His Human Mate

Erick walked straight, heading towards the backyard, passing by the empty offices and mess hall. Before going inside, he thought he heard some noises from outside. But since Dane was quiet, he assumed that it must be safe. He knew that Dane would only called out to him if there was something amiss.

Pushing open the door, he was suddenly bombarded with party streamers and yells of 'Surprise! Happy birthday, Erick!'.

He was frozen for a split second before he blinked his eyes, pushing him back into reality. He looked around and saw that everyone in the pack had gathered at the backyard. There were some who even shifted into their wolf form. Apparently, his mother had worked hard to gather everyone here, together with his friends to celebrate his birthday party.

He did not realize how fast time passes by. So many things had happened that it had just slipped his mind. He smiled sheepishly as he return their greetings with thank yous.

The backyard had been beautifully decorated with balloons decorated on the wall at the back of the house and streamers that had been lined around the area. There were also a medium-sized banner just across from where Erick had walked in, that reads 'Happy Birthday, Erick'. At the back of the banner, stood a tall backdrop that looked like it will be used to take pictures with. Additionally, the foods were arranged in buffet style, where there were two long tables on both sides of the area, adorned with varieties of dishes.

Erick inwardly g.r.o.a.n.e.d. It seems like they had gone overboard with the celebration. He did not expect it would be this hyped. He had always expected that he would celebrate his birthday in a low profile kind of style. But it seems like his mother was too excited. And knowing his father, he probably just follow whatever his mother demand.

As Erick looked at the food that were arranged on the buffet table, more girls around his age began to swamped him, saying their congratulatory messages. There were many kinds of girls that were in the pack; short, tall, beautiful, brunette, blonde and etc. But they have the same goal in their mind, which was to be his mate. Since he was of age, he will be able to fully shift in a couple of weeks, when the full moon arrives.

Erick loved the attention that the girls had given him so he did not mind and began to enjoy his time with them. He always sees this as a harmless flirtation since he wants to wait for his mate.

Few minutes later, Erick's father walked to the center of the backyard and began his speech. He talked about the full moon and also talk about Erick; how he was proud to have a son like him. Speaking of full moon, Erick looked over at Hamish, who was standing and talking with the other pack mates. Hamish's birthday will be in a couple of days so he too, will be able to shift soon.

He really can't wait for the day to come. Who knows that he might be able to meet his mate once he has fully shift? That would bring such great joy to Erick if that were to happen.

----

Once the celebration was over, there were only a few who had stayed behind to help with the clean up. Most of the men, though, went for a run with their wolves. So, it was only the women and the young ones, who has yet to shift left behind.

In the kitchen, the women gathered around, gossiping, while cleaning the dishes. The young ones cleaned up the backyard, picking up the trash and clearing the area.

After everything was done, everyone began to say their goodbyes to each other. The ones left were the Alpha's family, Beta's family and the triplets. The Alpha, Beta and the triplets were in the Alpha's office. It seems like they were discussing something important. The women; Luella, Mary (Hamish's mother) and Melody were still in the kitchen as they discussed about cooking and baking. Since Mary was a baker, Melody was asking for tips on how to bake wile Luella listened on. Erick and Hamish, on the other hand, were outside in the backyard, playing ball. They were practicing their tossing as they kept playing passing.

"So…" Erick said, as he held the football up high above his head. "In two days, huh?"

Hamish caught the ball easily after Erick had thrown it. He nodded and tossed the ball back.

"Are you nervous about it?"

Hamish shook his head silently, again catching the ball.

"What are your thoughts on it?"

Hamish just shrugged and threw the ball at Erick.

Fed up at his silence, Erick slammed the ball on the ground, glaring at Hamish. "Woi, speak to me, man!" he exclaimed.

Hamish sighed and said, "I really have no thoughts on it. All I can do is prepare for the worst."

Erick frowned, confused by his statement. "What do you mean?"

"Hmmmm…" Hamish said thoughtfully. "Before I could think about shifting, I am a bit concerned about my wolf. Will we be compatible like you and Dane? If yes, it makes me wonder on what aspects does it choose me?" he then looked at Erick straight in the eye. "What about Dane? How did he came to choose you? Have you ever talked to him about what happened? How was it you were able to control him?" he asked, curious.

Erick stopped and looked down. He then recalled the time when he first acquired Dane.

He was only in middle school when Dane came to him. He was in class and as usual, was joking around with his friends. Hamish was there too but they weren't as close as they currently were. Yes, they were close friends but only because their fathers were the Alpha and Beta. To be frank, he didn't like Hamish, at first because he was quiet and brooding. Erick remembered that just as he was about to jump onto his chair, he suddenly felt a prick of pain in his mind. The pain soon consume his whole body, making him tremble and shake uncontrollably.

He remembered how he noticed that it was actually Hamish who first came to his rescue. He had grabbed Erick before his head hit the corner of his table. He could vaguely hear Hamish shouting for help as his consciousness started to fade.

