Chapter 5

A change in the atmosphere signals the start of the ceremony. There is no announcement, no obvious sign that something is about to happen, except for a ripple of excitement that runs through the gathering crowd. Voices hush as everyone stands and turns towards the alpha. I'd expected Alpha Mortlock to stand near the front to direct to the group, but instead, he walks among us, barefoot and quietly greeting pack members with a smile or a touch on the shoulder as he weaves his way to the centre of the pack. Lena walks next to him, her hand brushing his as they walk side by side. Alex and Isa follow just a few steps behind them.

The stark contrast between Shadow Pack and the pack here throws me for a moment. I know it shouldn't, Moon River has proven over and over that they're nothing like my old pack, but it's not easy to forget what I saw in the years I grew up there. In Shadow Pack, the alpha would walk ahead of everyone, followed by his beta, gamma, and lastly, the female the alpha had claimed. By walking side by side with his mate, Alpha Mortlock is saying that Lena is as important as he is, that they share a powerbase. This says a lot about the pack I'm about to join.

Nerves run through me, but not because I'm doubting my decision. Being surrounded by my old pack was never a good thing, and I have to fight against the memories pushing to be re-lived in my mind. Sensing my discomfort through our bond, Killian gives my hand a squeeze, dipping his head towards me in encouragement. The others follow his lead and step closer to me. Taking a deep breath, I let their scents settle me, my inner wolf humming with pleasure at being surrounded by her men.

Home.

Once in the centre of the gathering shifters, Mortlock looks around, his face proud as he takes in his pack. Alex stands just behind him, his eyes locked on me. There's a promise shining in them as a sly smile crosses his lips, causing my core to clench. I recognise that look all too well. The guys shift around me as they scent my arousal, their hands finding innocent ways to touch me. I don't think they even realise they're doing it half the time, but I find them gravitating towards me constantly—a simple touch of hands brushing against me as they reach for a glass or stroking my hair as they pass me.

Pulling my gaze from Alex, I look at my guys surrounding me. Killian's on my right and Garett's on my left, with Seb standing by his side. Eric is a little farther away with a blank expression on his face as he watches us. Catching me watching him, a smile lights his face, and I feel a little guilty at the distance between us. I still don't know how he fits in with us here, and I hadn't considered how he would feel being surrounded by shifters. I don't say a word, but he must sense something as he walks over and cups my face between his hands.

"Don't worry about me, Ari, this is your night. Enjoy this." His words are soft, but I roll my eyes. He's using his doctor voice. Typical, self-sacrificing Dr. Eric.

"You're going to be left out. There's no way you can keep up with us when we start running. Why hadn't I thought of this?" I turn to Garett to see if he has any words of wisdom, but Eric's laugh stops me from asking. Turning back to the incubus, I raise an eyebrow in question .

"Ari, thank you for being concerned about my feelings, but I have no intention of being left behind." His eyes light with an inner fire as his demon comes to the surface, and some of his otherworldly power washes over me. "I fully intend on shifting with you. Then we shall see who's left behind." His face is close to mine, and for a second, I think he's going to kiss me, but we're interrupted when Killian slings his arm around my shoulders.

"So, the demon is coming out to play, huh? You really think you can outrun a werewolf?" Killian snorts disdainfully, but the teasing glint in his eyes tells me that he isn't about to start a fight. I take half a step back, shaking my head as I watch the two males face off against each other, both unable to turn away from a challenge.

"Oh, I know it, wolf," Eric goads, his whole demeanour changing from calm doctor to playful young man as he teases the grizzly werewolf. Something within me warms as I watch them.

"Ari."

Glancing up when my name is called, I see Alpha Mortlock smiling at me, gesturing for me to join him in the centre of the pack. Taking a deep, shaking breath, I step forwards, pushing my nerves away. When I reach the alpha's side, he smiles kindly at me, patting me on the shoulder before his mate pulls me into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you decided to join us." Her voice is strained, as if she's holding back tears, and she embraces me tighter. Startled, my arms hang by my sides for a second before I smile and wrap them around Lena, returning her hug. I marvel once again at how such a kind woman has remained in such a place of power.

Releasing the alpha's mate, I take a small step back, my face flushed at such shows of affection. Alex walks up to me next, his steps predatory. When he reaches me, he presses his forehead to mine, my wolf instantly settling at his touch.

"I know what this means to you. You've got this." His voice is quiet, meant only for me, but it doesn't take away from the power in his words. I would've been happy to stay in that position for far longer, but a wall of muscle walks to my side .

