Shift

"How do I.." I start to say

"Think about your wolf!" Ruby says "let him come to the surface and he will take care of the rest."

"Let's give him some privacy." Alpha Lilly says and they all turn away from me facing the far wall.

"Ok I can do this." I think.

"Take off your clothes" my wolf instructs me.

"Why would I do that?" I think.

"You do want something to wear when your back in human form right?" He says.

"Fine!" I think and start to undress "it's all you I don't know what I'm doing."

"Gladly!" He roars.

Alpha Aaron was right it didn't hurt as badly or take as long only a couple minutes. I give them a little bark to tell them I've shifted.

"Alaric?" Beta Clay says.

"It can't be!" Alpha Lilly says.

"Daddy he's grey like us!" Ruby says.

Next thing I know Beta Clay jumps over the couch at me but when he lands he is a large grey wolf clothes shredded behind him he stands in front of me looking me over.

Beta Clay POV

As soon as the boy said his name something in me needed to see his wolf.  It was a long shot but I had to know. I was panicking as I told the boy to shift and all I did was scare him. I need to know. Alpha Aaron convinced the boy to shift and we turned to give him some privacy.

"Yip!" A little nervous bark comes out and we turn around.

"Alaric?" I ask stunned by his grey coat.

"It can't be!" Alpha Lilly says.

"Daddy he's grey like us!" Ruby adds.

Before I know it I shifted and am standing in front of the boy... my son.

"Accept him Aaron!" I link to my Alpha.

"Clayton.." he starts

"He's mine!" I growl. I see the little wolf beside me shake at my growl and turn to him. I grab his scruff and pull him in front of me. As I stand over him I stare at my Alpha. "Please Aaron!"

"He doesn't know what it means yet!" Alpha Aaron says.

"No pup understands until it's done." I say back.

"We don't even have custody of him yet!" He says

"He's my son!" I growl again. I can feel the pup shake beneath me.

"Ok." He links and steps forward.

Alic's POV

Beta Clay turns to the Alpha and stares at him. What is going on. A few seconds later he growls and I shrink away from him. He is definitely scarey right now. I begin to shake. He is massive I could walk under him and barely brush his chest.

As if seeing my unease Beta Clay turns to me. He grabs hold of me with his teeth and pulls me over so I'm standing partially in front of him with my hind end under his chest. It feels like he is protecting me somehow.

A few seconds later another growl from Beta Clay makes me shake again and I sit down. Alpha Aaron reluctantly steps forward.

Beta Clay pulls me out from under him toward the Alpha. I see his teeth grow to points and he bites his hand. Blood begins to flow from his palm. What is going on this is so... Ouch! The Beta bit my neck hard and I whimper. Alpha Aaron crouches down to me and places one hand under my chin and the bloody one on the back of my neck where Beta Clay bit me. As he rubs my chin I begin to hear his voice.

"It's ok pup were not going to hurt you... can you hear me now?" He says but no he didn't say anything.

"His lips arent moving! What's going on? Why can I hear him? Holy crap! More voices in my head! I must be going crazy! Nope I'm here crazy town!" I think. I see everyone laughing and looking at me.

"Slow down pup... you arent crazy. It is a mind link. You are officially part of my pack." Alpha Aaron says.

"A pack. I'm part of what now? How? Do I have to move? Can I live here? A pack... it's kinda like a family right?" I ramble off. I can't keep my mind focused.

"Wow pup you might be worse than Brayden... calm down...when I gave you my blood it joined you to my pack. we are going to see what we can do about your living arrangements. And I'm gonna let Beta Clay answer that last bit." Alpha Aaron says and he releases my head.

"Ruby why don't you shift." Alpha Aaron says. She goes to the other room. After about a minute I hear scratching on the door and he opens it.

A little grey wolf pops out and runs over to us. She is slightly bigger than me but could still walk under her father easily. She runs up to her dad and nuzzles into him as he lowers himself to meet her. Ruby runs over to me.

