The New Wolf Ch. 03

James' eyes went wide and shook his head.

"Good. Is there anything else then?"

"I think covering mates was enough for tonight," he said. "Tomorrow I want you training all day. Then at night come back up here and we will go over some other wolf facts. Consider the next couple of months a crash course on being a shifter. Something I should have had you do long ago."

Clara stood up and held out her hand. James rose and gave a laugh. He grabbed her fingers and shook gingerly. Clara joined him in laughing.

"Thought I'd make sure, not feeling any sparks here," she said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that your mate is out there, eager to find you."

A smirk crossed Clara's face and she nodded and left. James had some strange ideas. No matter what he said Clara knew with her luck she had no mate or one who would reject her on sight. She touched her heart and her neck and thanked the moon goddess that at least the rejection came with no pain. She didn't think she could take much more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sweat was getting in Clara's eyes. Lucas tried not to stare at her workout, but couldn't help himself. He watched as Greg coached her on fighting. She was struggling through basic steps. He wanted to take over her instruction, but knew if she showed up to train and saw him waiting there she would go running to the Alpha. James told him about their talk. It had been a few days and he hoped the idea of a mate was sinking in.

She had to smell him, start questioning their initial interaction. Once that clicked Lucas was certain she would come running to him the way he wanted to run to her. He knew he had to come up with an excuse to touch her, she would feel the sparks and speed things up. Waiting like this was killing him.

"I think that's enough for today," Greg said. "Remember to keep your guard up. Not only do you want to fight back, but you need to protect yourself too. It will get easier."

Lucas watched as she picked up a towel and wiped her face. His eyes focused on her lips. She pressed them together and licked the salty taste away. He felt himself quiver, he wanted to be the one licking those lips. He had to touch her, now was the time. Walking away from the punching bag he hid behind he started towards her.

"What are you doing?" Roxy jumped in his path, blocking his view of Clara.

"Leave me alone." Lucas tried to walk around her, but Roxy moved.

"Everyone in this place can see your hard on," she said. "How do you think that will go over with your little mate? Do you want to scare her again?"

"I can control myself this time." Lucas looked down at his erection. He stuck his hand down his shorts and tried to conceal himself.

"I'm not the bad guy," Roxy said. "I'm trying to help you. I've been talking with Clara, even brining you up occasionally. I know you think after what happened with the outcast she's not afraid of you anymore, but you're wrong. She is still terrified of you. You need to give her time."

"Leave her alone, leave us alone. I told you again, we're over Roxanne."

"And I'm telling you, I don't care. We're not mates. Seeing you pine over yours makes me want that. I'm not interested in marking you anymore or being together. I want to wait for mine, but I still care about you and have your best interests at heart. I'm telling you if you approach her you will scare her again."

Lucas frowned. He looked at Roxy, she did appear genuine. There was really no reason to doubt her motives.

"I care about Clara too. I really like her. You two are perfect for each other and I want to see you together, that's why I'm telling you to wait."

"What did she say about me?"

"It's hard to work you into conversation," Roxy said. "As you know the two of us have been bonding. When I do drop your name she goes into pure terror still. She even said she would rather be an outcast than have anything to do with you."

Lucas let out a low growl. There was no way he or James would let her be an outcast. They'd throw her in the cells before that happened.

"Trust me, she will come around. James just told her about mates and she is really open to the idea."

"Really?" Lucas couldn't help but smile a little at that small victory.

"Oh yeah," Roxy said. "She was going on about how wonderful it is to know that someone is out there who will protect her and care about her like no other. She knows she's weak and wants someone to take care of her. That's why you need to stay away. Right now she still thinks she needs protection from you. Finding out that you're her mate could destroy her fragile state right now."

Lucas looked over Roxy's shoulder. Clara was walking out of the gym. He wanted to chase after her, but so far every decision he'd made seemed to be wrong. He felt a hand press against his chest and looked back to Roxy.

"Give it another week. Two tops," Roxy said. "Let me keep working on her. I'm sure she'll be running to you sooner than you think."

"Thank you," Lucas replied. "This has been really difficult. I'm sure it's not easy on your either."

"Hey, I'm a trooper. What are friends for? Don't forget, I'm always here for you for anything you might need..."

"I told you," Lucas said. "I'm not having sex with anyone but my mate ever again."

"Wow," Roxy said. "Here I was trying to offer a shoulder to cry on and you jump to that conclusion. I don't know if you realize this or not Lucas, but there are plenty of pack members eager to keep my bed warm while I wait for my mate to show up. I don't need you for that."

A pang of guilt hit Lucas. Roxy really had done nothing wrong and he had no reason to not trust her. It was him who screwed up, led her on, and used her the past several months. She'd always shown herself to be a decent person and Lucas needed to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Don't worry. I will try and bring you up again soon then give you some more insight. Be patient. It's only a matter of time before everything falls into place."

Clara was gone, but Lucas' erection was still present. He nodded his head and walked away from Roxy, knowing he needed to take care of this and determined to show more restraint than before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Clara's muscles were stiff. She rubbed her shoulder and let out a yawn. A single knock came on her door right as it swung open. Clara didn't need to look to know it was Roxy. She'd made it a point to stop by every night this week and Clara gave up trying to shoo her away.

