The Wanted Alpha

Chapter 23 - Shifting

April

I awoke, feeling a tender caress on my cheek. I looked up to be met with the intense dark eyes of my mate, gazing at me with such soft, longing I could melt all over again. The memories of last night came rushing back, making my skin flush once more. Sitting up, I realised we were still by the fireplace on the rug. 

Had we slept here all night? 

Peering down at Ethan, my mouth watered seeing his bare chest fully in the warm light from the floor lamp nearby and the cool chill I felt against my skin reminded me I was very much naked. My arms came round to cover myself by instinct.

"You cold?" he asked, instantly sitting up and wrapping his large, warm arms around me.

"...a little…" I trailed off, feeling my cheeks heat again.

'You don't have to be shy, sweet. I've kissed nearly every inch of you now' he teased, pecking my lips with a subtle smirk.

He was getting a little too cocky and needed reminding that I could affect him just as much as he did me, if not more so.

I stood, trying to ignore the instinct to preserve my modesty, facing him head on. I noticed from the clock on the mantle it was nearing 7am and he had promised to get me checked out by a doctor today, it was something I knew would be a little unpleasant which I didn't want dangling above me all day. 

"Are we still going to the hospital today?" I tried to ask as innocently as possible.

He gave me a strained nod "I mind-linked Dr. Haynes last night, she'll fit you in anytime you want."

"Well, we better go shower then…" I said, giving him a doe-eyed look.

As I headed for the bathroom I felt him following, thinking he was joining me. I turned in the doorway, tilting my head and mustering my best innocent look.

"Where do you think you're going Mr. Alpha? You didn't think that was an invitation, did you?" I took great delight in seeing him swallow hard, with that deep contemplative look when he was trying to work out whether I was serious or not.

I closed the door slowly, feeling satisfied with his ragged breathing and the pink hue to his otherwise alabaster skin.

'You could have at least let him watch' August snickered.

'Now that would have been just plain cruel.'

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Sitting in the doctor's office awaiting my results was a little nerve wracking and I was glad to have Ethan by my side in this. He could have left, I knew he had a lot of duties to catch up on in the time he'd been gone, but he never did. He had stepped out while the tests were performed, which I was immensely appreciative of. When I heard Dr. Haynes say 'ultrasound scan' I immediately imagined the little wand thing that's rubbed across a woman's stomach to look at a baby in the womb, so I didn't think it was going to be as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be…my mistake. And because I was a virgin the doctor thought it would be best to go in another way...but it was all over now, thank goddess. Dr. Haynes had also taken blood and urine samples, as well as testing my lungs.

"Hey Alpha, Luna" the doctor greeted us with a kind smile, moving to take a seat with us and spread the files in her hand out for us to see.

She looked a lot like her brother, Greer, the same dark hair and eyes and mocha skin. Her features were much more feminine and she was naturally beautiful, even dressed in scrubs with her hair in a messy bun.

"Hey Julia" Ethan replied, while I returned her smile.

"I'll get right to it, everything physiologically seems fine. Your pelvic ultrasound scan showed nothing wrong with your uterus, your fallopian tubes or ovaries. It doesn't look as though there's any developed follicles, which means your body isn't readying itself to release an ovum yet. The ovarian reserve test showed high AMH levels so you definitely have the potential for good fertility. Your lung capacity is excellent, you are a little deficient in iron and vitamin B12 so it's actually a pretty good thing you haven't shifted much, that would have really depleted you further. But that's all sorted with good food and care from our Alpha here" she gave him a sly grin with that.

"Trust me, she'll get nothing but the best from me" Ethan gripped my hand in comfort, flashing me a lopsided, dimpled smile.

"As for how you shifted so young...I've got no clue. This is all uncharted territory. I've searched through what I can in the time it took the tests to run but I've come up empty. All I've found are examples of wolves getting increased speed or their healing kicking into action in a serious situation, but not a full on shift as young as 6. I would say it's because you're an Alpha, your wolf was strong enough to handle it, it's probably stunted her development but unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that. It's also probably why you can naturally suppress your scent and aura...because your wolf is underdeveloped. This is just my speculation, mind you."

She was being understanding and trying to break her thoughts gently but they still cut me deep. August would never be as strong as she could've been, we would always be limited and I suddenly felt very inadequate.

'Don't you dare, we're strong and we're fast. We beat our mate in a race and we've taken down 7 of his warriors, remember that April.'

I knew she was right, but my shortcomings still flashed in my mind.

"I'm not a fertility expert" Dr. Haynes continued "but I think the reason here as to why you've never had a heat or period is because you shifted before your body matured. The adrenaline spike that comes with a first shift triggers the sex hormone production, which triggers a heat and so on. And because your shift came before your reproductive organs had matured, there's been nothing to jolt your system into 'maturity' so to speak. Obviously since you 2 met over 2 months ago, the bond activating isn't enough of a jolt. For all we know just being marked could trigger your heat, it's been known to happen in other she-wolves sometimes. Right now I wouldn't worry too much, you're real young and we've got plenty of time to work this out" she finished with a smile.

Her mentioning marking had my face heat up, Ethan and I hadn't talked about that yet...and usually marking took place with a couple's first mating, it was a natural instinct between mate's.

"Thank you, for everything you've done for me doctor" I said, reaching out my hand to shake hers.

"Oh no problem! My mate said you put him and the Beta in their place yesterday, quite spectacularly I've been told, so I know you've gotta be a hell of a woman and Luna, so helping you out is my absolute pleasure. And call me Julia too" she said, grasping my hand.

