected.

"So it's not like the movies, you don't bite a human and they become Were?" Alexander still didn't understand fully what Carl was trying to tell him.

"No Alexander, a person can't be 'turned' into a Were. You are either born Were or not. Matings of the type our wolves require of us are deadly to humans. We all believed that Jenabel was feeling the mating pull toward you but this is something that could not have been if you were human, as we had believed."

Jenabel buried her head in Alexander's shoulder remembering the pain of believing he would never be hers. Alexander pulled her closer, feeling her whirling emotions.

"But luckily that wasn't the case." Carl smiled as he said this, very grateful that Jenabel still had the opportunity to claim her mate.

"However, until you complete your first moon change, become fully balanced with your wolf, there is still a danger that if you tried to complete the mating bond it could kill you. So, until that happens, you and Jenabel need to..."

Carl's words trailed off, he wasn't usually embarrassed about such subjects but seeing as it was Jenabel his fatherly instincts won out over his Alpha traits.

Jenabel whispered softly against Alexander's neck, completing her father's statement.

"We can't...join Alexander. We have to fight the urge. If I claimed you accidentally, which, considering how badly I want you is a very real possibility, you could die. So we have to be very careful of how far we let our...urges go."

Alexander could feel if not see the heat of her blush against his skin.

"I understand." Alexander's statement came out a bit too harsh. Everyone in the room understood why. Fighting the need to complete the mating would have been struggle for any of them.

Alexander shook off the erotic images of him and Jenabel that had been flashing through his mind due to the topic. He still had a thousand questions and little time to ask them. One kept coming up from that deep dark place in our psyche that always questioned his own self worth.

"Do you have any idea why one of your kind would abandon a child to a human orphanage?"

Carl was not surprised by the question. Dmitri had focused on this part of Alexander's history and its ramifications as well.

"To my knowledge it has never happened before. I can only guess that whoever your parents were, they felt you were in mortal danger and believed the orphanage the only safe place for you."

"Our children are treasured Alexander. We, as a race are very small in the grand scheme of things. Children are the greatest of gifts as each and every one of them is quite literally part of the future of our kind. It is...inconceivable that someone would take the risk of leaving a Were child with humans, let alone consigning them to be wards of the state."

"Our laws are very strict regarding such things. We have to keep our existence a secret. If it were to come out, especially now with the level of technology and communication that exists today, that Weres existed we would most assuredly be hunted, caged and studied. This is something none of our kind would ever be able to survive."

Sophie, with a squeeze on Carl's hand broke into the discussion.

"I would have to believe that it was your mother's decision Alexander. I have thought a great deal about this, trying to understand how any of us would put one of our cubs, and our people in such jeopardy. The only thing that makes sense is that your mother was separated from her mate, that she herself was in some kind of danger and this was the only option open to her. I know that it may be hard for you to see past the abandonment, but speaking as a mother I can only assume that a scenario such as this led to her leaving you."

Tears were running down Sophie's cheeks as she said this. The emotion of it, the utter desperation a mother would have to have to leave her child this way was too much for her to contain. Carl wrapped his wife in a strong hug, feeling her sorrow, for both Alexander and his mother, through their bond.

The room was quiet for time as everyone got their emotions under control. Once everyone seemed calmer Alexander kept the questions coming.

"Yesterday you said that there was a danger I could go "rogue" without having the proper balance when I shift. From everything I've heard that seems to go against this balance. It almost makes it sound like my wolf aspect is dangerous or even...evil." This had bothered Alexander. Being with Jenabel and Willow in their wolf forms, neither had struck him as anything but amazing, pure, if wild, manifestations of the two humans that he knew.

Carl was once again surprised at how much depth Alexander gleaned from the smallest of comments.

"Our wolves are reflections of ourselves and vise versa. If someone is honorable, good, then those traits are carried by our wolves as well. We have but one soul Alexander. I am Carl Benton, Alpha of this pack no matter what form you see. My Mate, my Family, my Pack, all of them, that's what I live for. That never changes."

"When I mentioned going rogue yesterday, it was in the context of your wolf not wanting to relinquish control once it had it. Our kind go rogue, give into the basest of our feral emotions for many reasons. In your case it would be simply a lack of understanding. For others, fear, pain, desperation, loss, all of these emotions can push our human spirit to give up our share of the burden completely. When this happens the wolf takes over. Depending on the reasons for our human soul giving up, the rogue that is left may simply shift into a wolf and disappear into the forest. However, if some great tragedy or loss is the cause, the purely feral nature of our wolves may be uncontrollable. In cases such as this, sadly, we usually have no choice other than to put the rogue out of its misery."

Alexander could understand this. He had seen it in combat a few times. A soldier would see just too much death, too much savagery, be exposed to the depths humanity can sink to and be unable to cope. They would retreat so far into themselves that there was no possibility of finding or wanting to find, their way back.

Jenabel hugged him close. "That won't happen to you Alexander. I know it won't. You're strong and we'll teach you everything you need to know." Her words were forceful, spoken with a conviction that Alexander took great comfort in.

