Hadley's POV

My hands were shaking as I poured the cereal into the bowl. My wolf was restless. Now that it had been unleashed it demanded freedom. I was doing my best to keep it contained but I knew I could only manage it for so long until I lost control and shifted again.

The milk had overflowed and was now spilling on the counter.

"Crap," I said, reaching for the paper towel trying to clean it up.

"Looks like you need a run even more than I do. Come on I'll go with you," West had sneaked into the room at some point. I was so distracted.

"You're probably right," I said abandoning my cereal and following West outside.

"There's a small cliff near the top of the pack's territory we can run to there," West explained as he led me to the edge of the woods.

"West. I don't know about this," I said nervously.

West came up to me and put his hands on my shoulders giving me a gentle smile. "I know it hurts but the more you shift the quicker your body will adjust. Plus you're one more mess away from full on wolfing out and losing control,".

I stared into his sapphire eyes and saw that he was sure and calm. I trusted him and I knew he was right. I exhaled and nodded at West.

We moved further into the clearing before West started to strip down right in front of me. I hated that the sight of him stripping made me blush so bad. I turned my head ignoring the shirtless muscled man in front of me.

West chuckled "You'll get used to the naked thing. But if it makes you feel better you can go behind that tree and I promise not to look,"

West was down to his boxers at this point. Without a further thought or glance for that matter I went behind the tree and started stripping down. I could hear West shifting into his wolf. I folded my clothes leaving them at the base of the tree and took some deep breaths. My wolf sensed that I was ready and began to shift.

The pain was still terrible but it was slightly more bearable. The ringing in my ears had subdued enough that I wasn't screaming in pain this time. I fell to the ground and rose in my wolf form.

I took myself in not really remembering anything from my last shift. West's description had been accurate. I was a dark copper colored in this form with white paws and small dapples of white that traveled up my legs.

I felt so strong in this form. I could see and smell everything. I could hear the stream in the distance. Everything was heightened. I was in control but there was definitely an overwhelming instinctual drive that was fighting for control.

West made his way over. His tan wolf was larger than mine. Not too shabby for a second shift. Grab your clothes in your mouth West mind linked. He nodded towards the direction of the cliff and we made our way running. I felt so free in this form. Limitless and happy. It felt right.

We made our way to the cliff where we both shifted back into our forms and put our clothes back on. Each shift was slowly getting easier, or I was just getting used to the pain.

West was sitting at the edge, his legs dangling over. I made my way over and sat next to him. Our shoulders were barely touching.

"I'm sorry about your dad,'' I said turning to him.

"That's the thing I shouldn't be upset about his death... He was a horrible person and he did horrible things. But he was still my dad. I guess a small part of me hoped that one day he would make up for what he did. Is that stupid?" West said, looking at me, his sapphire looking dull.

"Not at all," I reached out giving his hand a squeeze.

"You know a small part of me is kind of bummed out you aren't my mate," West said, watching me closely. My heart picked up. "You're easy to talk to and I just have fun when I'm around you. You aren't afraid to put me in my place and you make me want to be a better man,".

My body was in total shock. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't even sure how I really felt about West.

"I know it isn't fair to tell you this. But I needed you to know at least once. I didn't want or expect to feel this way about you. Now I'll just have to live with it," West said brushing my hair off of my cheek, his finger grazing it slowly.

"Who is to say if I even have a mate. I'm not like you," I said.

West smiled sadly, his eyes focused on his hand that was still touching my face. "That's the thing. When you find your mate I don't think I could handle losing you if I ever had you. Even if it was only for a little while. There are a lot of things Hadley I want to tell you.... I can't be the asshole who cares about you like this," West said, his hand dropping to his lap.

"I don't understand," I said. Trying to read West's face.

"It'll make sense very soon. I just had to tell you before. I'm sorry," West stood up fast. "We should head back. The others should be back soon.

"Oh ok," I said. "West wait," I said, grabbing his arm forcing him to face me. "Look I care about you. You're one of my closest friends and I trust you. I don't want that to change," I said.

"I promise you it won't. I just needed you to know once. We can pretend like this never happened," West said, giving me a small smile.

I nodded ok and moved behind the tree so I could shift. My mind was so distracted and running with different thoughts that I was able to totally ignore the pain.

We made our way back to the edge of the forest where we shifted again and changed. I made my way out of the woods where Scott and Devin were talking waiting for us.

Devin was exactly who I needed to talk to right now. Scott gave me a strange look as I got closer.

"What's going on?" I asked. West had fallen into step behind me.

"Darren and Braxton are here. We're all meeting in the pack house soon. There's a lot," Devin said.

Before I had a chance to respond. Tate made his way around the corner of the house. My whole body stiffened as I watched him and we both froze. Our eyes locked. It was like I had never really seen him before. Everything about him drew me in. My brain fumbled over the words trying to make the connection. It was like the answer to a question I had been asking my whole life.

"Mate," he said. I knew it was his wolf coming through.

"Mate," I whispered. Unable to take my eyes away from his.