The Ripple Effect

A low whine filled the base of the little wolf's throat as she scurried about the weird texture beneath her. The pavement felt so wrong, and it scratched against her claws as she yelped out in disorientation. But she didn't dare stop, not when she could hear that giant russet wolf thundering forward. After her.

After us.

Regina? I'm scared! I cried, praying she would hear me.

Me, too, she whimpered, ducking her head and running faster. Where should we go!

Can you... Can you smell anything?

She nodded her furry, jet black head. I smell a forest. Should we hide there?

Don't even ask. Just run!

The beast after us was so close that I could hear his growling and snarling; thankfully, the little black wolf pushed as hard as she could, digging into every reserve she had as she leaped into the thicket.

Then everything changed. The wolf stopped shaking, and she bounded forward with a newly found confidence. Darkness surrounded us, dancing along every corner of my vision.

But we weren't scared.

The moon hung just over us, making sure we were safe as it watched us from its pedestal in the starry sky. Despite the fact that my existence was a bit questionable at the moment and my location was unknown, I had never felt so close to the moon.

The little wolf inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for just a second to enjoy the complete comfort that we both found here. Then she propelled herself farther into the woods.

Where do we go? Regina asked with a voice that did not waver.

I'm not sure... How long can you run like this?

To the moon, then?

I smiled, somehow. But then there was this nagging, prickling feeling again. I had felt it whenever Orion—

Sophie, stop running right now! If you insist on this stupid chase, I will stop holding Rex back.

So that feeling meant that Orion was intruding on my freedom.

Regina's whimper filled every part of me, like her every emotion was my own. But maybe it was? I certainly didn't know anything about this!

No. Regina, he can't make us: we're just like him.

Don't make me force you.

I snorted. Like you could. Regina, keep running until we reach that moon.

Enough!

I cringed away from the horribly distorted voice, and Regina skittered about the ground before taking off again. Orion... I'd never heard him sound like that before. I was almost afraid of that voice in my head!

A long howl mixed with a throaty warning growl filled the air around us, a sound to which Regina responded with a pathetic whimper and a few staggered footsteps. Was she slowing down? No!

Don't stop running, Regina! Please!

But... But he's—

I don't care if he's the president! Just go!

But she stopped suddenly, and her ears tucked flat against her head. She looked behind her, allowing me to see the thundering wolf easily and quickly closing the little distance between us.

Before I could even form a coherent thought, the massive auburn beast slammed into Regina. She crumpled to the ground without any resistance, and she was perfectly still as the monster snapped and snarled in her face. She just whimpered weakly.

The chase is over, Rex snarled, his voice filling the nonexistent space around me. And don't you dare ever run from me again! He seemed to calm slightly, and he buried his muzzle into the fur of Regina's neck. We need to shift back.

Regina whined a protest, and I agreed whole-heartedly with it. No, we would remain a wolf forever! I was a wolf, not some weird beast-human! I would stay like this, and I would forget that I ever was a human. I would be a normal animal.

I'm not asking, Regina. There was a warning tone to his voice. It was a direct order from your Alpha. Shift. Now.

From your Alpha...

A painful gasp of air rushed down my lungs, and I choked at the intrusive, foreign feeling. Grass tickled my skin as it cradled me gently. Hands immediately and frantically grasped at my face.

The first time Orion had touched me, I had felt...what could only be described as sparks, little jolts of electricity that had raced up and down my skin. The tingling sensation had been but a small curiosity, something I'd been able to overlook as a mere ploy of an overactive imagination.

Now, however, every small touch, every slight brush of skin, sent my heart pounding into overdrive and my skin sprung to life—as if a part of me had been sleeping for years and had now just awoken.

"Sophie, are you well? Did that hurt you in any way?" Orion whimpered as his fingers trailed all over my face. These sparks would kill me! What was this?

"I'm fine," I sputtered, unable to think of anything beyond the invisible flames dancing across his fingertips. "Orion, I... What happened?"

"I had no idea you were... I mean, you smelled human." His eyes shifted away from me, and he slowly eased himself from me.

"That's because I am human!" I growled as I scrambled to my feet, pushing his hand away and snarling at those stupid sparks.

"Sophie."

I didn't like his tone, and I definitely didn't like how he tried to grab me.

"I didn't say you could touch me!" I snapped, lunging at him and slamming his body into the tree behind him. His eyes narrowed, and his upper lip twitched. So I increased my grip around his throat.

He grabbed my hand, gently at first. But then the grip started to tighten. I refused to let go, and he kept gripping harder. Until I heard cracking.

"Sophie, stop this now!" Orion snarled, pushing me off like I was just a leaf in the wind. Unable to catch myself, I stumbled to the dirt. The broken bones in my hand were forgotten, the pain already gone. "Don't make me remind you of—"

"Of what? That Rex is a big, bad Alpha? Like I give a damn! I'm not one of your dogs!" I spat back at him, hissing as he dared to step closer. But then his eyes softened.

"You're right: you're not just one of my pack, Sophie. But that's because you're my entire world."

My entire body stopped responding to me until finally allowing me to sputter. "What?"

He appeared before me in a flash, a blur that I saw perfectly. And he whimpered, "Mate."