Looking up from Jenabel's eyes he saw the other three were watching them with smiles on their faces. Alexander could feel the blush start to rise on his cheeks. It was so different for him being around people who actually cared about him. That wanted him to be happy and would help in anyway they could to ensure it. He wanted nothing more in this moment than to be here with Jenabel, her family, and the pack forever. He still had a long way to go before that would be possible, starting with one important detail.

"How do you shift? This morning I saw a...vision, a large blondish brown wolf. It seemed to know me, to lend me its strength. I reached out for it but he would not come to me. He seemed wary. While I could feel his power, knew that it was my wolf aspect that gave me the ability to defend myself, he still seemed hesitant."

The four Weres were surprised by this revelation. It took cubs years to be able to actually see their wolves in their minds, to attain that level of connection.

Brad broke into a wide grin before answering him.

"This is excellent news Alexander. When we shift we...call forth our wolf. We move toward them, they move toward us. We meet in the middle and join. When this happens in our minds the physical shift happens. It usually takes the cubs a long time to get to the point where they can actually see their wolves in their minds eye. Willow has only recently been able to find the balance and will the change. For the younger ones they have little control, like Amy when the tree destroyed the house. It was pure instinct that, sensing her fear, her wolf came forward to help and she shifted. That you did it naturally means you are farther along than any of us dared to hope."

Alexander thought about this, pulled up the memory in his mind, replayed it. In doing so he inadvertently called forth his wolf.

One moment he was within the memory, the next he felt his consciousness shift to the present as his reality shifted.

He stood in a meadow, the boundary of which was shrouded in mist. He could feel the earth beneath his feet, the gentle caress of a warm spring wind. Out of the mist came his wolf, its fur catching the light causing it to burn golden as it reflected the rays. It strode purposefully forward stopping twenty feet away from Alexander who stood still watching the proud animal's advance. They stayed that way for what seemed to Alexander hours, simply learning the others form. With a small chuff the wolf moved closer and Alexander was compelled to do so as well. With each step he felt more of the wolf.

The coiled power of its muscles as they tensed and released with each step.

How its fur shifted in the breeze and in doing so changed its color from blond to gold and then a light brown. As they paused a mere foot apart he could feel the beasts lungs filling with air, could discern numerous scents on the wind.

Alexander's hand reached out across the gap.

His wolf sat perfectly still, a look of curiosity in its blue eyes.

The touch was tentative, his palm behind the wolf's ear. The fur was soft and warm under his fingers. At the contact Alexander felt a gentle pull toward the wolf but he fought it, maintaining the contact but not letting it go further. Closing his eyes he found a vision of himself as seen through the wolf's eyes.

He was naked, his muscles and scars in bold relief. The colors of the meadow around them were more vibrant, deeper. Everything contained a depth of detail unlike anything he had ever seen. No picture, no movie, no vista he had seen through his many travels held as much glorious richness as this simple glade seen through a wolf's eyes.

Alexander pulled his hand away. The wolf chuffed once and turned slowly walking back into the mist.

"Alexander, ALEXANDER!"

He blinked a few times, looking around the room. Sophie, Carl and Brad were standing over him; Jenabel cradled him in her arms.

"What, what happened?"

Brad got a wry smile on his face.

"You saw your wolf again didn't you?"

Alexander nodded, pulling himself and Jenabel up as he stretched and turned to her.

"It was amazing, I could see through its eye, the detail, the depth, the beauty of it. Jenabel it was..."

Jenabel smiled and hugged him close. "Yes I know Alexander. It makes you want to cry sometimes how they view the world." He sank into her embrace, seeming to feel her for the first time. He could scent so much more on her skin now, the headiness of her sensual natural clove but also the soap over top of it, the detergent used to wash the clothes, the lush scent of her smoldering arousal and need for him.

"I hate to break this up." Carl said with a shake of his head. "But we have more to cover and it's getting late. Why don't you two go for a walk or better yet a run and burn off some energy then come back and we'll finish up. Hopefully Dmitri will have some feedback for me tomorrow and we can start your formal training."

Jenabel smiled and nodded to her father. Taking Alexander's hand she led him out of the room toward the back door of the house.

"He's going to make the change just fine." Brad said to his parents.

"That he can see his wolf, touch him, has the ability to pick up on its senses is a big, big hurdle to be sure. There is still more he has to learn and there is a vast difference in sharing with your wolf and merging with your wolf. This gives me a great deal of hope that the change will not be as dangerous as we thought."

Sophie hugged Carl as she watched Alexander and Jenabel walk off into the night. While she knew there were many more trials to come, that he had overcome this major one so easily helped Sophie to know that her daughter would hopefully, finally have her mate.

-vVv-

Alexander and Jenabel walked through the woods around the perimeter of the compound. They were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts, which, not entirely surprisingly, mirrored the others.

Alexander slowly ran his thumb over the top of Jenabel's hand. He was caught up in the myriad sensations that such a simple touch provided.

The smooth texture of her skin against his.

How he could pause over her pulse and feel it beat in time with his own.

Her fingers flexing each time his thumb caressed the hardness of her knuckle.