"Take a look at you!"

Clara turned to see Roxy in a skin tight red dress. It made the woman looked even more like a model. She looked so at ease in the fancy attire it made Clara feel even more uncomfortable in her dress.

"Do we always get so dressed up for visiting packs?"

Tonight marked Clara's first week living at the lodge fulltime. She was expected to be here this weekend to greet some out of town guests and knew about the dress code, but it didn't make looking fancy any less uncomfortable for her.

"It's fun right? The whole point of these things is to match up mates, don't you want to look beautiful if yours is here tonight?"

Clara let out a laugh.

"What? I know the Alpha told you about mates. Don't you want to find yours?"

"I stopped waiting for prince charming a long time ago. I don't think some predestined love is in the cards for me."

"Oh really? Yeah, I don't think mates are that big of a deal either. I would rather have a pick in my partner. End up with someone I really love. All the mated pairs seem so unhappy too, the men are all macho and clingy and the women swoon for their overprotectiveness, it makes me uncomfortable. The thought of someone loving me like that seems suffocating."

"I've been on my own for a long time, I don't want anyone taking care of me," Clara said. "I hope tonight goes fast."

Another knock sounded on the door and Clara turned to see Suzy in the doorway. The smaller girl walked in and gave a fake smile as she glanced between Clara and Roxy.

"You ready to walk down?" Suzy asked.

Clara nodded.

"Bye Clara, I'll see you down there. I need to freshen up a little bit." Roxy walked out of the room without acknowledging Suzy's presence.

"What's her deal?" Suzy asked.

"I don't know, she's back on trying to be my best friend," Clara said. "I sort of tune her out, but she's not that bad. She wants to talk about her ex a little too much for my tastes though."

"Lucas? She talks to you about Lucas?" Suzy did not hide the annoyance from her voice.

"I told you what I told her," Clara said. "After everything with the outcast I'm done being scared of him. I still don't want to be his friend or anything, I'd rather stay clear. I also don't want to talk about him. I'm done being a victim."

"I didn't mean it like that," Suzy said. "You know I think he's a jerk, I'm just surprised she is bringing him up to you."

"Yep, she wants to go on and on about what a jerk he is, which is weird because she doesn't have to convince me. Either way, should we get this over with?"

"You look great by the way," Suzy said. "I love the way blue brings out your eyes."

"Well I hate getting dressed up. James gave me a rundown of what happens tonight. We mingle like a cocktail hour, if there are any mates they will go off together and the rest of us will go for a run. Am I missing something?"

"That about sums is up. We host these about four or five times a year, then we will go visit other packs at some point. All unmated members have to go. Trust me, it's not bad though. You will get to meet some new people."

"I still don't know the people here," Clara said. "I am looking forward to the run though."

"Well don't look too forward to it, your outcast is still roaming around somewhere, so we can't go too far."

Clara and Suzy made their way to the first floor. Beyond the kitchen was the big room. Clara called it that because it was. Normally couches were spread out and you could find at least one person reading or relaxing, but all the furniture was removed for tonight. A few pack members were down already, they waved at the two girls but Clara followed Suzy's lead to the corner.

"Where's the visiting pack?" Clara asked.

"Probably hiding in the basement," Suzy said. "They will make a grand entrance, then James will come in and give a little speech. We will stand around for about an hour then go for the run."

As Suzy was finishing her explanation the sound of footsteps approaching echoed across the hall. For some reason Clara felt her heart rate increase. She grabbed the hem of her dress and started fidgeting. They looked at the doorway where about twenty people started flowing in.

"This is a small pack," Suzy said. "They haven't been around long. Highly unlikely anything good is going to happen. Usually at least these nights are entertaining."

The last person walked in the room and Clara was taken away by his looks. He had wavy blond hair parted to the side, even from far away she could see his electric blue eyes. The dress shirt and pants he wore did not do much to hide his muscular frame. There was only one word to describe him, gorgeous. Clara glanced around the room and saw she wasn't the only female to share this sentiment.

"Wow," Suzy said. "Maybe tonight will be interesting. Can you believe how good looking their alpha is?"

Clara continued to stare until his eyes locked with hers, she felt her face rush with blood and looked to his left. Unfortunately, Lucas was standing next to him. Clara briefly made eye contact with him, but the giant scowl on his face made her turn around.

"I feel like he's always staring at me, judging me, I don't get why," Clara said.

"The Alpha hottie? He can judge me all he wants."

"Lucas."

"Oh," Suzy said. "I thought you didn't want to talk about him?"

"I don't. Nevermind."

Clara could still feel his eyes on her. She didn't dare turn around, not wanting to meet his gaze again. She couldn't help but be aware of him. All day when she trained he was there, acting like he wasn't paying attention but his eyes always seemed to monitor her, she found the whole thing creepy.

"Of course. I don't even know why I get my hopes up." Suzy nodded to the other side of the room.

