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Alex nodded. “It would have. No one should have their first shift commanded by an alpha.” He knew it hadn’t been his dad as he wasn’t a shifter, but he’d like to know who had done it.

“But what if I can't?”

Alex leaned against the nearest tree. “Close your eyes.” He tried desperately to tamp down the satisfaction when Noah obeyed, knowing the feeling came from his alpha wolf. “Tell me what you can hear.”

Noah frowned but stilled. “There’s mice under the trunk of the tree to your right.”

“Very good,” Alex praised. “Now tell me what you can smell.”

“Grass. Trees,” Noah said, then inhaled. “An animal to my right.”

“Good,” Alex praised again, wondering if he would scent the deer. “Can you tell what it is?”

Noah dropped a hand to his belly and Alex almost smiled, but then he saw a quick swallow of revulsion, which meant he was hungry, but maybe not a meat-eater. “Deer?” Noah said cautiously.

“Yes,” Alex confirmed. “How many?”

Noah opened his eyes in shock. “How on earth would I know that?”

“Different, but nearly the same scent signatures. Close your eyes and try.”

Noah obeyed. Opened his mouth but closed it.

“What was that thought?” Alex asked.

“I thought three, but one seems smaller, if that’s even the right word. Like the scent is tiny.”

“That’s great,” Alex enthused. “It’s because one’s a fawn, and I can’t tell you how difficult it is to tell the difference between a similar scent in a smaller animal and the same scent but at a greater distance.” Alex grinned and was pleased at Noah’s answering smile.

“I heard the guys say you were going to be an alpha,” Noah stated abruptly.

Alex kept the easy smile on his face. “I’m already an alpha,” he said honestly. “I have a ton to learn, and I want to be as good an alpha as Raschid.”

Noah glanced down and then back. “But don’t you need a pack to be an alpha?”

Alex shrugged. “Yes and no. Victor is an alpha but chooses to submit to Raschid.” Noah seemed to think about that.

“Although,” Alex added. “I might have lots to learn, but I’m not submitting to anyone.” He knew that. Felt it in his bones.

Noah’s gaze was steady. “When you have your pack, will it just be wolves?”

“No,” Alex confirmed, knowing they were finally there. “I will be alpha to every shifter who submits to me.”

“I—I’m a deer,” Noah whispered, and Alex smiled. “My—” But Noah clamped his mouth shut.

“That’s great,” Alex said, guessing what he’d been going to say but ignoring it. “Deer can run really fast, probably faster than me.”

Noah looked skeptical, and Alex remained silent. He’d sensed the boy had kept his animal hidden for far too long and understood being scared. Of everyone, he should know. He stepped forward and let his hand fall gently on the younger boy’s back. “Be free, Noah. Let him out.”

Noah gasped and shuddered, curling into himself, and then arching his back as if something else was controlling him. Alex understood. He could teach him control. He could teach him to love his animal, love himself. It was a lesson he’d finally learned.

With a cry Noah grew fur, but what happened next shocked even Alex. For a moment Noah’s head changed shape dramatically, even before the rest of his body altered, and Alex watched in stunned silence as Noah finally stood before him, trembling, but fully in his shifted form.

Alex knew deep down that his first reaction would determine everything else. He was Noah’s alpha. He’d felt that the second Noah had walked through the door. Slowly, carefully, he reached up and smoothed the small patch of fur on Noah’s head.

The small patch between two massive antlers.

Because Noah Watkins had just transformed into one of the rarest shifters on the planet. Noah shook his fur out and bent his head, and Alex cupped his muzzle and instinctively accepted his submission.