I quietly slip out of the back door of the packhouse, the sun just rising over the horizon.  Charlie was passed out, completely exhausted from last night’s events.  I left her a note telling her where I was going.  She’d link me if she was worried.

 I quickly strip out of my clothes and shift.  Coppery-red colored fur sprouts over my skin and I fall to all fours as my muscles and bones rearrange themselves.  The change doesn’t hurt anymore, not after the first few shifts.  As an alpha, my shifts are quick and nearly silent.  One second I’m human and the next, I’m a wolf.

 I take off into the trees, at first following the trail that we take on pack runs around the forest behind the packhouse.  The forest has enough foliage to be cool, but is spaced far enough apart that two or three of us could run next to each other.

 But anyone could see me and I really don’t want to talk to anyone.  So, I head further south into the denser, darker part of the forest.  It was several miles from the packhouse, but I didn’t mind.  I wanted some time to myself.

 There is something freeing about running as a wolf.  Because you are more instinct driven, more in the moment, the stresses and cares of your human self are dimmed.  The feelings are still there, but a wolf reacts more to present challenges than worries about what could happen.  I felt lighter, more in control in my wolf form than I had in days as a human.  The wind whipping through my fur, the scents of the forest seeping into my nose, the sounds of the world waking up calmed me.  It was the best stress relief that I ever had and I couldn’t get enough.

 After about 20 minutes of running, the trees started getting thicker, the overhead canopy making the forest darker.  I didn’t slow my pace, but dodged in and out of trees, over fallen logs, and around thickets of thorns.  It was challenging and exhilarating.  I had forgotten what had driven me into the forest and was just enjoying being a wolf.

 Then I caught a scent that stopped me in my tracks.  Literally.  I stopped so suddenly that I nearly skidded in the dirt into a tree.

 Brandon was nearby.  His scent was old, no longer hanging in the air, but it was on trees that he had brushed on his way past.  I put my muzzle to the ground, nosing around for his trail.  Though my wolf wasn’t worrying over last night’s events, he recognized the scent of its mate.  Wolves tend to be very affectionate and protective of their mates, wanting to be together as much as possible.  When my wolf smelled Brandon, we instantly wanted to find him.

 After a few minutes of my muzzle in the dirt, I finally find Brandon’s scent.  My wolf yips excitedly.  I start my pursuit slowly.  As I said, the trail is old and somewhat difficult to follow.  But the scent became more recent and, therefore, easier to follow the further I went.  I began moving faster.  Soon, I was sprinting through the undergrowth.  His scent permeated the air and I knew he was close.

 I slowed my pace, beginning to look for his location.  This was an area of the forest that was particularly dark, full of heavy brush and thickets.  I set my muzzle to the earth once more, searching out his location.

 I finally make it to a particularly large and thick patch of brush.  Inside, I can just make out the shape of my mate.  Brandon.  My wolf whines, wanting to touch him.  But the brush is not deep enough for both of us to fit inside.

 My wolf’s whining makes Brandon’s wolf stir.  He must be exhausted to not have noticed my approach.  Either that, or his wolf knows that I’m not a threat.  I know I should let him sleep.  I really do.  But so much happened last night.  I have to talk to him, touch him, let him know how much I love him.  My wolf barks.

 Brandon’s head immediately shoots up.  He stands, his hackles raised and his teeth bared.  A low growl emits from his throat.

 It’s me. I link to him.

 Immediately, Brandon comes out of his defensive stance.  Zak?

 Yeah, Sweetcheeks.

 He chuffs, a wolfish grin spreading across his face.  Back up, Sugar Pie.  Let me out.

 My wolf pants happily, moving out of his way.  Brandon squeezes out of the brush.  He stands up, shaking leaves and dirt from his coat.  He stretches and yawns, working the cramped sleep from his bones.

 I shift, wanting to have a full conversation with him.  Though my wolf is good for many things, heartfelt conversations isn’t one of them.  Seeing me change form, Brandon shifts, too.

 I sit in the grass, staring up at my handsome, brooding mate.

 “How’d you find me?” Brandon asks, not looking at me.

 “Luck,” I say, watching his face for any sign of emotion.  “I couldn’t sleep last night.  Came on a run to clear my head.  I didn’t want anyone to see me, to try to talk to me, so I came to this part of the forest.  I happened to come across your scent and followed it to you.”

 “You always were lucky,” Brandon gives a wry smile.  “You were born Alpha.  You got Charlie for a mate.  Fuck, you even won that car in the school raffle.”

 “But I didn’t get you,” I said.

 He turns to me, tears standing in his eyes.  “You always had me.  I’ve just been waiting for you to want me.”

 I jump up and run to him, pulling him into my arms.  His arms wrap around my neck, his tears spilling from his eyes.

 “I’ve always wanted you Brandon.  Always!” I say fiercely, gripping him to me.  I have never told anyone this.  Not even Charlie.  “Brandon, I have loved you for years.  I’ve loved you since I first understood what love is.  You and Charlie are the only two people I have ever loved.”  Unbeknownst to me, tears pour from my eyes.  Shit, if anyone saw their alpha like this...I didn’t even want to think about it.  Confessing my love to a naked man, sobbing my heart out in the middle of the woods.  Some great Alpha, they would think.  But that didn’t matter.  None if it would matter if I couldn’t bring my mate home to me and Charlie.

 Brandon’s mouth crashes onto mine.  He hungrily devours me, his hands moving down the muscles of my shoulders, my back, and my ass.  I groan, feeling the sparks of his skin against mine.  Feeling his mouth move over mine, his tongue dominating my mouth.  Feeling his body react to mine.