Pulling away, I smile up at the pack gamma, Isa, who greets me with a rare smile of her own. She pats me on the back with a force that has me stumbling, and the pack around us chuckles, having been at the receiving end of one of her shows of affection before.

"I'm glad you have finally decided to join the pack. It is good to have another strong female around to show these men who is really boss." Her thick German accent has me smiling again. Seb told me that while she is fair and mingles with the pack, she doesn't have many friends outside of the male German wolves that joined the pack with her. This is something we have in common. Other than Tori, I've never really had any female friends, so this fragile new friendship means a lot to me.

"Friends, pack mates, and guests. Thank you all for joining us. We have gathered here tonight for a very special reason." Mortlock's words fills the air around us, and although he doesn't raise his voice, our sensitive shifter hearing pulls our attention to him, his alpha power imbedded in his words. "We are here to welcome a new member to our pack, someone that many of you are familiar with. She's helped and protected this pack, even at risk to herself, first as our nurse, then as our friend. When we were attacked, when she was targeted by one of our own, she still fought for us." Mortlock pauses at the reminder of Marcus' betrayal.

When I first arrived at the pack, I beat Marcus in a formal challenge. I had refused to kill him when he lost the challenge, even though it's against what shifter law demands. He had been banished from the pack as a result and had joined forces with Shadow Pack, who later attacked Moon River. Seb's mother, Gloria, had been killed and several others wounded. The pack was still trying to recover from this betrayal.

Glancing across at Seb, I see his arms wrapped around a sombre-looking Jessica, but what surprises me is the look on his face. My submissive, playful wolf looks like a different person, his expression fierce, and the strange new sense of power is pulsating from him. If I hadn't been paying attention or looked at Seb in that moment, I wouldn't have noticed it, as it disappears in the next moment. Frowning, I look at the others to see if they noticed anything, but they're all focused on the alpha. All except Eric, who's frowning at Seb with a look of confusion on his face.

"Ari has decided to become part of our pack, part of our family, and as such, she and her mates are welcome to stay here indefinitely," Mortlock announces and turns to face me, his face sombre as he speaks the formal words that will bind me to the pack. "Ari, formerly of no pack, do you accept a place among Moon River Pack? In accepting this, you swear to heed by our rules and protect the pack to the best of your ability until your death or for as long as you remain with the pack."

The forest is quiet, even the breeze that had been winding through the trees seems to have stopped, as everyone holds their breath while they wait for my answer. My heart thumps in my chest like a frantic bird trying to escape as I feel hundreds of expectant eyes on me. A pull down the bond has my wide-eyed gaze meeting Killian's eyes, and a sense of calm washes over me, his haughty smile familiar enough to help settle my nerves. My eyes flicker over to Garett and Seb, my protective bear and playful wolf, and they smile at me in encouragement. Looking at Eric next, he dips his head at me, silently acknowledging me and supporting my decision. I feel a hand on my shoulder and know it's Alex.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I turn to face Alpha Mortlock again and give him a slight apologetic smile. "I, Ari, lone wolf of no pack, hereby swear to live by the rules and protect Moon River Pack to the best of my abilities until my death or until I choose to leave the pack." As I speak the binding words, the hairs on my arms stand up as a tingle runs along my skin and a breeze picks up, blowing power through the clearing. The forest around me glows with an unnatural light as the pack's eyes start glowing with the strength of power that surrounds them. Several of the younger and less powerful shifters fall to their knees as they start to change into their wolves, unable to control the change with the amount of power that's filling the air.

"Welcome to the pack," Mortlock addresses me quietly with a large smile, before turning to the rest of the pack. "Let's run!" he announces to cheers as people begin undressing in preparation of shifting.

Alex takes hold of my arm, his smile wide as he leads me over my guys where they are waiting for us. Seb is struggling to hold a small wolf in his arms who's trying to get free. I laugh as she manages to escape his arms and lopes over to me. Kneeling down, I hold out my hand for Jessica's wolf to catch my scent before reaching forward to pat her head when she licks at my hand. I smile at her, rubbing between her ears before she jumps back at the sound of other wolf pups playing and yipping on the other side of the clearing. Spinning on all fours, she looks up at Seb, tilting her head in question, a small whine leaving her as she wordlessly pleads with her brother.

Rolling his eyes, Seb nods and gestures towards the other pups. "Fine, you can go with them, but you stay with the others, don't run off from Miss Jones like last time!"

I watch the whole exchange with amusement as Jessica yips in agreement and runs towards the group of wolf pups. Standing, I walk to Garett, who has his arms open wide. I snuggle into his hug and breathe in his comforting scent as he nuzzles my hair.

