Werewolf

** Paige’s POV **
I knew it was Ryder in the street in front of me, even from behind I recognise him.
His name slips from my mouth without permission, and he turns in my direction, making my heart feel as though it drops into my stomach.
I’m not ready.
I’d told myself I was. I’ve rehearsed every possible version of what I’d say if I ever saw him again. But none of it matters. Because the moment Ryder is in front of me, everything inside me collapses. Six years vanished in a breath.
He is still a foot taller than me, intensely familiar. The same broad shoulders, the same ocean-blue eyes that once looked at me with admiration, only now they are heavier, haunted even. His jaw is sharper, his face a little leaner, a little more shadowed. Maybe life hadn’t been kind to him either. But God help me, he is still the most beautiful kind of wreck.
He drops to his knees when he sees me. Just... dro

** Parker’s POV **
“I need you guys to get to us right now. Ryder is about to shift in the middle of town and I have the human with me.” Callen’s voice comes through the mind link with an urgency that has me on my feet and running before he has finished his sentence.
“Where are you exactly?” Remy asks as he runs beside me.
“Elm Street, close to the school.”
I push my legs as fast as they’ll go. My wolf form is much faster, but we’re heading into town where the humans are. So I would need to shift back, which would leave me naked.
“What triggered it?” I ask.
Ryder is the last person I’d expect to lose control. Something big must have happened. Usually, once we are out of our teenage years, we can control our shifts unless it’s triggered by injury, extreme emotional turmoil, or sometimes by trying to deny a mate bond.
“He’s had a bit of a shock, plus he’s found his mate,” Callen says, and I see my brother’s steps falter.
“Is she your mate, too?” He asks.
“Pretty sure,” Callen responds, and my heart hurts for my twin.
I know he and Callen have been hiding a relationship for years. This is going to be quite a blow for them both, and I can’t even offer any support because they’d be upset I know their secret.
I should offer my congratulations. Finding their mate is a huge deal. We finally have a Luna. But because of the urgency of current circumstances and my brother’s pain, that is evident in the way he has his jaw set and the crease between his brows.
“You good, Rem?” I ask out loud between ragged breaths.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” He says, his tone defensive.
“No reason, just checking,” I shrug.
We break through the tree line and immediately slow our pace to match that of a human. We are much faster and stronger than humans, even when we share the same form as them, so it’s important we blend in.
“How far out are you?” Callen asks.
“Almost there, we see you,” I say as we round the corner.
Callen is helping Ryder walk so he can focus most of his energy into maintaining his human form until we can get him out of sight of any humans.
As we get closer, I glimpse the human female, and Callen was right. She is hot. She is the only female around, which is not a good sign.
“The human is your mate?” Remy asks, obviously noticing what I had.
“Yes, take Ryder. I’ll deal with her. She still does not know what we are, yet,” he says, and I don’t miss the small growl that Remy desperately tries to mask.
We rush to Ryder, whose face is already sprouting fur, and his eyes are glowing with his wolf. He can’t hold it back much longer. This is more than just finding his mate, but now is not the time to ask.
“Get him out of here, quick,” Cal says out loud, which I assume is just for the human's benefit.
Remy ducks under Ryder’s free arm, wrapping it over his shoulders to take his weight, and I get his other side, replacing Callen.
A sweet scent hits me and my wolf moves under my skin, suddenly intrigued. “Not now,” I tell him. It’s not a good time to explore an unfamiliar scent he has taken a liking to. My alpha needs me.
“Thanks,” Callen says as we run with Rye.
“Almost there,” I reassure as we approach the tree line.
We barely make it a few steps into the cover of the woods before Ryder can’t hold his form any longer. He shifts in a quick series of pops and snaps, his clothes shredding into scraps of fabric around him.
I kick his ruined clothes behind a tree while I pull off my own, adding them to the pile. Ryder is still down on the floor, panting and whining. His wolf is exhausted after the battle he’s just had to break free. Which is probably the only reason he hasn’t taken off back towards his mate yet. If Remy and I have any chance of stopping him, we need to be in our strongest forms to hold him back.
I shift at the same time as my brother. As my wolf takes over, my bones break and reform, growing bigger and stronger, fur covering my skin in a flash. My first few shifts had been excruciating, but now it’s more uncomfortable than painful.
Remy’s wolf and mine are exactly alike; grey fur, brown markings, and amber eyes.
“If he tries to get up, we are going to have to take him down quickly,” Remy says.
“I think it will take him a while to regain enough strength to take us both down. Hopefully, Callen will have the female tucked safely away in her house by then.”
“And what if Ryder decides a house will not keep him from his mate?”
“He won’t. He will regain control soon,” I say, praying I’m right.
The minutes tick by at a snail’s pace. My anxiety grows with every breath as I watch Ryder’s breathing even out. He has stopped fighting to get up and is resting, which means he’s regaining energy.
“How’s it going?” Callen asks.
“He’s still resting. Have you got her safe?”
“Not exactly. She is being a pain in the a*s and threatening to leave with the kid. Rye will go crazy if she leaves, especially now he knows he has a son. We can’t let her go.”
“Shit. Are you saying the kid with the missing father is Ryder's?”
“Yes. The whole thing is so messed up, and I think I understand how it all happened, but we will need to get the full story from Ryder later. For now, be ready to put on a show for my mate, because we are going to have to throw her in at the deep end here.”
As if on cue Ryder raises his head and sniffs the air with interest. I inhale and pick up Callen’s scent and that sweet, intoxicating scent again that has my wolf almost salivating. Is that my Alphas’ mate? She smells so good that my wolf wants to lick her, and he has never, ever, wanted to lick a human before.
“We can scent you, you are close,” Remy says to Callen as Rye becomes even more alert.
“Good, I’m about to hit her with the truth. I’ll give you the signal when it’s time to come to us, because there’s no way she is going to believe me. She thinks Ryder is on drugs and will probably accuse me of the same.”
“Okay. I hope you know what you are doing,” I say.
“Not really. I’m pretty much winging it right now.”
Ryder pushes to his feet on shaky legs, and I share a look with Remy. We just need to stall him for a short time. Rye takes a step forward and Rem moves to stand in front of him, staring at his feet so as not to officially challenge him.
I nudge into Ryder’s side, knocking him off balance, and although he stumbles, he is strong enough now to stay on his feet. His big head snaps in my direction, and he lets out a warning growl.
“Rye, hold it together,” I say to him through the mind link.
“Trying,” he grunts, the strain in his voice coming through the mind link as clearly as if he had spoken it out loud.
“Come to us,” Cal says before whistling to give us his exact location.
Ryder’s head rises and his ears flick forward at the sound and Remy steps aside. “Go Rye, but take it slow, or you’ll scare her to death.”
We follow a few paces behind our alpha as he tries to control his pace towards his brother and mate. My brother and I hang back whilst Ryder creeps up behind her, stealthy and silent.
“I’m so not in the mood for this bullsh*t.” the female curses and turns away from Callen, only to almost walk straight into Ryder.
Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open as she takes the massive wolf in. She stumbles backwards, but Cal catches her, his arms wrapping around her front as he pulls her back against his chest, holding her in place.
Callen whispers something I don’t catch. I’m too captivated by the woman.
“Mine,” my wolf declares in my mind, and I shake my head, holding him back. This female is Ryder and Callen’s mate, not mine. I look at Remy. He is watching the scene in rapture, but I can’t work out if his wolf wants the female or Callen.
“Watch, Paige, you have to see!” Cal demands, gripping her chin, and my wolf hates that. He’s being too rough with her.
She is human.
She is delicate.
She is mine.
I take a step forward when she suddenly goes limp in Callen’s arms, her eyes rolling back as Ryder shifts into his human form in front of her.
“Shit. She passed out,” Callen says, lifting her bridal style.
“Get her home,” Ryder says with a groan as he staggers naked towards them.
“Take her. I need to collect Jax from school. He finishes in twenty minutes.”
“Jax,” Ryder breathes, repeating the name of his son, and he clutches his chest as if the thought of his child hurts his heart.
“Can’t you just call Regina and have her bring him home with her like she does with the other pack kids?” Remy asks. He’s shifted now too.
“No. It’s his first day, and he’s already been through enough. He will worry when Paige doesn’t pick him up, but he might believe she sent me to get him,” Callen explains.
I see an opportunity to find out if the female really is mine without Rye and Cal getting all possessive and keeping me away from their female, and I shift to my human form.
“Rem, help Ryder home. I’ll carry the girl,” I say.
Ryder and Callen share a look before Ryder nods and Callen hands me the unconscious beauty before taking off back towards town.
My knees almost give out as I hold her against me. “Mate,” my wolf declares again, and I cradle her closer, holding her to my bare chest.
Paige, my beautiful mate. So soft and warm. I hear her heartbeat, fast and uncertain.
I lean in and press my nose into her hair, breathing her in. Her sweet scent surrounds me, like wildflowers and honey, and I have a sense of coming home.
She is mine, and I am hers. Now I just have to break it to the others, because there’s no way I’m ever leaving this female. I don’t care that she is human, even though that should terrify me. It should make me recoil, should make me question the Moon Goddess and curse the fates.
Instead, I only feel blessed.
A strange, aching protectiveness washes over me.
All that matters is that she is here, safe and healthy, and I will spend the rest of my life ensuring she stays that way.
I’ll give her my bite to extend her life to match ours and to strengthen her. She will thrive with us.