After he regained his consciousness, he thought he was blinded because he could not see anything. Instead, it was dark. He looked to his left and right. But what he sees were endless darkness. Just then, he saw something twinkling at the end. He felt himself moving towards the blinking lights. And as he came closer, the blinking light slowly changed into a dark brown wolf. It was a huge wolf, unlike the wolves that he had seen in the wild. Instead, the wolf looked like a shifter wolf, thrice the size of a normal wolf. He was shocked to realize that this was a shifter wolf, similar to the size of shifters when they shifted.

Before he could raise his arm to touch it, the wolf began to b.a.r.e his fangs and jumped onto him. What surprises Erick was that the wolf jumped through him. He turned at the same time as the wolf did. The two faced each other. Just then as the wolf started to howl, Erick started to feel extreme pain in his mind. His eyes began to twitch. His body felt like it was about to burst as heat began to consume every blood and veins inside him. He felt like the heated blood started to rush towards his brain, making him gritted his teeth. He could feel blood about to spurt out of his mouth. But he persisted as he held his head.

He had to bite his tongue to regain his consciousness, blinking his eyes rapidly. He, too, began to scream as the wolf continued howling. He heavily trudged his way towards the wolf. His steps felt so heavy that it felt like he was carrying a fifty pounds load. As he became nearer to the wolf, he did not notice that the wolf was lowering its howl. When Erick was in front of it, the wolf stopped its howling and studied him with its glistening eyes.

Erick dropped down on his knees and reached out to touch the wolf. He was surprised that this time, he could feel the wolf's mane. Its fur was soft to touch, soft as a baby's bum. The pain suddenly disappears and he finally could see straight. The two eyes met. Amber eyes met dark brown eyes.

"I've chosen well."

Erick blinked as he quickly stood up, backing away from the wolf. Did the wolf just speak? He had heard a voice but it seems to be coming from the wolf. But from what he understands, wolf can't talk. It sounded rough yet serene. And the sound of a strange voice does not seem to frighten him. Instead, it sounded familiar.

"My name is Dane. And I've chosen you as my human counterpart."

"Wait, what?" Erick asked, shocked. "Who are you?"

"I'm a shifter wolf. I've been searching for someone like you. A true Alpha."

"But it's not the time for me to shift yet!" Erick exclaimed. "I've not come to age!"

The wolf began to quiet down. And instead of replying him, it dissipated into thin air. Then Erick suddenly felt something flew inside him, causing him to fall onto his knees again. He gripped his shirt where his heart beats and let out a ragged breath. He felt like he was out of breath when the wind went inside his body. The air felt thin and his lungs felt it was blocked. He couldn't breathe at all. After a couple of minutes, his breathing and heart began to beat normally.

He then suddenly began to feel sleepy. And the next time he opened his eyes, he was in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His parents were sitting beside his bed. His mother was crying, with her hands gripping his tightly. Behind them, the triplets stood together, all wearing a grim look on their face. Noaz's eyes were bloodshot as if he had spent the night crying. What had happened?

"Mother? Father?" Erick asked hoarsely. His throat felt dry and his lips were chapped dry.

The room went silent. His mother looked up in shock as she saw Erick looking at her, confused. Luella jumped up and hugged her son tightly as she continued to cry. This time, in happiness. "Oh my dear! You're alive! Thank the moon goddess!"

Erick hugged his mother back, still confused. With his arm around his mother, who was still weeping, he looked up and saw his father shedding a tear away. "What's going on?" he asked.

The triplets moved to his other side of the bed. Noaz gave him a pat on the head, smiling, while Latham gave him a thumbs-up, laughing. Even the silent Roel gave a rare smile.

Lachlan, his father and Alpha, rubbed the back of his mother, soothing her, whispering to her to calm down. He then looked down at Erick, relief and joy reflected in his eyes. "You've been out for nearly a week. We did not know what had happened. But we did everything we could. We weren't sure but you…" he trailed off, unsure whether he could say it out loud.

"Is this how a shifter meet their wolf?" Erick asked.

The five shifters froze, looking at him, surprised.

Luella straighten up, her tears now gone. Her hands on her mouth as she looked at her son. Lachlan was a little bit better. He frowned as he bent down towards Erick, looking straight in his eyes. "What do you mean, Erick?"

"I've met my wolf," Erick said simply, looking back.

His mother gasped. The triplets looked dumbfounded as they stared at the boy on the bed, disbelief on their faces. Lachlan frowned down at him. "Explain," he demanded softly.

So, Erick began to explain to them of what he had experienced. He thought it was a dream but he knew it wasn't because he could feel Dane inside him. They were all surprised by the revelation, yet ecstatic because it was rare for someone as young as Erick to get their wolf before they shift.

Erick was soon swamped with lots of questions, especially from his father. It was then he knew that he was kind of special. He felt blessed yet burdened as well. Because this was just the beginning.

Shaking himself off the memories, Erick picked up the ball and tossed it back to Hamish. "There wasn't much that he was telling me. But I assumed that he has his reasons," he replied. "I guess I will just have to wait for the full moon for the answers."