==Lila==
The scout's laugh cut through the night air like a slap I never saw coming.
Too late. The word is already out.
My hands were still covered in flour. I had been kneading dough in the kitchen trying to pretend everything was normal.
Then the front door burst open and everything fell apart. Remy stood there shirtless.
His chest heaved like he had run for miles. The burned edges of that old photo lay scattered at his feet. The ashes curled and drifted in the breeze.
I felt the partial bond flare between us. It tugged low in my belly. Warm and insistent. Like something alive under my skin that refused to be ignored. My pulse quickened just from being near him.
"Get him out of here." Remy snapped at the two warriors who had rushed in behind the scout. His voice was rough. They hauled the scout away. His mocking laugh turned into angry curses that faded into the darkness.
Remy turned to face me. His eyes looked tired. Haunted even. Like he had not slept properly in days. "Go back inside Lila."
I stayed right where I was on the porch. Flour still dusted my fingers. "You rejected me just to keep me alive? That is really your excuse?"
He dragged a hand through his messy hair. He exhaled sharply. "We cannot do this right now."
But the bond did not care what he wanted. It hummed between us. Pulling tighter with every breath. I could smell him. Pine. Woodsmoke.
And that deep commanding Alpha scent that made my knees feel weak even when I was angry. It was unfair how much my body responded to him.
Later that night the house had gone quiet. The only sounds were the frogs and distant owl calls from the bayou. Remy appeared at my bedroom door.
"Get dressed." He said quietly. "We are going to train."
I did not argue. I pulled on some old clothes from the closet. An oversized shirt that stretched across my full breasts. A pair of worn pants that hugged my wide hips and thick thighs a little too closely.
They felt lived in. Comfortable in a strange way.
We slipped out the back door and disappeared into the bayou. The night air was warm and sticky. Heavy with the smell of wet earth and growing things.
Moonlight slipped through the trees in thin silver beams. My shoes kept sinking into the soft mud with every step.
Remy led us to a small clearing surrounded by old cypress trees. He stopped and turned to me. "Your wolf is too strong Lila. You need to learn control before it takes over completely."
I folded my arms. I felt the soft press of my belly against them. "And you are the one who is going to teach me? After everything you did?"
He did not rise to the bait. Instead he simply said "Shift."
I closed my eyes and tried. Nothing at first. Then the change hit me all at once. Bones shifting. Skin tingling as silver gray fur pushed through. My body grew heavier.
Stronger. My curves turned into solid muscle while still keeping their softness. My belly stayed rounded. My hips and thighs are broad and powerful. It felt both strange and right.
Remy shifted too. His wolf was lean and quick. Black fur with silver tips that caught the moonlight. He looked beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
We started circling each other in the mud. My heart was pounding.
He lunged first. Testing me. I dodged. But my heavier build made me a little slower. When I pushed back though I hit hard.
He nudged my shoulder with his paw. Correcting my stance. The moment we touched the bond sparked hot between us. It sent a rush of warmth through my body that I hated and craved at the same time.
"Again." He said through the link. His voice is low and steady in my mind.
We kept going. Every time our fur brushed it felt too close. Too personal. When his teeth gently nipped my flank to correct me, heat flooded through me so fast it made my head spin.
I hated how much I still wanted him. The anger and the longing twisted together until I could not tell them apart.
Then something inside me broke loose.
My wolf surged forward without warning. The shift came harder and faster this time. Power rushed through me. My body grew even larger. More massive. Before I knew it I had barreled straight into him.
We crashed to the ground in a mess of limbs and growls. I ended up on top. Pinning him down with my weight. My broad chest pressed against his. My thick flanks held his legs in place. I could feel his heart racing under me.
He looked up. Golden eyes wide. Breath warm against my fur.
The bond flared so bright it almost hurt. My wolf wanted to bite him. To mark him. To finish what had been started. The urge was so strong it scared me.
I fought it desperately and forced myself back into human form. Suddenly I was naked. My soft curves pressed against his wolf body for one burning second before he shifted back too.
We lay there in the cool mud. Skin against skin. My full breasts rested on his chest. My soft belly against his hard stomach. My thick thighs straddled his hips. We were both breathing hard. Chests rising and falling together.
Remy's hands moved slowly. Resting on my wide hips. His fingers pressed into the soft flesh there. Warm and steady. For a long moment we just stayed like that.
Neither of us are speaking. The bond pulsed between us like a living thing. Pulling us closer. Making it hard to think straight.
Then voices drifted through the trees.
The pack elders.
Three of them stepped into the clearing. Their faces are serious in the moonlight. They took one look at us. Naked. Tangled together on the ground. And their expressions hardened.
"The power surge." The oldest one said. Voice rough with age. "We felt it all the way back at the house."
Another elder pointed straight at me. "She is unstable. Too strong. This has to be handled publicly. She needs a trial."
Remy stood up quickly. He pulled me behind him to shield my body from their eyes. "She is under my protection." He said firmly. His voice carried the weight of his Alpha status.
The lead elder shook his head. "The pack still demands answers. The Alpha Trials will decide her place."
They turned and walked away. Leaving their words hanging in the air like a threat.
I reached for Remy's arm. My fingers wrapped around his wrist right where the partial bond mark sat. The touch sent another spark through both of us.
He looked down at me. I was still completely bare. Mud streaked across my skin. Hair messy and wild. I felt exposed in every way possible.
Before either of us could say anything a small shadow moved at the edge of the trees.
My grandmother stepped forward. She looked tiny and frail. But her eyes held centuries of knowing. She did not even glance at Remy. She only looked at me.
Her voice was soft. Almost gentle. But it carried on the night wind like a warning meant only for my ears.
"The second howl is waking a child. But it will cost you everything you love."
She slipped back into the darkness of the bayou before I could respond. Disappearing as quietly as she had come.
Remy's hand tightened on my hip. I could feel the tension in his body.
I stood there shaking. Naked and cold in the mud. Her words echoing over and over in my head.
Everything I love.
What would I have to lose? My family? My future? Remy? The thought made my chest tighten with fear. The bayou felt suddenly darker. Heavier.
As if it knew something I did not. And for the first time I wondered if I was ready for whatever was coming.