"Well done. I know what this means to you." His voice is rough as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.

"Come on, Ari, we need to shift," Alex calls, gently extracting me from my bear's arms, playfully winking at me as he starts to take off his shirt.

"Yes! Naked time!" Seb declares, his hands going to the buttons of his jeans. Suddenly, I don't know where to look as my guys start to undress around me. Not because I'm embarrassed, but because I'm having a very hard time keeping my hands off them.

"You too, demon," Killian chides, facing Eric as he removes his shirt. Eric just grins at Killian's challenge, unbuttoning his own shirt as he prepares to shift.

"Don't worry, wolf, I'm right behind you," Eric replies, chuckling slightly at Killian's impatience. I still as Eric undresses, my eyes following his hands as he unbuttons the cufflinks at his wrists. The crisp white shirt slides down his arms, exposing broad shoulders and a defined chest. I've never seen Eric other than in his smart, casual clothing or doctor's coat, and I find that I can't look away, even if I wanted to. His skin is paler than the others, but not quite as pale as mine. His chest is completely hairless, apart from a trail leading from his belly button down beyond the waistband of his trousers. I have this insane urge to run my fingers down his chest and see what the trail leads me to.

"Ari, you're drooling," an amused Seb teases before stalking over to me in only his boxers and playfully running his hands over his own chest. "What can I do to make you look at me like that?"

Rolling my eyes, I push his shoulder softly, but I can't hide the guilty grin that spreads across my face at being caught ogling Eric. They know how they affect me, I've shown them several times, but having them all here, surrounding me in various states of undress and their eyes only for me, is making a heat within me rise up. Scenting my arousal, they all take a step closer, their eyes glowing with their inner animal, or demon in Eric's case, with a small growl emitting from Killian's chest, the need to be with his mate riding him hard.

A howl brings my attention to those around us, many of whom are already in their wolf form or in the process of changing, with the alpha standing in the centre, watching over us all. A whimper has me frowning as I look through the crowd to find where the sound is coming from. A young woman, who I'd say was only about eighteen or nineteen, is crouched on the forest floor, her head in her hands as her skin seems to ripple. An older man and woman who have to be related to her crouch by her side, talking to her in low, reassuring tones, but I can see the pain in the older woman's eyes .

Feeling a hand on my arm, I pull my gaze away and see that Alex is by my side, wearing a concerned look on his face as he watches the young woman.

"What's going on? Why does she seem like she's in so much pain?" I ask quietly, my heart clenching as the girl lets out a mournful cry.

"We're not sure. Something seems to be affecting the younger wolves," he replies, his worry evident in the tightening of his eyes.

A chill runs down my spine at his words as I reach out, drawing his attention to me. "What do you mean ‘affecting'?" My words are hurried, for some reason this seems really important. Alex looks at me and sighs, then runs his hand through his hair. I'm shocked when I see his face full on, he looks like a different person, the weight of this sitting so heavily on his shoulders.

"They can't seem to shift. They get stuck, their bodies trying to shift but unable to, just stuck in this agonising cycle."

I fall silent, the gravity of what he's saying sinking in. If wolves can't shift and are getting stuck during their shift, they're completely vulnerable, not to mention the agonising pain. Why did no one mention this before?

"What can we do?" I finally inquire. This is my pack now, part of my responsibility, there has to be some way I can help. My nursing side is screaming at me to go help her, and when I look around, I can see that Eric is frowning in the direction of the young woman, obviously desiring to help but not wanting to cross any lines.

"The alpha can help her, that's why he hasn't shifted yet. Look, he's going over now." Following Alex's outstretched arm, I see that he's right. Alpha Mortlock is crouched down next to the girl, his eyes glowing as he says something to her in a voice too quiet for me to hear, although I realise what he's doing when the girl's body convulses once before bursting into her wolf form.

"He's forcing her shift," I whisper, fighting against a shudder. Alpha wolves have the ability to make their wolves change forms, and the old Alpha of Shadow Pack used to enjoy using this as a punishment, forcing me between forms. He would spend hours trying to get me to shift, and I would always refuse to shift for him. He required complete loyalty, expecting his wolves to follow his every order, so it would piss him off when he had to result in using his alpha power to force me to shift, and I can still remember the pain it would cause. But as I watch Alpha Mortlock with the young woman, I realise he's helping her, pressing his hands on either side of her muzzle and stroking the back of her head until her back legs stop shaking and the terrible whine she was making begins to quiet. Letting go of the wolf, the alpha sits back on his heels, and a small smile comes to his weary face when the young wolf takes a hesitant step towards him, licking at his hand before turning back to whom I assume are her parents.

