The Alpha's Reluctant Mate by Morganna Williams Page A

impulse, as sickened by the desire as I was intrigued by it.
    A low moan escaped me as I fell to my knees, tears tracking down my cheeks in response to the inner turmoil I was feeling. It was as if a battle was taking place between the human Xandie and the wolf. Previously I’d been convinced that we were one and the same, but now I wasn’t as sure as their desires warred inside of me.
    The sharp tearing pain in my backside caught me completely by surprise. I fell forward on my hands, screaming as my skin seemed to split apart.
    I collapsed face first into the ground as the spasm intensified then finally stopped. Lying there for a moment, I tried to make sense of what just happened.
    It didn’t hurt so much now but it was extremely uncomfortable. I reached behind me to feel the back of my pants. There was a huge lump back there; frowning, I reached inside my pants and encountered a fur-covered tail.
    â€œThat’s just great!” I yelled. Getting slowly to my feet, I walked carefully and a little painfully back home.
    Jeans were not made to accommodate a tail, but I wasn’t about to strip from the waist down for my walk home. I muttered to myself all the way, feeling absolutely ridiculous.
    Tera looked up from where she sat reading on the big chair in the corner of the living room when I tromped into the room.
    I sent her a glare as I clomped through the room to my bedroom, unbuttoning my jeans as I walked. The relief was almost immediate when I pulled them down with my panties to free my long furry tail. I pulled a long terry housecoat over my head before stalking back to the living room to finish glaring at Tera.
    â€œWhat?” she asked, sitting up straighter in the chair.
    â€œI have a tail!” I shouted.
    â€œThat’s a new one,” Tera said thoughtfully.
    â€œWhat do you mean, that’s a new one?” I asked incredulously.
    â€œI’ve never heard of anyone sprouting a tail in the time building up to their first change, although I think Hank got wolf ears.” She laughed at the memory. “Kind of hard to hide those with a baseball cap.”
    I growled with frustration. “You people need a manual to prepare new wolves for these things. It was more than a little shocking to suddenly sprout a tail, not to mention uncomfortable and painful!”
    Tera shrugged. “I laid out another steak for you.”
    I scowled fiercely before thanking her and going to the kitchen to eat more raw meat.
    Picking up the plate, I carried it with me back into the living room. “So do I get to look forward to this every month before the full moon?”
    â€œNot at all. This is the only time you’ll have to deal with the war between your two forms. Once you’ve completed your first change, you’ll be able to control it with the exception of the night of the full moon. You have to change that night but every other day or night whether you change or not is totally up to you.”
    â€œI’ll be able to change during the day?” I asked.
    â€œAnytime you want,” she assured me. “The worst part is almost over. You’ll also have a lot more control over your wolf once you’ve become one. You will still be you when you’re a wolf, just a little furrier.”
    Finished with my steak, I carried the plate to the kitchen and put it in the sink. The talk with Tera made me feel better but I still thought a manual would be a good idea. Maybe once this was all over with and things got back to normal I could write one. I could call it, A Werewolf’s Guide to the First Full Moon. Frowning, I shook my head; no, that was way too long of a title. I’d have to give it some more thought.
    Chapter Nine
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    The next few days seemed to blur together. I was such a cauldron of emotion, filled to the brim with all I could handle, the power constantly pulsing beneath my skin.
    One minute I was shivering with cold and the next I felt as if