"We look alot alike." She links to me.

"Really? I don't know what I look like." I'm not going to mention I was surprised by my own tale.

"Wow surprised by your tale?" She links and laughs.

"How did you hear that?" I ask.

"Close your mind pup." Beta Clay links "we can all hear you."

I focus my mind closing it up. Can they still hear me... I like bananas and mustard!... guess not.

"Still there Alaric?" Beta Clay asks.

"Yea I'm here." I link back.

"Alic have a look!" Alpha Lilly says. I look to see her holding a floor length mirror. Wow I do look like Ruby. And Beta Clay just smaller.

"Come close pups." Beta Clay says and I come back over to him. He sits down and Ruby and I sit in front of him.

"What's going on Daddy? Why does he look like us... no one looks like us!" Ruby asks.

"Most wolves match their human's hair color. Strangely our bloodline always has grey wolves. I don't know why."

"Our bloodline?" I ask thinking I heard him wrong.

"5 years ago my mate left with my son to visit her family on the west coast. On their way back they were attacked. We found blood so much blood and my mate's body... she was gone... we never found my boy but with his blood everywhere we assumed he was dead too. you were 2 Alic and Ruby you were 3." Beta Clay says.

"Sooo you think I'm..." I say but can't finish the thought.

"Ruby meet your little brother Alaric. Alaric, your sister." Beta says.

"So your my... my... Dad?... No... you've been right here?... No one was looking for me? I... I thought...someone... cared." I can feel tears falling. How could he be so close and not get me.

"I thought you were dead pup." Beta Clay or should I say my Father says putting his nose between his paws.

"You didn't check the hospital?!" I yell in my mind tears soaking my fur.

"Pft! Human hospital? I'm surprised they could even help you!" my father jumps up looking down at me.

"You didn't try!" I say and walk away from him pacing the other side of the room. I don't know why I'm so mad. He thought I was dead right? But he could have checked. Then he would have brought me home and a wouldn't have had to be alone.

Alpha Lilly stops me with a hand running through my fur. "We don't use hospitals Alic... you mother was dead and you had left so much blood... none of us thought you could have survived." She said stroking my fur. I look to my father and see him watching me. I run over to him and he crouches down to meet me.

"Do you want me?" I ask. It's all a really want to know. He didn't come for me but does he want me now?

"Always... you are mine!... my blood... my son... I love you!" He lowers his head and I push mine into his neck. He wraps his head around me and licks my ears.

"I have a Dad." I think and it goes through the link.

"Always." He says.

"And a sister!" Ruby says and her little grey wolf tackles mine.

"Ha ha ha... get off me!" I call laughing.

"Come on you two." My DAD says. "Alaric. I know it's not your first shift but the family usually runs with a newly turned wolf... do you want to go?"

"Yes! yes! Yes!" I chant spinning around in circles.

"You comin' Alpha?" Dad asks chuckling at me.

"I'll be right behind you." He says opening the door for us.

I bolt out followed by Ruby and Dad. We run through the woods. Dad bumps into me as he's running. I see a wolfey smile as he pulls ahead of me. I speed up to stay beside him. Soon an auburn wolf passes us and circles around coming up beside me.

"Lookin good pup!" He says looking down at me.

"Thanks Alpha!" I link panting heavily.

"Its getting dark we need to get back." Alpha Aaron links a few minutes later.

We run back to Ruby's house. Alpha Lilly opens the door for us and we run in.

"Umm" I link "what now?"

"Shift back." Alpha Aaron says. I look away from him.

"I don't want to." I say.

"You have to son." Dad says.

"No! I go back and it's over!" I yell "I don't want it to be over." I mumble the last part.

Alpha Aaron walks in wearing basketball shorts and tosses a pair to my dad. He catches them in his mouth and walks to the other side of the room. He comes back in human form. He sits in front of me on the floor.

"Come on Alaric." He says holding my head and looking me in the eye. "You are just as much mine in human form as in wolf form."