"How long has this been going on for?" I ask as I turn to face my group of guys.

"The first time was a couple of months ago, but it's happening more often now," Alex tells me and holds up his hands as if to fend me off as my face clouds over, anger growing in the pit of my stomach. This started around the time they asked me to help the pack, and no one told me about this!

"Ari, let's not talk about this now, it's time to celebrate. You're pack now!" Seb chimes in, his smile infectious.

Looking around, I see that Killian, Seb, and Alex have stripped down to their boxers, ready to shift, and I realise he's right—now is not the time for anger, especially as I'm surrounded by half naked men. Garett stands next to me fully nude, and when he catches me looking, he just winks.

"Bears aren't as squeamish as you wolves. Besides, it would get really expensive if I had to buy new underwear after every shift, have you ever tried to get boxers for someone my size? It's pricey," he explains, causing me to roll my eyes.

Pulling my shirt off over my head, I start to unbutton my jeans, acutely aware of their eyes on me, heating my skin as I remove my clothing, until I'm left standing in my underwear. Sure, they've all seen me naked before, and I've shifted with Garett naked before, but I'm still uncomfortable taking my clothes off in front of people I don't know. Except they aren't just people anymore, they are pack, family. Taking a deep breath, I slide my underwear off and unhook my bra, letting it drop to the floor next to my other discarded clothing. As if this is the symbol they were waiting for, the others drop to their knees and begin to shift. Kneeling on the ground, I close my eyes and welcome my wolf to the surface. I can almost feel her fur brushing up against me as she prowls under my skin.

When I open my eyes again, I know I'm in wolf form. Before I fully accepted my wolf, shifting was always an unusual, slightly unnerving experience, like taking a backseat while someone else drove your favourite car. However, it's different now. I'm fully in control of myself and share this form with my wolf, so it's exhilarating.

A large, grey wolf stalks up to me, the brutal scar on his face standing out against his fur. Killian is huge, his shoulders would reach my chest if I was in human form. Lowering his large head, he rubs his jaw against me, emitting an almost purring sound from his chest. Alex's wolf comes next, rubbing up against my side in greeting, only to be pushed out of the way by a very excited smaller wolf. Seb's wolf yips as he bounces around in front of me, causing me to bark out in laughter.

A huge shadow falls over me, and I instinctively spin around, crouching down into a defensive position until I realise who it is. Garett's bear form towers over me, his head tilted to one side as he watches me, waiting for my wolf to get used to his presence. Dropping to his hind quarters, he sits to make himself seem less threatening, but my wolf and I would recognise Garett anywhere in either form. Jumping up, I rub myself around him, enjoying the feel of his fur against my muzzle, a happy rumble coming from my chest.

A change in the air has me pulling away, looking around me for the source of power that's suddenly filling the air until my eyes lock on Eric. He's standing in just a pair of trousers, his feet bare as he calls his power. The air seems to crackle around us, making my hair stand on end as a bluish aura surrounds him. Throwing his head back and arms open wide, Eric seems to hover off the ground for a moment before he bows his head. He pauses, then he slowly lowers his arms to his sides and lifts his head. His blue eyes glow with unearthly energy as they instantly lock on me. He still looks like Eric, albeit slightly different with the glowing eyes and something that looks suspiciously like horns protruding from his forehead, but the amount of power he's throwing out is new. It's almost overwhelming, and several wolves around the clearing are cowering from the strength of it.

Eric warily walks towards me, as if worried how my wolf will react to him. I have to admit, I'm afraid of his power, but I'm not afraid of him. I hadn't realised until he changed into this form, but I can almost see the connection between us, a bluish line that seems to tie us together, the bond that he says makes me his mate so much stronger.

Reaching my side, he kneels so we are face to face.

"Hello, mate, I have been looking forward to meeting you." His voice is deeper, more guttural in this form, the words full of power, and I fully realise how strong he is. My kind, gentle doctor is gone, replaced by a powerful demon. As if he can sense my thoughts, he frowns and sits back on his heels. "I'm still Eric. I am him and he is me. He may hide my presence in his human form, but I am never far away, much like your wolf. You should never fear me in either form."

Although he says this with confidence, something in his eyes flickers, telling me he's worried about my reaction to him. Taking the last couple of steps closer to him, I press my head against his chest, feeling at home as the guys surround us.