After a round of goodbyes and final words of advice, we left the hospital heading back out into the crisp air. Julia assured us she'd keep my records hidden, with a false name until I was ready to see a proper specialist.

"You ok?" Ethan asked, turning me round to face him and placing his hands on my hips.

"Just, mixed is all. I'm glad to know something more now...but…" 

Ethan cut off my words with a kiss, slow and sweet. 

"Don't ever think you're weak. You're alive because you and your wolf are so strong, no other werewolf could have done the things you have, survive like you have. The more I learn about you the more I feel blessed that the moon goddess felt I was good enough for you."

He leant his forehead against mine, wiping the couple of tears I didn't know had slipped.

"Now, I really don't want to leave you but I've got a stack of work to catch up on. So, I asked one of my female warriors if they can take you to do a little shopping, if you want? It might cheer you up a little too. As much as I love you in my clothes, I thought you'd want some of your own finally" he asked.

I had never been shopping before, not properly at least. I remember as a little girl going out with my mom, she would always look so elegant and pretty. 

"That sounds nice, it'd be good to spend some time with another she-wolf" I smiled up at him.

He drove me into town near the pack house and we pulled up near the shopping streets that were busy with humans and wolves alike, all shopping for Christmas and Winter Solstice. We got out and Ethan led me over to a young woman stood by a clothing store, who looked bundled for the cold. She looked around my age and a few inches shorter, with a deep complexion and long, sleek, pitch black hair.

"This is Janine, she's one of the new warriors but her and her brother, Jaime, are real good."

Her face beamed at hearing his praise and her enthusiastic gaze switched to me.

"It's an honour to meet you Luna, I am super excited for this!" 

She was practically bouncing on her feet.

"Don't you worry Alpha, she'll be in good hands. Ain't nothing getting past me" she continued to enthuse.

He moved in to kiss me goodbye but not before mind-linking me 'don't worry, I'm not expecting an attack. But she'll be good backup for you just in case and maybe someone you can see as a friend.'

"Oh, here. Take this" he handed me a black card "make sure she spends an obscene amount, Janine. That's an order" he smiled.

"That, I can definitely do" she said as she linked her arm with mine. I couldn't help but smile, her enthusiasm was catching.

"I'll see you later?" my farewell came out as more of a question.

"Absolutely" he kissed me one more time before heading off, leaving me alone with Janine.

"Damn, it's so weird seeing him be not intimidating. But it's a good weird, so I guess we got you to thank for that, ay Luna?" she smiled brightly at me.

"Oh you can call me April, I mean, I'm not technically Luna yet" it was still a little strange being addressed by a title.

She pulled me into the store, as we spoke "are you crazy? Alpha would have my ass if I didn't show you the respect you deserve. Besides, it's nice calling you Luna, we've been without one so long. I've never been able to call anyone it, Luna Annis died 5 years before I was even born."

I would leave it for now, but I would get her calling me by my name eventually.

"Now let's go see if we can find anything that'll fit those insane long legs of yours, luckily ankle grazers are in."

We spent the rest of the day trying on clothes, shoes and she even got me to try underwear too. I hadn't really worn a proper bra before, it took a little getting used to at first. But dear goddess, my breasts looked amazing, I actually had some! Unfortunately I didn't find any pants that were long enough, just the odd couple I could get away with as 'ankle grazers' as Janine called them. So most of my purchases were dresses, skirts, the odd pair of shorts and some nice tops and sweaters. She insisted I get some makeup and even showed me how to apply it. I remember watching my mother doing her makeup and letting me play with it a little. I was too young to know what I was doing, but I still had fun. After putting all my bags in her car and grabbing a bite to eat, Janine insisted, yet again, I got something called a 'Brazilian blowout'. And I had to admit, my hair had never looked better; long, silky and incredibly smooth. 

She was kind enough to drop me off at the pack house after we were done, she had been such great company all day and I hoped we could hang out again sometime. 

A kind pack member just coming out of the pack house offered to help me carry my bags upstairs. As there were quite a few, I sheepishly took him up on his offer.

"Thank you so much, I'm sorry for the trouble..." silently prompting for his name.

"It's Kevin. And no worries, Luna. It's been great to actually meet you...I'll see you around" he gave me a small smile and quickly left, probably trying to avoid his scent lingering for too long and piss off his Alpha.

I headed to put my purchases away, also eager to put on something new I had bought. I decided on a dusky pink matching bra and panties that were a thin sheer lace, which I hoped would be a little surprise for Ethan later when he came up. I threw on a pretty grey sweater with a silvery thread and a pair of comfy cotton shorts. I still had some time before my mate came home so I decided to light a fire and read a little in the cozy armchair. With my legs dangling over the arm and a roaring fire burning, the last two hours melted away as I heard the door go. Ethan's peppery citrus scent burst into the room just ahead of him and his strides seemed to falter as he looked my way. His eyes seemed to rove over my bare legs and I loved the hungry look I could elicit by simply stretching them a little. 

"Hey, did you get your work caught up on?" I asked, while flashing my eyes teasingly from just over my book.

I shifted slightly, to subtly expose my legs a little more to him, watching as his eyes followed them and his Adam's apple bob.

"My eyes are up here, Mr. Alpha."

His gaze snapped up to mine, with that subtle pink hue to his cheeks that was becoming a familiar sight on him.

"I had a nice time today, if you were wondering" I pressed, teasing his silent staring.

With how he was looking at me, I was hoping it was about to get better.

Chapter 24 - The Wanted Alpha