"You won't send me back!" I link.

"No!" Dad says.

"Clay. You..." Alpha Aaron starts.

"NO! Aaron!" Dad yells looking over to the Alpha.

"Clay! He is still part of the human system. We can't just steal him!" Alpha Aaron says.

"You can't steal what's yours! He's MY son Aaron!" Dad yells. I can tell Alpha Aaron doesn't like being challenged but he doesn't yell at my dad.

"I can't go back if I stay a wolf!" I link.

"You can't stay like that forever." Alpha Aaron tells me.

"Who's gonna stop me!" I yell and growl at him.

"Don't test me pup. Shift!" He says

"NO!" I yell challenging him.

"Shift NOW!" Alpha Aaron yells.

I feel his words wash over me and my wolf pulls back. I can feel my human form start to break through. I don't want to! I try to fight the shift but can't. My wolf refuses to disobey the Alpha. I fight as hard as I can until I collapse.

"Seriously Aaron!" I hear my dad yell as I lay on the floor eyes closed. My entire body is shaking.

"You are letting your emotions control you Clay. Calm down!" Alpha Aaron says.

"Look at him! We can't send him back to people who would do that to him." My dad yells. I feel a blanket placed over me. Alpha Lilly strokes my hair and walks over to Alpha Aaron.

"We don't have a choice Clay!" Alpha Aaron says.

"What was that?" I ask sitting up and wrapping myself tightly in the blanket.

My dad scoops me up and sits in the chair holding me. I curl up on his lap and will myself to stop shaking.

"I didn't want to shift. I couldn't stop it." I say laying my head on his chest. I am just so tired. I pull the blanket tighter.

"Alpha comand. You can't help but follow his order." My dad says trying to comfort me.

"I don't want to go back." I whisper.

"I know little one... I know." He whispers back shushing my sobs and wiping my tears.

"Ruby do you know his foster family's number?" Alpha Lilly asks. I see Ruby back in her tank top and cargo pants standing in the corner.

"Yea." Ruby says.

"How about this... I'll give them a call and ask if he can stay over since its already so late... tomorrow I can call my legal team. They clean things up for us to get pups out of foster care all the time." Alpha Lilly suggests. I could feel my dad growl at the idea of asking permission but he nods.

"He is in no state to leave now anyway." My dad says glaring at Alpha Aaron.

"Thanks Lil." Alpha Aaron says. Alpha Lilly and Ruby leave the room and he approaches me. He kneels in front of my father and puts his hand on my head. I curl into my dad avoiding the Alpha's gaze. "Hay look at me." He says moving some of my sweat drenched hair out of my face. His voice was soft. I ignored him. "Come on pup." He says and I turn to look at him. "I'm sorry. I know the comand sucks. I didn't know how else to make you come back to us." Alpha Aaron's voice came out so calm and sincere I found myself calming down. The trimmers that shook my body slowed and I was breathing normally again. Alpha Aaron smiles at me and nods.

"I got some of the boys old clothes." Alpha Lilly says as she enters the room. Alpha Aaron stands up. "Something to sleep in and to wear tomorrow... they should fit... at least better than those." She says gesturing to my pile of old raggedy clothes.

"So I can stay?" I ask sitting up and looking at her.

"For tonight at least... we'll know more tomorrow." Alpha Lilly says.

"Come on." Dad says standing up and putting me on my own two feet. "You need to take a bath and get ready for bed." He takes my hand and leads me to a bathroom. I stand with the blanket around my shoulders as he digs through a cabinet. "Here." He says opening a new toothbrush and putting it in the holder with two others. He then places a wash cloth on the side of the tub and starts the water checking the temperature. He stands up straight and takes the pile of pajamas from Alpha Lilly. He places them on the counter by the sink. As he walks out he places a hand on my shoulder "let me know if you need anything." He says then he leaves and shuts the door.

I look at the three toothbrushes all together. "Family." I sigh to myself "I have a family."