Read Online Wolver's Reward by Jacqueline Rhoades - Free Book Online

about those unnatural
shifts. A wolver male needed his Alpha's power to shift without the
full moon, and he was afraid of what his sudden change meant. Did
it mean he'd lost control of his wolf? As much as he loved the
wild, River had no wish to turn feral and remain in his wolf form
permanently. Pack Alphas had the power to force that change,
too.
    Could he force the shift? Should he?
    The animal inside him snarled and snapped
again.
    "Fine," River snarled back, "But if I end up
spending the rest of my life as a wolf, it's gonna be a fucking
short one, because I'll find the nearest highway and stand in front
of the first big rig that comes along. Got it?"
    His wolf chuffed and wagged its tail.
    Inner argument over, River stripped down to
his boxers, bundled his clothing and boots in his shirt and stood
there feeling more like a jackass than a wolf. He tilted his head
back, spread his arms wide, and let the call of the moon fill him.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do next.
    His wolf did, though. Like a beacon guiding
ships to shore, his wolf drew the moon's power into physical being.
It howled with triumph as it rose to the surface and burst through
the human form that contained it. Light flared as flesh and bone
transformed. Hands and fingers molded into long toed paws. Claws
grew where nails once were. Sharp teeth replaced flat molars as his
snout elongated and ears pointed upward. His body tingled with the
growth of fur and the pinch of his tail sprouting from the base of
his spine made him yip and turn to bite at it.
    Holy shit, it worked! He'd never felt it like
that before. The transition probably took no more than five or six
seconds, but that was four or five more than normal. Over the moon
is over in a flash was a common joke among wolvers. This was no
joke. He'd felt every bit of the miracle that was wolver. Damn! He
wanted to feel it again.
    Fortunately, his wolf had more sense. They'd
wasted enough time with human thoughts and frailties. Its nose was
up and its mouth was open, pulling in the scent and taste of the
air. River barely had time to loop the tied sleeves of his shirt
around his neck before they were running at breakneck speed over
the rough and uneven terrain of the surrounding forest.
    The wolf didn't hesitate when a wood and wire
fence appeared before them. Without breaking stride, it leapt, and
sailed on a wave of grace and muscle over to the other side and
kept running. They sped through the sea of grass beyond. The dozen
munching cows barely had time to flick their tails in startlement
before the wolf was in the air again, leaving the field behind.
    Tall trees, narrowing roads, and weedy
grasses flew by. Small animals scattered. Hungry as he was, the
wolf took no notice of the prey. It was on the hunt for larger
game.
    The wolf didn't slow until the collective
smell of dozens of wolvers began to separate into individual
scents. River's hiss of warning wasn't needed. His wolf stopped
well beyond the line of sight. Belly to the ground, it crept around
the assembly through the underbrush, lifting its head only far
enough to confirm the wind blew toward it to keep its own scent
secret. No lone wolver worth the name would enter this large a
gathering without judging its strength and getting the lay of the
land.
    They were gathered in a small, cleared area
of woodland bordered by a parking lot that showed more weeds than
gravel. Several wooden picnic tables were strategically placed to
one side of the clearing. On the other side, eight rustic benches
were permanently placed in two orderly rows facing a low, wooden
platform; an outdoor classroom. The wood of the table and benches
were gray with age and spotted with moss and fungi. A folding lawn
chair sat on the only sturdy place left on the rotting
platform.
    The gathering was a strange mix of four
distinct packs, each party containing six to eight wolvers. They
were predominantly male, and none of them looked like they were
here for a good time.