Alpha Binding Bonds

There are only a few dozen werewolves in North America and almost all inherited the genes from their dads—it passes through the male line. It can also be transmitted through bites, but the survival rate for that is so low that

there are only a few bitten werewolves . . . including both our parents.

So what happens when two bitten werewolves have kids? No one knew. When it comes to werewolves, statistics are nearly nonexistent. The human world doesn’t know about supernaturals, so they’re not exactly conducting studies. We could do it ourselves, but for us, survival is a whole lot more important than note-taking.

Growing up, I only wished for one thing, with every birthday candle, every four-leaf clover, every wishing-well coin. Make me a werewolf. I got my wish at the age of nine, a decade earlier than normal hereditary werewolves. As far as anyone knows, I’m one of two female werewolves in the world—mom being the other. I’m the first female hereditary werewolf ever. That’s cool, but really, all I care about is that I got my wish: I am a werewolf.

When I step out of my thicket, Logan greets me with a welcoming snuffle. Seeing him, I don’t know how anyone can mistake us for dogs. We look like wolves. We retain our human mass, which makes him a huge wolf, ghost white in the darkness, sleek furred and muscular.

As he snuffles me, I twist away and then surprise-pounce, which would work much better with any werewolf who wasn’t my twin. Logan anticipates the pounce and feints out of the way, then twists and leaps at me. I duck and race around him so fast I swear I hear his vertebrae crackle as he spins to keep an eye on me.

Then I launch myself at him. I’m airborne, and he’s diving, hitting the ground in a roll, expecting me to fumble when my target vanishes. But I wasn’t jumping at him—I was jumping over him. With one massive bound, I clear his back, hit the ground and keep running.

It takes Logan a moment to recover from the fake-out. I bear down, my ears flat, muzzle slicing through the wind as the thump-thump of my brother’s paws gallop behind me. Scents whip past. Damp earth and spring bluebells and the tantalizing musk of a distant deer. I don’t slow. We can hunt later.

Right now, I want to run, to feel the ground beneath my paws, the wind in my fur, my brother at my back.

The last is as important as the rest. Maybe more important now than ever. When I was little, Logan felt as integral to my life as a limb. Now, at sixteen, we’ve drifted, and I no longer feel whole. Yet whatever our problems, we shed them with our human forms. Out here, the rest of the world falls away and feels as it always has, and I am happy.

Ahead, the forest thickens. That’ll slow me down, but it also adds the challenge of an obstacle course. I leap over a dead tree and weave through thick brush while trying to gauge whether Logan is far enough back for me to hide and pounce.

I slit my eyes and swivel my ears to listen. Logan had to slow down in the forest, and I grin at that. I might have a slight advantage in speed, but I have an even greater one in agility, his recent growth spurt leaving him with a body he can’t quite operate yet. Behind me, there’s a thump and a yelp, as if he cut a corner too sharp and plowed into a tree.

I grin and nimbly swerve behind an outcropping of rock. Ahead, I see the perfect cover—the deadfall of a massive evergreen. I’ll hunker behind it, and when Logan vaults over, I’ll tackle him.

Getting up speed for my own leap, I’m running full out when a whistle sounds, cutting through the quiet evening and sending me skidding to a stop.

The whistle comes again. It’s the Alpha—who also happens to be our mom. If she’s calling us in, something’s happened. Something important enough to interrupt our run.

I throw back my head and howl. There’s a question in that, and Mom returns two quick whistle bursts. No, Stonehaven isn’t on fire or under attack by rogue wolves—she just needs to talk to us.

A sigh ripples behind me, and I twist to toss Logan a sympathetic snort.

We exchange a mournful look and separate to Change back.