** Ryder’s POV **
I wake up with a jolt. The weather forecast said there may be some light rain, but this sounds torrential. Paige sleeps peacefully tucked against my side, completely unbothered by the rain that pounds the tent. I can hear her soft breathing and the steady beat of her heart in her chest.
Wait... how can I hear her heart?
A shooting pain travels up my spine. It’s like nothing I have ever felt before. It’s intense and causes a fine sheen of sweat to cover my skin. Did I sleep with a stone digging into my spine?
I gently shift Paige, not wanting to wake her, but I need to move, to stretch out my spine because this pain is getting unbearable. I unzip the door slowly and crawl from the tent with a barely contained whimper, grabbing my bundle of clothes and my boots.
The pain eases as I stand straight, and I almost sag in relief. The rain that sounded so heavy inside the tent 

** Paige’s POV **
I knew it was Ryder in the street in front of me, even from behind I recognise him.
His name slips from my mouth without permission, and he turns in my direction, making my heart feel as though it drops into my stomach.
I’m not ready.
I’d told myself I was. I’ve rehearsed every possible version of what I’d say if I ever saw him again. But none of it matters. Because the moment Ryder is in front of me, everything inside me collapses. Six years vanished in a breath.
He is still a foot taller than me, intensely familiar. The same broad shoulders, the same ocean-blue eyes that once looked at me with admiration, only now they are heavier, haunted even. His jaw is sharper, his face a little leaner, a little more shadowed. Maybe life hadn’t been kind to him either. But God help me, he is still the most beautiful kind of wreck.
He drops to his knees when he sees me. Just... drops like the world has just fallen from under his feet. His chest heaves as if someone has sucked all

Chapter 10