Meeting the Alpha

Nova's heart was pounding so hard she was pretty sure that Jay could hear it, although with werewolf hearing that may not be too far off. He looked back at her as they moved down the hallway, "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"You know, for some reason, I feel like that's a little easier said than done," Nova told him with a raised eyebrow.

Jay chuckled and stared into her eyes before saying, "Trust me." A wave of warmth filled Nova and she felt Dawn's nerves instantly settle. The feeling was so powerful that it took her breath away. Not trusting her voice, she gave him a slight nod.

They walked a few more feet before Jay stopped before a door and looked at her. She nodded and he knocked on the door. Nova took a deep breath before a familiar deep voice declared from the other side, "Jay, you can come in."

The room was a nice-looking office with shelves filling the wall to the right and a large desk opposite the door. The man looked exactly the same as he had the last time she saw him, but this time she felt more intimidated. When the man's brown eyes landed on her, a warm smile grew on his lips as he greeted, "Ahh, you must be Nova. Jay has spoken a lot about you."

Jay's face turned red which caused Nova to smirk and said, "Oh he has?"

"Well, anyway. Dad, meet Nova and Nova, meet my father," Jay quickly said after clearing his throat.

His father chuckled and gestured to the two chairs sitting across from his desk, "Both of you sit down." After they both obeyed he said, "First, you can call me Duncan or Alpha for formal pack settings. Second, I am glad to meet you."

Nova gave him a nod with a polite smile as she responded, "It is good to meet you properly as well. Sorry about last time."

With a large grin, he said, "Yes that was certainly a surprising meeting. So, Jay told me that you mentioned something about going missing and returning with the ability to shift?"

With a nod, Nova launched into the story and confirmed to him that she couldn't remember anything from that summer. The Alpha's face remained passive as she told her story and yet he still managed to retain a warm demeanor which helped keep Nova at ease.

"And you say the color of your wolf is red?" Duncan asked for confirmation.

Jay quickly responded before Nova could and told him, "Yeah, her wolf is red, but... something else happened today." That caused the alpha to sit up even straighter, "On our way here we stopped by the training grounds and ran the obstacle course. Nova beat me, but... she also... partially shifted?"

Duncan's head tilted slightly as he further inquired, "What do you mean partially shifted?"

"Well, her feet grew elongated and her weight shifted to the balls of her feet. Claws also emerged from her hands and toes. And," Jay sent a quick glance toward Nova before saying, "her eyes... the center was the golden-brown of her wolf but the edges were still her normal green. It was like they were both in control."

Duncan looked down to his left for a second before raising his gaze to Nova, "How did you feel when you two were racing?"

"I felt like I was... more aware and... stronger than normal. I could hear and see everything, yet I had complete focus on my current task. As I approached an obstacle I naturally saw how to overcome it and I just... did," Nova tried to describe.

"How did your wolf feel? Could you sense her?" He inquired deeper.

Nova's eyes narrowed as she tried to remember, "She was there, but she was forward with me. Every movement was like a team effort, but we needed no discussion. We both just knew and did."

Nodded before asking, "Has this ever happened before?" When Nova shook her head he continued, "Do either one of you know what triggered the shift?"

Jay glanced at her and said, "She was normal before the race. Her eyes changed just before the race though. Just before I called over Matt to start us."

Nova's face turned slightly pink as she admitted, "It was because of what you said. I don't know why, but it just struck something. I felt something click, but I didn't realize anything physically changed. Wait... is that why you kept looking at me weird?"

This time it was Jay's turn to turn pink as he said, "Yeah, your eyes were throwing me off. They were beautiful, but just took me by surprise."

Jay's father interrupted them before they could carry their conversation further and said, "Jay, what did you say and Nova, how did it make you feel?"

"Well, I asked her if she wanted a head start, "Jay's eyes glanced down almost guiltily while he spoke before he quickly tried to explain, "I was just kidding of course."

His father chuckled before looking over at Nova who said, "When he asked me that, I felt... challenged? It was like... a need to prove myself. Then Dawn moved forward and it felt like some sort of power was unlocked and started to flow through my veins. It wasn't until we started racing though that the power really hit."

Duncan sat there in silence for a moment before saying, "First, the fact you're a red wolf is peculiar. There are a lot fewer red wolves than us grey wolves and it is a trait that is passed on through families. Second, I believe what happened is called Unitatis. Basically, it is when the wolf and the human become so fully united that they basically become one. They look mostly human, but with a few extra wolf characteristics like the claws and the senses.

"However, very few wolves have ever had the ability to achieve Unitatis. Some were Werewolves that chose something like a monk lifestyle and practiced many techniques that allowed them to connect to their wolves on such a level, however, there was one family that was gifted the ability from the moon goddess to have Unitatis. Every member of the family had Unitatis abilities, however, they would require some form of training to trigger and unlock their abilities."

Jay sat up straighter and said, "A trigger, like a challenge?"

Duncan nodded and then continued, "In order to be blessed with this gift, an ancestor allegedly did some great task to protect werewolf kind. This family was one of the only red wolf families. As far as I know, they are the only family that was granted this gift which was transferred through their blood."

Chills spread through Nova's body as she thought of the strange connections the Alpha had drawn. Nova looked at him with wide eyes before softly asking, "Would they be able to help me to control the... Uni... uh the Unitah..."

"Unitatis," the Alpha supplied.

"Yes, the Unitatis?"

He frowned slightly, "They probably would, but the whole family went missing about 2 years ago."