Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 25

~~Micah’s PoV~~

I know everyone is a little freaked out by the mating surprise, but I can’t help being a little excited. This is a real-life mystery for me to get involved in. As the future Beta, pack security is my main responsibility, and I always thought that if I was a human, I would have been a detective, solving crimes and figuring out puzzles. This looks like the perfect opportunity to use all my skills and show everyone just how much I bring to this pack.

Especially my dad. He’ll have to be impressed with me if I figure this out before anyone else does.

Sadie stands next to me with her arms crossed while Logan assures her we’ll get to the bottom of what’s happening. She hasn’t even glanced over at me this whole time. I know she’s a little bit annoyed with me because of our argument earlier, but the truth is I’m annoyed too.

She had been standing and talking to Emma and Alison from school and I was nearby, keeping an eye on her, as I was supposed to be doing. They were talking about boys even though they knew I could hear them. It felt like they were doing it on purpose to see if they could get me to leave, but I wouldn’t abandon my post that easily. They started listing off all the hottest guys in our class and didn’t mention me. I knew it was on purpose because Emma kept glancing over at me to see how I was going to react, but I didn’t give them the satisfaction.

But then Alison said something that made me intervene.

“Logan’s been looking over at you all night,” she said to Sadie. “Maybe he’ll be your mate!”

The words felt like something sharp scraping against my insides, and I couldn’t stop myself from interrupting. “Sadie can’t be Logan’s mate. The next Alpha would never be mated to someone who’s only half a wolf.”

Sadie’s eyes went darker than normal as she looked over at me angrily and a rush of longing went through me. Why did that look turn me on? The way my body behaved around her really didn’t make any sense to me.

And then we argued about whether humans or wolves were better, but it wasn’t the argument that upset me.

It was the idea of Logan and Sadie being mates.

If I was being honest, I didn’t care if Logan was mated to a human or a hybrid or a f*****g leprechaun for that matter. I just didn’t want him mated to Sadie.

Everything about her confused and disoriented me, but I was protective of her too. I didn’t understand it at all.

We all walk back to the party now and soon Ava and Aaron go back to the front to do their first shift. I just did this myself a few months ago so I remember exactly what it felt like. The person, or in this case people, about to shift puts on special tear-away clothes that are designed for this occasion. Then they have to talk to their wolf and convince them to come out. Sometimes it’s easy. My wolf was so excited to come out, I hardly had to say anything to him at all. Other people’s wolves take more coaxing.

Tonight, Aaron shifts pretty quickly. I can’t help watching Sadie’s reactions as his body begins to transform, his bones snapping and his claws growing and the fur sprouting from his skin. She covers her mouth like she’s watching a horror movie instead of the most exciting moment in a werewolf’s life.

Ava takes longer. Her frown grows deeper the longer she waits, letting me know that she must be arguing with her wolf, Finally, she looks over at her mother, almost in tears. “My wolf doesn’t want to come out until I claim my mate,” she whispers, but from where I’m standing, I can hear it too.

I step over towards her, surprising us both.

“What do you want?” she asks defensively. Normally Ava and I get along okay but I know she’s pissed with me lately about Sadie, so I put up my hands in a gesture of peace.

“Just close your eyes, Ava,” I instruct her. “Smell the trees and the earth. Help your wolf think about what it’ll be like to run and feel the world in that form.”

She still looks a little suspicious of me, but she does what I say. Her breathing starts to relax.

“The moon is out,” I continue, talking directly to her wolf now. “It’ll shine down on your fur and give you strength. You’ll be strong and healthy and your mate will be so impressed.”

That seems to be what she needed to hear. Ava cries out in pain as the shift begins and I step back to where I was. I glance over at Sadie and she’s giving me a look of surprise and maybe even a little respect.

I like her looking at me that way. Better than when she’s annoyed with me, anyway.

Once the shift and their first runs are done, Ava and Aaron shift back and the party starts to break up.

The Alpha comes over to me before he leaves. “That was good work with Ava,” he tells me, nodding with approval. “Come to my office tomorrow with your dad, we’ll be coming up with a plan to investigate the mate bond problem.”

Pride surges through me, both at the praise and at being included in the meeting tomorrow. “Yes, Sir,” I answer firmly.

Once he leaves, I look around with satisfaction. Despite what happened with Ava and Laurel, and even in spite of my little fight with Sadie, I can’t help thinking that this actually ended up being a really good party.