 His mouth breaks away from mine, traveling down my neck and sucking on the mate mark that Charlie gave me.  “Brandon” I bark out, my voice strangled with lust.

 “I’m so sorry,” Brandon whispers along my skin.  “I’m so sorry for everything that I said.”

 I pull his head back up to mine.  “I’m sorry that we made you feel that way.  I love you.”  I kiss him with all the passion that I have inside of me.

 “I love you,” Brandon says, breathlessly when we finally pull apart.  His hands grip the sides of my head.  “You and Charlie mean everything to me.”

 Brandon kisses my eyes, cheeks, lips, and down my neck.

 “I want you.  Please, Brandon.  Please don’t make me wait any longer,” I plead.

 “Turn around, Baby.  I’ve got to loosen you up,” he says, his voice husky, his eyes having turned a deep, dark blue in his lust.

 He leads me to a tree, turning me to face it.  Brandon bends me over slightly, placing my hands on the bark of the tree.

 “Hold on tight,” he says.  He begins kissing and biting his way down my shoulders and back.  Slowly, he makes his way to my ass.  I hear him bending down, kneeling in the grass.  He pushes my legs apart and spreads my cheeks.

 I moan loudly as his tongue pushes into me and one hand grabs my hard cock.  He strokes my cock in time with his tongue.  Each flick inside of me causes my breath to hitch.  My hips begin to rock in time with his movements.  My moans are loud, low, and deep, rumbling up through my chest.

 “Brandon!  That feels so fucking good!” I cry.

 He lets go of my cock and I whimper in disappointment.

 Brandon chuckles.  “Just hold on, Sugar.  Daddy’s going to make you feel even better.”

 Before I can even comment, I hear him spit and then two fingers push into me.  “Ho-ly shit!” I breathe out.

 He plays his fingers inside of me, pushing, twirling, and scissoring them inside my tight hole.

 “Please, Brandon,” I whimper.  “Please.  I need you inside of me.”

 Without a word, he stands, rubbing his dick between my asscheeks.  He spits once more, adding lubrication to his cock.

 “You ready, my Alpha?” he whispers into my ear.

 “Yes, Daddy,” I say, playing off of the comment he made earlier.

 He groans when I call him that.  I feel him spread my cheeks and I bend more to give him better access.

 “Just like that,” Brandon says, pushing himself into me slowly.  “Give it all to Daddy.”

 It’s a little painful at first without true lube.  But once he is fully inside of me, all I feel is pleasure.

 “Fuck, babe.  You’re so tight.  I could cum right now.” Brandon hisses out.

 “Not yet, Daddy.  You said that you were going to make me feel good.”

 “Fuck, I love it when you call me ‘Daddy.’  You ready for Daddy’s big cock to make you cum?”

 “Yes, Daddy.  Fuck me!”

 He begins to move, setting a fast, steady pace.  I eagerly take all that he gives me, pushing back into him.  I moan loud enough that they must hear me at the packhouse, 15 miles away.  But I can’t help it.  He feels so fucking good.

 Brandon smacks my ass, pulls my hair, and leaves bites down my back and shoulders.  I take it all.  I love it all.  Every time he hits or bites me, I scream, “Yes, Daddy!”  “Harder, Daddy!”  “Fuck me, Daddy!”  It spurs him on, making him push faster, harder into me.

 Suddenly, he pulls out of me, turning me around.  He lifts me up, leaning me against a tree.  Brandon puts my legs over his shoulders and re-enters me.

 “I want to look at your face when I make you cum,” he says.

 I pull him into a kiss, full of tongues, lips, and teeth.  He groans when I suck his bottom lip into my mouth and bite down.  His grip on my hips is bruising and the sound of skin hitting skin is almost as loud as my moans.

 “Touch yourself,” Brandon says.  “I want to see how you do it.”

 Looking into his eyes, I grab the head of my cock, squeezing lightly.

 “Tell me what you’re doing.  Tell me how it feels,” Brandon says, never losing speed.

 “I’m squeezing the head of my cock, rolling my palm over the tip,” I say, completing the motions as I say them.

 Brandon’s gaze goes between my cock and my face, watching me touch myself, but also my reactions to it.

 “I grab my dick firmly, with short strokes at the top of my shaft.”  My voice is breathy.  The combination of Brandon inside of me, my hand on my cock, talking about what I am doing, and having him watch me so intently is so arousing that I almost cum right then.

 I stop talking, licking my lips and closing my eyes at all the sensations that are rushing through me.

 “Tell me more,” Brandon says.  His voice is choppy, like he is holding back his orgasm, his movements inside of me getting sloppy.

 “I - I alternate the short strokes at the tip with long strokes down to the base,” I stutter, trying to make coherent sentences.  “But if you keep moving like that I’m going to have to change it up.”

 “To what?” he pleads.  “Tell me.”

 “To just my fingers around the head.  Fuck, Brandon!  I’m going to cum!”

 “Yes!” he yells.

 At the same time as I cum, I feel him release inside of me.  We scream each other’s names, our voices hoarse and raw.

 After a few seconds, Brandon sets me on the ground.  I’m still leaning against the tree as he wraps his arms around me.  He gives me a sweet kiss on the lips, our breathing still ragged.

 We stare into each other’s eyes, our foreheads touching.  A smile lights up Brandon’s face and eyes as he looks at me.

 “Come on, Alpha.  I’ll race you home.”