Having her so close, her scent mingled with his, becoming something new. Sweeter and deeper and overtly sensual in the blending.

As Alexander's thumb moved along a mere inch of her skin, Jenabel's thoughts were aimed in a similar direction and, though she was loath to do so; she slipped her hand from his and stopped.

Alexander took one step and then turned, surprised by the break in their connection.

"We...we have to talk Alexander, I know my father went over it but we have to talk."

She was obviously flustered. Alexander wanted to cross the small distance between them but thought better of it as he watched Jenabel run her hands through her hair and sigh deeply.

"We have to set some ground rules Alexander or it is going to be a very long and frustrating twelve days until the full moon. I want you; it's obvious you want me." She had a hard time keeping her eyes from wandering to the large bulge in his tight jeans.

"And we will indulge those wants Alexander. God knows how we'll be able to stop once we start. But until then we need to tread carefully. I can't, I won't be responsible for something going wrong. I'm strong Alexander, but my wolf can only take so much temptation. It is only the fact that she knows the wait is short that is keeping her at bay and I don't want to hurt you in a careless moment."

Alexander heard the pain and indecision in her voice. He thought of what staying away from her was doing to him. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her, having as close a bond with her wolf as she did.

He was about to take a step away from her when he froze in place. His intention to step away from his mate when she was in pain had triggered something primal within him. He could only guess that it was his own wolf responding to the mating pull.

Instead of stepping away he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. His lips were insistent and her resistance only lasted an instant before, with a moan, her lips parted to accept his rampant tongue.

Alexander pulled her to the ground, his lips never leaving hers as their tongues dueled. His hands roamed possessively over her body with not a care given to modesty. Alexander's touch held none of the timidity he had displayed previously with Jenabel. His touch was sure and confident.

One of his palms came to rest on her breast, his fingers digging gently into her warm, receptive flesh. Jenabel moaned, caught up in the raucous fury of their combined need. Her wolf howled longingly as their mate mauled them, dominated them, and took them.

Alexander was on fire, out of control, his only desire to make Jenabel understand that she was his. He was confused by his wolf's need but also understood his wolf may know better than he what Jenabel needed in this moment.

His hand released her breast and slid down her stomach, tracing the faint line of her muscles as it slipped into her jeans. Jenabel moaned into his mouth, struggling a bit trying to regain control of the situation. Alexander merely growled as his fingers touched her hot center, feeling the damp need that resided there only en-flamed him more.

Jenabel felt his fingertips run over her heated sex, then he was cupping her fully, the heat of his hand burning through the light silk of her panties. Her hips rose to meet his hand, loving the way he seemed to posses her with such a simple action.

"You. Are. Mine Jenabel." His words were harsh, strained as he pushed her panties aside and his fingers played roughly over her core. "I understand what you mean, I know that we can't do that which we both desire. But never doubt you..." He left no doubt as to what he was referring to as his rough finger slid into her up to the first knuckle, gently bumping into her maidenhead. "...are mine, denying yourself to me is not an option for either side of my nature."

His finger entering her, his choked, whispered words burned through her and she clung to him, her hips writhing against his hand as he pushed her over the edge and her orgasm crashed through her.

Jenabel's breath came in short gasps, as with a final lingering touch Alexander removed his hand from her panties. She could see his eyes were clouded with desire. But behind that there was a question, him questioning himself for his actions. She pulled him close, feeling his own need pressing into her. "It was perfect Alexander, don't beat yourself up. You didn't hurt me. Far from it, that was exactly what I needed."

Alexander pulled away from her, his fingers gently pushing away the dark strands of her hair that had falling in her eyes. "Was it...was it what your wolf needed Jenabel? It was me that did this but my wolf was here, exerting some control. It was us but it was more than us as well."

He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't think she understood what he meant.

"Alexander it was perfect, it was exactly what my wolf, and apparently yours, needed." Her voice dropped to sensual purr as her lips came close to his ear, her breath on his skin causing his body to shudder. "What about your needs Alexander, how can we deal with those..." her voice trailed off as her hand wormed between them coming to rest on his hardness.

His breath came out in a burst at her touch, just as he was about to kiss her...

"Jenabel! Alexander! Lets go it's getting late." Sophie's voice cut through the clear night air bringing them both up with a start.

"Later." Jenabel whispered in his ear as she smoothed her disheveled clothing and then took him by the hand leading him back to her parents home.

Alexander's emotion were warring within him, part of him knew that it was best that they had been interrupted. The other and most assuredly stronger part of him was damn sure it was the worst interruption he had ever encountered and prayed it would not often be repeated.

-vVv-

Sophie cocked an eyebrow at Jenabel as she and Alexander mounted the front porch stairs. The blush, along with lingering scents that clung to them both told Sophie all she needed to know.

She shook her head lightheartedly.

"Why don't you two...wash up some...before we get started again." Sophie almost laughed at the hand in the cookie jar looks she got from the pair as they passed into the house, heads hung.

"They'll be here in a minute."

Carl looked at the small smile on Sophie's lips and pulled her into a strong hug. He could feel through their bond her happiness for Jenabel as well as her concern.