Keeping her head high Clara turned around. Lucas was still standing next to the man, but Roxy in her perfect red dress with her perfect body had joined them. Clara looked away again, not wanting to make eye contact with the beta.

"Did you think he was your mate?" Clara had a hard time picturing the blond alpha and Suzy.

"My mates not here," Suzy said. "They say you can sense them before they show up, like something seems off. But I was hoping after the run tonight I could entertain our guest. It looks like Roxy has the same plans as me though."

"Don't be so down on yourself. I'm sure any guy in here would love to have meaningless hot sex with you later tonight."

Suzy let out a laugh and Clara joined her. She thought about Suzy's comment that she would be able to sense her mate. Clara didn't want to get caught up in the idea, but she always felt off. There would be no way for her to tell if her mate was here or not. Two other female pack members came over. They started talking to Suzy about work and Clara tuned them out, not having anything to contribute.

The rest of the pack members arrived, even the mated couples came down. Clara watched as everyone mingled. She spotted Greg across the room, Clara waved hoping he would come over and chat but instead he gave a head nod and joined another group. She counted herself lucky that Suzy was a friend or else she wouldn't have anyone. The room was filled with laughter and conversation.

"I like your dress."

Clara turned to see the blue eyed man. He was even more perfect up close. She didn't think she'd ever spoken to such an attractive person.

"Thank you," she said.

"David." He held out his hand. Clara stared at his hand and she let their palms touch. She held her breath in anticipation, but let out all the air when their contact did nothing for her. Clara wanted to laugh, not believing she allowed herself to get caught up in this mate nonsense.

"It's been a few years since our packs have met, but I don't remember you from last time."

"I'm new."

"Where were you before?"

"A human."

The handsome man let out a laugh.

"That's really awesome. How has the transition been?"

"Not as easy as I'd hoped," she said.

"I remember when it happened to me. It was pretty rough."

"You're a turned wolf?" Clara was surprised.

"I went camping for a weekend back in the eighties. An outcast attacked, killed all my friends and left me for dead."

"And you're an alpha?" Clara thought about James' comments about turned wolves. She didn't think one could rise in the ranks.

"I am. After I turned I joined the nearest pack. Within a year I was the best fighter, promoted to Beta. Then our pack got too large so I spun off with some people. We're about three hundred miles from here, in South Dakota."

"I've never met anyone else who was turned. Everyone here is a natural born."

"There's not a lot of difference between the two, when were you turned?"

"Late August."

"Wow, you're real fresh then. It gets easier, trust me. Let me know if I can answer any questions."

"The chest pains were intense for a while, but they started to calm down. I haven't had one in a few weeks. How long did yours last?"

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. When he opened his mouth a loud growl sounded from across the room. Clara spun around to see Lucas' evil glare. Anger flared through Clara, he did not have the right to watch her like this. She'd had enough. Summoning up her courage she readied to excuse herself and confront him when the growl sounded again. Clara realized it wasn't coming from him. She turned her head to the doorway. James entered, he sniffed the air as he made his way into the room.

Everyone went silent and the crowd started to part. Clara glanced at David. He was fixed on James. She returned her attention to her own Alpha as he continued to march around the room. It almost looked like a dance as people began to move out of his way. When everyone went to the side Clara saw one person was left in the middle. She was a curvy young woman in a flattering black dress. James stopped walking. The woman stared at the floor.

She lifted her chin. They both stayed frozen in place. Clara wasn't sure what was happening, but the whole room remained silent and watched the two of them. They continued to stare at each other, neither making an effort to move. Finally, the silence was broken when a small whimper escaped the girl's mouth. James ran over to her and lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The two started kissing with passion and force. The whole room erupted in cheers.

James and his mystery lady paid no attention. She started clawing at his shirt, popping the buttons off, she pushed it down his back. He started grabbing at the bottom of her dress. But then the girl broke the kiss, pushing their foreheads together she spoke so that only he could hear.

With no regard for anyone else in the room. James started kissing her neck. He turned and carried her away. Her moans were getting louder as they left the room.

"Well I doubt they will make it all the way to his bed, but for a second I thought they were going to cement the bond in front of everyone," David said. "Your Alpha has an impressive amount of self-control. Marilyn is a lucky girl"

"What was that?" Clara said.

"That was your first time seeing mates meet I take it. The urge to copulate is... intense. Sometimes it happens right when they meet, regardless of who else is present. But Marilyn is a private girl. I'm sure the idea of being naked in front of everyone wasn't appealing to her."

Clara continued to stare at the spot where her Alpha had almost taken the young woman. The image of how animalistic both of them seemed, the hard kissing, the pulling at the clothes. Then she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see Lucas, the evil in his glare was gone. It was replaced with pure lust. Clara felt her heart race again. She turned away, feeling like everything was closing in on her.

"Are you alright?"

"I need some air."

"That sounds like a fine idea," David said.

Clara ran out of the room as he made that announcement to start the run. She ignored the footsteps behind her and for the first time didn't bother to take off her clothes before shifting. She let her mind clear, refusing to think about what she just witnessed or how it might fit into her own life. Focusing on nothing but the ground under her feet Clara did what she did best, ignored the obvious.