CAINE POV

I ran all through the day. The Moon Goddess had been right, not a single human could see me. It was kinda fun walking through the city on the sidewalk the way we used to do. Only now, I towered over everyone. No one noticed me and everyone passed through me, like I was a spirit. I guess it did make sense, I was only a spirit until connected with my human.

I had no idea what this new human would be like. I had no frame of reference for a thing like this. As far as I knew, nothing like this had ever happened. The wolf and the Human are always one and the same, working in concert with each other. Playing off both of our strengths. The weaknesses were meant to be worked on with a mate, together.

I was a coward. After not being able to get him to listen to me, to stop what he was doing, I just shut him out. Kept myself away from him. I could have done more to help. Yes, the human has control over the body, but I could have forced it. I could have taken over, I just don't understand why I never did. Maybe I wasn't the Alpha I thought I was. I didn't deserve this new human.

I knew exactly where he was at that moment, it was just up to me to catch up to him. I ran across the street, through a moving car, smiling when I came to a stop in front of the motel at the edge of the pack lands, about 40 miles from the burned down packhouse itself. I walked toward the door at the edge of the property and sensed him inside. From the sound of things, he was fast asleep inside. I was tempted to go and play with the humans, I had never had this kind of freedom. Of course it was forbidden for the wolves to show themselves to the humans, and with good reason. But this was a unique opportunity. I started to walk back toward the most populated part of the street only to feel a tug on my hind leg. I looked back and saw nothing but the tugging got harder and I felt the need to go to him. The only feeling I had to compare it to was the mate bond.

I went back to the door and pushed my way through the thick wood. He was lying on his back, sprawled in the middle of the bed with the towel draped over his naked body. By the barely dry hair on the end of his legs, I would guess that he just gotten out of the shower. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, but I jumped on the bed, when he didn't move I sniffed around his face. He was still breathing, I laid gently on his chest, faintly wondering if I would eventually go through him and back to the floor.

I did go through him, but it seemed that something clicked. His fingers twitched and he wiggled his toes. His thoughts started to come to me, like the volume rising gradually on a speaker. He was dreaming. I couldn't make out much of the details but he was definitely in a war zone. If I could hear him, maybe he could hear me.

<i>'Hello'</i>

His body jerked and he sat straight up pointing a cocked gun at the wall. Where did he even get that? This guy is fast. I watched while he pointed the gun swinging it from one side to another looking for intruders. It was only then I realized I was seeing through his eyes. I did it. I am now one with my new human. Now to turn him into an Alpha.

<i>'No one is here. You would be able to smell if they were.'</i> I murmured quietly. I heard about military humans, their minds fracture after war.

"Who said that?" He stood up with a fluidity I was impressed by, he had a strength in him that some wolves would envy. He looked around the room behind him finding nothing there.

<i>'I told you that no one is there. I'm inside you, I'm your wolf, Caine.'</i>

'Ok. Now this is just stupid. How the fuck to I live the life I have, go to the army, come out and THEN get schizophrenia.'

I chuckled at that. He's funny, if not a bit self deprecating. <i>'No really. It's true. Go look at your eyes.'</i>

I expected further argument, but he turned and went straight to the bathroom. The light was still turned on from when he took a shower and when he turned to the mirror, one of his deep brown eyes was turned yellow. His eyes widened and he poked at his left eye. Blinking rapidly as if that would make it go away.

'This can't - I'm imagining things. I have PTSD'

I cackled at that. <i>'And turning into a werewolf is your delusion?'</i>

Something changed in him then. A calm took over him and he lowered his head in thought.

<i>'He never bit me. How do you turn into a werewolf anyway?'</i>

<i>'Normally it's something you're born with. The Moon Goddess has decided to bless you though.'</i>

<i>'So, are you his wolf? Did he die?! Did he tell you to come to me?'</i> I'm confused by all these questions. This human knows more than it seems.

<i>'Who's he?'</i>

<i>'Wes. Wesley Pobane.'</i>

<i>'I don't know anyone by that name. The Moon Goddess thought you fit to lead after my last human counterpart screwed it up.'</i>

<i>'So, this Moon Goddess just decided. Who was going to tell me about this plan?' </i>He sounded frustrated.

<i>'You did just wonder what you were going to do with your life.'</i>

<i>'How could you know that?'</i>

<i>'It's going to take a while for us to fully integrate, but your memories are coming to me.'</i>

<i>'Why did she choose me? How could she know I would do what she wants?'</i>

<i>'She's a goddess. And I don't think she wants you to do anything but help the pack, I'm here to help you do that.'</i>

He went back into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling his head in his hands. He recalled when he saw his teammate shift in a room full of organization assassins. They were the only two on mission that day and it was completely unexpected to find them in a room where they were told they would find fifty abducted children. Wes shifted the second he walked into the room, whipping his tail and backside around which slammed Bodie into the wall and gave him a serious concussion.

<i>'I didn't imagine that?'</i>

<i>'It doesn't seem you did. I've never heard of a wolf going into the armed forces before, doesn't mean it couldn't happen. And he must have felt seriously threatened if he shifted like that before properly assessing the threat.'</i>

<i>'I had no idea. I spent hours going over it. I thought I was going crazy. Maybe they know, maybe that's why they gave me a medical discharge.'</i>

<i>'Is that something they would do?'</i>

<i>'Definitely, yes.'</i>

I sat quietly not really knowing what to say. This man had some unfinished business on the human side, that could cause potential problems with the pack. But there was a fire in him that I had never seen with Korbin. Some kind of need to help, I could tell that he was a natural leader, one that was respected by the people he commanded.

<i>'You're awfully quiet now.'</i>

<i>'You accept that I'm not a figment of your imagination or a delusion?'</i>

<i>'I feel different. Are you…Pacing?'</i>

I didn't realize that I was. I'm feeling anxious. Desperate for this to work, excited to get started. <i>'I tend to do that when I have nervous energy and you're in control just sitting around.'</i>

<i>'I can control you?'</i>

<i>'We are one now. You are in control now, in your natural form. But you could relinquish control to me or I could take control if your defenses are low enough. I could never do anything to hurt you though. Hurting you would hurt me too.'</i>

<i>'Because we are one. Can we shift? It'll make this more real.'</i>