"As if you were on fire from within.
The moon lives in the lining of your skin."
― Pablo Neruda

Third person POV

Hiding your true identity to your soulmates and hiding under a fake name: not a good idea.

Jumping on a badass werewolf Alpha for no reason: also not a good idea.

At least, Kyle was a fast learner. However, it was too late to attempt to make amends, for he was now facing a very pissed Alpha. What on Earth had he been thinking, attacking his mates like that? Of course, he hadn't wanted to hurt them in any way. His goal had been to scare them away, giving himself enough time to flee further in the forest.

Well, no need to say he had failed. Darren and Nate looked like they were not going anywhere anytime soon. Both of them had shifted into their wolves forms. Nate was standing back, watching Kyle closely. As for Darren, he seemed the most relaxed of the three, and that scared Kyle a bit, for he was unable to predict his next moves.

You never gives an Alpha a reason to attack you. That was not even a rule in their world, that was just common sense. Alphas were admittedly the strongest among werewolves, and they were particularly protective of their mates. Kyle should have been dead by now. Why hadn't Darren killed him yet? In his eyes, he probably represented a threat to Nate.

"What are you waiting for? I don't have all afternoon, Alpha" he taunted him, as if the other man could not kill him in the blink of an eye.

Although he would never admit it, even to himself, Kyle almost peed himself at Darren's sudden warning growl. He hadn't had the Alpha's anger directed towards him since that night. However, instead of submitting to him, like his mate probably expected him to do, he raised his chin bravely.

That's not bravery, Kyle, he thought to himself bitterly. At this point, it's safer to call it a death wish.

"Are you too much of a coward to fight me?" he asked again, his voice not as firm as he would have wanted it to be.

Let's keep challenging him. The sooner it all ends, the better. The tension is killing me. The wait is always the worst.

Something flickered in Darren's eyes, and Kyle finally had a clue about what was going through the Alpha's mind.

He was hesitating. He was feeling confused about the whole situation. On the one hand, Darren was confronted to a lone rogue with an aggressive behaviour. On the other hand,  his guts were telling him not to harm the stranger called Benoît standing in front of him.

Darren might even suspect the white wolf was his mate, but his mind refused to admit it. It was understandable. Kyle had never heard about a werewolf hiding his second gender to his packmates for so long. Darren probably thought it was impossible. Kyle never had secrets, as a child. His two best friends could always tell when he was lying, which they found kind of cute.

Oh how things had changed since that time.

Truth to be told, it wouldn't have been possible to hide the truth without the suppressants, his uncle's involvement, and his own unability to bond with others as a teen and young adult. Not having friends was the safest way to keep secrets. Secret of two, secret of Goddess. Secret of three, secret of all, as his uncle used to say.

"Do something! Attack me, come on!" he yelled in desperation, but Darren only narrowed his eyes.

This was bad. This was really bad. From this point, things could only go in two directions. Either they would recognize him, demand explanations and eventually reject him, or they would kill this weirdo called Benoît, and then feel the guilt for the rest of their lives, knowing they had killed their mate.

Either way, he was going to be exposed. The question was, would he be still alive when they found out? Maybe he should tell them now. They deserved a bit of honesty. However, at the mere thought of it, his tongue felt glued to his palate.

He started to shake in fear, his natural smell becoming stronger and stronger as pheromones slipped out from his skin. This wasn't the faint, almost odourless smell he had gotten used to during all those years of self-'medicating' himself with harmful suppressants. This was a richer, sweeter smell he barely recognized as his own.

Nate's expression did not change - he was not standing as close to Kyle as Darren and, as a Beta, did not possess a sense of smell as good as the one of an Alpha.

Darren, on the contrary, frowned, inhaling deeply before taking a step toward Kyle, immediately followed by another, while the white wolf started walking backwards. The Alpha's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something.

"How can you-"

Fuck. That's my clue to run.

That was exactly what he did. Forgetting about his injured ankle, he rushed towards the bushes, at such a speed that a mere human would have thought he was flying. He did not have a plan. He did not even seriously believe he could outrun his mates. Fear was what was driving him. A fear he could not define, for he wasn't sure exactly what he was afraid of. A fear so great he could not use his reason.

Of course, he had already heard Nate say countless times that he did not give a fuck about subgenders, and he was pretty sure Darren would agree with him. However, the mere thought of them finding out his secret was mind-crushing.

