Alex

I stepped out from behind the tree and walked slowly up to a wide eyed Leah. Her eyes trailed my body and she gasped at how large I was, but didn't take a step away from me. When I was only a few feet away, I laid on the ground, making my head level with her chest. My wolf whined a little, not happy that she seemed afraid of him. This seemed to snap her out of her trance because she took a step towards me. She stretched her hand out slowly, and my wolf leaned his head up to meet her. Once we made contact, she seemed to relax. A sweet smile spread on her face as her fingers slipped into the fur on my head.

"Hey, Balto." She says quietly and my wolf cocks his head at her.

'Balto?' I ask through our mind link and she giggles.

"It was my favorite movie as a kid. It's about a dog that's part wolf so no one likes him except for a couple of humans. When one of them, the little girl gets sick, Balto risks his life to run across Alaska in a snowstorm to get her the medicine she needed." She explains, her voice soothing as she continues to rub my wolf's head. He rumbles in approval at the affection.

'Wolves don't really have names.' I explain and her face drops a little.

"I'm sorry. If he doesn't like it I won't call him that. He just reminds me of the movie. Grey fur, yellow eyes. He's so handsome." She says and I ask my wolf.

'What do you think?'

'A wolf that would die for his human? Sounds pretty accurate right now.' He admits as his tongue lolls out and she scratches behind his ear. I can't help but chuckle.

'He likes it.' I tell her and she beams.

She touches him gently, running her hands along his body, fluffing his tail. She gets back to our head and wraps her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face into my fur and my wolf purrs at the contact.

'You like her?' I ask him.

'She's amazing. And she's strong. She should be ours.' He says, to my amazement. With how strongly he hated attention from any woman over the last twenty years I never thought he'd accept another woman.

'I agree.' I tell him.

'I should mark her so she stays with us forever.' He says as he opens his mouth to bare his canines.

'NO!' I scream and he instantly pulls back. 'She doesn't know what that means. And you'll hurt her if you do it. I have to do it in human form.' I explain and he whines a little.

"What's wrong?" Leah asks as she pulls away to look at him.

'Nothing. He wants you to scratch his ear again.' I tell her and she giggles before complying with our request. My wolf's back leg begins to kick as he enjoys the scratches.

He rolls over on his back, showing her his belly and I internally roll my eyes. Leah laughs and leans down next to us, using both hands to scratch his belly. I have to admit, it feels fucking amazing and he lets out low purrs of content. When she decides we've had enough affection, she stands up. We follow suit and shake out our fur before sitting on our haunches, putting us eye level with her.

She reaches out with both hands and cups our muzzle, gently running both thumbs up and down it in a gentle caress. This feels so different from anything we've experience before. We've never been touched by someone in human form. Sure we played with Julie, but that was always as wolves. The way her hands move over us, it's intense but soothing at the same time. She leans forward and plants a little kiss on our nose, making my wolf sneeze. She laughs at the motion and my wolf yips in joy before leaning forward and licking her face over and over. She begins to laugh uncontrollably before she starts pushing us away.

"OK! OK, Balto that's enough!" She says and my wolf huffs at her before sitting back down. She wipes her face off with her sleeve and my wolf stands. He begins to circle her, then rubs his body against her, depositing our scent all over her. Marking her as ours, in the only way he can right now. She of course doesn't realize this and laughs at the movement before capturing our neck again, burying her face in my fur and breathing deeply.

"You still smell like Alex." She says and he sticks his face in her neck, taking deep breaths. She giggles as he tickles her while memorizing her scent. It's stronger in wolf form and he loves the way she smells.

"Wanna play a game?" She asks with a mischievous smile. His tongue lolls again as he nods his head enthusiastically.

"Ok." She says, cupping his cheeks in her tiny hands. "You count to one hundred and then try to find me." She says, her eyes bright and playful. She takes off on a run and my wolf starts to count.

'Onetwothreefourfive...'

