A Pearl Amongst Wolves (MxM)

Albino: Myst POV

As we ran, I occasionally glanced at Ash, as he did me. I've never craved someone's presence so much. Just him being here made everything so much better. It made me happy. I'd never been as happy as I was when he wrapped his arms around me. It felt right. It felt real. Like the desolate reality that I'd been existing in, was fake. I studied his fur. It was so pretty. A mixture of light and dark brown. It went well with the gold eyes of his wolf. I huffed in laughter, remembering how he froze every time he saw me shift into either form, a dazed, enamored sort-of look on his face. Apparently, he felt the same way I did. I thought about how he'd been ready to pounce after I'd teased him with my tail. It made my heart race that I had that effect on him. The way he wanted to protect me from my past. It was sweet. Just the fact that he even wanted to know almost made me cry. My well-being was never taken into account, just what I represented and how I presented myself.

Though I meant what I said, I would follow Ash wherever he went, I was still apprehensive about going back to a pack. I shivered as I remembered pieces of my past experiences. I saw Ash glance over at me, but I pretended not to. Talking about it in a general sense or in bits and pieces was okay, but I'd reached my mental limit for today. As we passed the scent barrier, I had to force myself not to slow down. This isn't my father's pack. This isn't the Moon Shadow Pack. This is Ash's pack. This is the Crystal Lake Pack. Even though I continued to repeat those things, I moved closer to Ash as we continued to run. He brushed against me affectionately. After another thirty minutes, he slowed to a walk and disappeared into some bushes. He wasn't far, his scent still surrounding me. The smell of eucalyptus and sandalwood. Unfortunately, the timing was too perfect as a large male walked through the treeline nearly immediately after Ash disappeared. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a washed-out hazel. As he caught sight of me, he bared extended fangs, his eyes flashing deep blue,

"How did you get here?"

I studied the older male before yawning and sitting. He shared some features with Ash, though where my mate's sharp features made him more handsome, on this male they looked more severe and less welcoming. I was sure they were related, but they weren't father and son. The lips were too thin, the chin too defined, the nose slightly more protruding. The male bared his fangs at me, growling angrily at my calm disposition while I simply blinked. How exactly did he expect me to answer? The male took a step forward and at this moment Ash stepped out of the trees dressed in a pair of shorts. His eyes were narrowed and brows furrowed, most likely from the raised voices. He looked between the angry male and me. Once his emerald green eyes landed on mine, I blinked calmly and swished my tail slowly from right to left once. He smiled briefly before stepping between me and the older male,

"What is the problem, Uncle?"

Ahhh, uncle. That makes sense. His uncle sounded as if he was speaking through clenched teeth,

"Explain to me why there is a rogue so close to the packhouse, Ashton."

"Because he's my mate."

"Your mate?"

"Yes. My mate. Now can you please step out of the way so I can get him into the house and comfortable? He's had a long...day."

I stood and bumped my head against his mid-back apprecitively. He turned to me and smiled, before turning back to his uncle, who still hadn't moved. What an obstinate person. I stood next to Ash and looked at his uncle. The older male had calmed down and started to move, finally. His eyes landed on me again and suddenly his eyes locked with mine,

"Red eyes...strange color for a wolf. You're albino then."

I froze briefly as he said the words but forced myself to continue moving, as Ash didn't hear what he said. The way he said it; it reminded me of my father. A layer of deep-seated disgust. As we continued to walk through the tree line, I felt Ash's uncle's eyes dig into my back. I shook my fur to ease my apprehension and stayed closeto Ash; focusing on his scent to calm myself. We continued walking into the packhouse. Ash was greeted by more pack members. Some were shifted and others were in human form. There were even a few vampires. A few of them greeted me as well, while the others kind of just stared. My claws clicked as we went up the steps and I took the chance to look at my shirtless mate as if we hadn't just been embracing each other's nude bodies not too long ago. His dark tan was deliciously perfect, wrapped around his eight pack. Biceps, triceps, everything was sculpted to muscular perfection. None of it was overdone or out of proportion with any other part of his body. He was walking eye candy, if I'd ever seen it.