There was no logic in it, and most people would probably not be able to understand his feelings and behaviour. Years of shame, mistreatments and loneliness had done that to him. Positive talks alone could not convince him he had nothing to be ashamed of.

That was why Kyle was running as if his life was at stake, and maybe it was. Small branches were snapping under his weight, and he could not hear anything outside of his pounding heart.

He might have reached the other side of the Earth if something hadn't suddenly tackled him to the ground, effectively putting an end to his flight. Well, not something. Someone. And not just anyone. Darren, the Alpha of the Ravenstgh pack. One of his two mates.

He immediatly turned , in order to lay on his back and not on his stomach, and tentatively looked up. Darrren was towering over him, a beautiful wolf with a black, shiny fur. He was so huge and imposing than in his vulnerable position, Kyle could barely see the sky.

That's it, he thought grimly. That's the end. This is how I am going to die.

I hope they forgive me and above all that they forgive themselves.

Darren leaned forward and Kyle closed his eyes, feeling the Alpha's muzzle against his tender skin, in the junction of his neck and shoulder. He hold his breath, waiting for the moment when his mate would give him the painful and lethal bite.

Except it never came.

The sharp teeth barely grazed over his skin, closing around the external part of his neck in a firm yet cautious way. For some reason, the other man did not seem to want to break skin. Kyle reacted instinctively, turning his neck on the other side in a submissive manner and relaxing a tiny bit in the Alpha's hold.

It took him a moment to realize what had happened, and it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown at him, forcing him out of his dazed state. This way of holding another werewolf was often used by parents to carry their young ones, but also by some Dominants to help their Submissives mates to calm down. Subs would react instinctively to such shows of power, giving control to the other and relaxing.

Exactly like Kyle had done.

Darren had asked for his submission, and Kyle had given it to him without thinking. His uncle would have died from shame and anger if Kyle hadn't already killed him. All his "training" had been for nothing. A waste of his and Kyle's time.

I have just submitted to him.

His heart started beating faster again and Darren must have sensed it, because he released him and leaned back slowly, studying him carefully. Their eyes met and Kyle became certain of one thing.

Darren knew. He knew the white wolf underneath him was his mate. He knew Kyle was a useless, ugly Sub and that he had manage to hide it until now.

Kyle whined pitifully, not realising that the Alpha was looking down at him with a new softness in his eyes, and that his breath had hitched at the broken sound coming from his mate.

Suddenly, a weight fell on him. Darren was laying down on him, in a careful yet wholesome way. He was covering most of Kyle's body, except for his paws and the part above his shoulders. Like a blanket. Darren was blanketing him, his fur incredibly soft and warm.

His mother had been the only one to do this to him, and she had stopped after he had turned five or six and had told her he didn't need her comfort anymore and wasn't a little kid.

It had been so long since someone had provided him such a sense of safety. He blinked furiously, his muscles gradually relaxing under the warmth of his mate's body.

"Darren..." he murmured, and the word seemed like an admission.

"You are alright." Darren whispered back without moving an itch. "You will be fine, I promise. Now shift, pup. Please."

"I-I'm a bit" Kyle stuttered helplessly. "I don't know. I wanted to tell you I-I did but-"

"Sssh, I know." the Alpha said quietly. "I've got you. We are here for you, Kyle. You can trust us."

Kyle nodded and focused on his breath, letting his body slowly morphed into his human form. In this new state, the sense of safety provided by Darren's wolf was even greater, for Kyle's human body was tiny in comparison. He snuggled a bit further under him, wishing to disappear completely under this soft immensity.

He is not disgusted by me!

Don't cry, Kyle, don't cry. Don't be even weaker than you are in front of your mates.

He thought he could achieve this simple goal, until he felt something wet against his skin.

Nate. Nate was on the other side, gently licking his neck. A few seconds later, the Beta moved to his salted cheeks, for the Submissive wolf had started to cry in silence. They made a strange picture, two big wolves caring for a crying and naked man.

Silence stretched between us. Kyle could not talk as easily to his mates now, as he was in his human form, while Nate and Darren were in their wolves ones. Communicating with someone who was not in the same form was much harder, and he was already exhausted from their previous talks and the tensions of the so-called fight.

It didn't matter. At this very moment, words were not needed to convey feelings.