"And count slow!" She yells over her shoulder. My wolf huffs and starts again.

'One... two... three...'

Soon she gets far enough away we can't hear her and when we get to one hundred, my wolf plants his nose to the ground and begins to sniff. We follow the trail she left, but it curves in a few directions. He gets confused until I realize the little minx ran in circles. My wolf is getting anxious, wanting to find his prize, and growls a little until we can find a stronger scent. We follow it and hear a slight rustling. We stalk up to a pile of leaves that seems to be shaking. My wolf puts his butt in the air before pouncing in front of the pile and digging his snout into it until a cold hand reaches out to touch us. Leah stands, covered in leaves and smiles at us.

But then I notice her lips are nearly blue and she's shivering.

'You're freezing, little one.' I link her and she nods.

"Yeah, I worked up a sweat running then got cold while I was waiting. It took you longer to find me than I thought, I must be a pretty good hider." She brags as I make my wolf curl around her to warm her up.

'Yes. Very impressive, sweetheart. Now climb on my back and we'll run you to the packhouse.' I tell her, leaning down so she can climb on me. I feel her trembling as I set off on a run.

'Hold on tight and lean down close to me to get warm.' I tell her while mind linking a couple of pack members to get some blankets and a bath ready.

It only takes a few minutes to get back and Jon is there to open the door. I carry her to her room, still in wolf form, where Penny is waiting. Leah slips off my back and Jon catches her before Penny wraps her tightly in a blanket.

"Let's get you in some warm water, huh?" Penny asks and Leah nods before turning towards the bathroom.

"Oh wait!" She exclaims turning back to my wolf and hugging around his neck again. "It was nice to meet you." She murmurs in his ear. He licks her cheek one last time when she pulls away making her giggle before she disappears into the bathroom.

Jon follows me to my room where I shift and dress.

"So, that went well I take it?" He asks and I nod.

"Very well. He let her name him." I say, still amazed myself. Wolves hate that, especially alphas. Anything that makes them seem like a pet.

Jon lets out a belly laugh, slapping his knee dramatically and shaking his head.

"That girl has your wolf wrapped around her finger." He says, laughing again and I can't help but join in. "Why'd he let her get so cold though?" He asks and I growl a little, upset that I let that happen.

"She wanted to play hide and seek. She's a good hider it took him a little while. She should have just come out and found us I didn't realize how cold she was." I say before leaving Jon and going back to Leah's room.

"Are you ok, Leah?" I yell through the closed bathroom door.

"I'm fine! I'll be out in a minute!" She answers.

"I'll find you some clothes." I tell her and find her some sweatpants and a shirt, but grab her one of my hoodies as well. I tell Jon to order a space heater for her room. We usually keep the packhouse cooler since we all run hot. I didn't think about that and with the weather getting colder I don't want to find her frozen to death one morning.

She comes out dressed and my wolf huffs a little that she washed his scent off of her, but the hoodie helps to ease his annoyance. Penny throws the clothes she was wearing into the hamper and scrunches her nose.

"She reeks like you." She tells me and Leah giggles.

"Yeah his wolf rubbed all over me." She says with an affectionate smile. Penny looks at me with a raised, suspicious brow and I glare at her.

"Oh, really?" She asks and I fight the urge to smack her.

"Why don't you get Leah something warm to drink." I tell her through clenched teeth. She smirks at me, but doesn't argue.

"That's ok. I'm fine." Leah says as Penny leaves the room. I go up to her and wrap my arms around her, trying to keep her warm.

"I'm so sorry you got so cold." She smiles warmly up at me before tucking her little face into my neck.

"It was worth it. Best game of hide and seek ever." She says making me smile. She yawns a little at the end and I scoop her up, placing her in bed before tucking the blankets around her. I run my fingers through her hair and she gives me a small sleepy smile. I turn to leave, but she reaches out to grab my hand.

"Stay. Please?"