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Nature encroached on what remained of the mansions that had once stood on the southeastern corner of my new territory.
Well. Jason’s. Mostly Jason’s.
But Earth song chanted in disagreement. The mana adored the golden bear as it did my other two sleuthmates, but it had accepted me.
The grinding layers of sediment and soil underfoot creaked and whined my name. Gentle currents of air whispered my worship. Muddy puddles and manmade ponds alike stirred with my passing—water’s voices chose me.
Which is why I’m Alpha.
The voices of the lands I’d claimed trembled with exhilaration. I was walking those corners of my territory because I still had a lot to prove as a new Alpha. Earth song urged me forward.
The mana’s chorus drew on my spirit toward a mound covered in green grass. That rise was not natural. The slope cascaded in steps that were too evenly spaced, too sharply squared.
I popped across the veil into my bear skin. I inhaled deep, the smells of my own salty sweat and sweet smelling-flowers heavy in my nose.
I dug my claws into the grassy structure. The tenacious plants had engulfed the old water feature completely, but the layer of dirt holding their roots was thin. My claws shredded the natural cover into long emerald ribbons. The aroma of fresh grass tingled in my nostrils.
The former water feature had been constructed using three giant granite boulders. I could see the discoloration and erosion from where the streams of water had trickled down the stone faces. I imagined there might have been a collection pool at the bottom, but any pipes, wires, and pumps had been removed years ago.
I guessed the boulders had been left behind simply because they were enormous slabs of granite, but big and heavy was exactly what I needed.
I’d been searching for the heaviest stone within my lands. The tallest boulder stood a little taller than five feet. By a rough estimate, it could have weighed upward of seven thousand pounds. Way too big.
The smallest boulder looked like it was only three cubic feet, which wouldn’t be quite enough.
The middle boulder… At only four by two by two, my arms could wrap around it comfortably, but there was only one way to test that it was truly the perfect size…
I gathered Smirkums, Serena, and Jason around the old water feature. My golden tiger took one look at the heaps of ripped up grass surrounding it and snorted.
“Um, Lucky? What’s… uh… what’cha been up to over here, hm?” Serena asked.
Jason stood behind the two lovebirds, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes glimmered with amusement, but he kept his mouth shut.
I waved my sleuthmates down to the ground. “Please sit.”
Smirkums obeyed without hesitating, but the moment she realized Jason wasn’t following suit, she glared over her shoulder at him. Serena settled next to her girlfriend, curious eyes flitting between myself and Jason.
I made eye contact with my blonde brother. With just a dart of my eyes, he knew what I asked.
Instead of sitting down, though, Jason’s voice projected into my mind.
Do I have to? I want to have a good view of her face when she realizes what you are.
I let out a put-upon sigh. The kin bonds between myself and my sleuthmates felt strong, secure connections forged in my spirit that I could feel behind my belly button. But… the emotions I could sense through the kin bonds were… murkier. Except with Serena.
But that’s a problem for later.
I couldn’t tell if Jason was just needling Smirkums because she made it so easy or if he was giving the lovebirds the space to experience this moment for themselves.
We were all new to being sleuthmates to one another, in every way.
I gestured the golden bear to the ground. “Please. Sit.”
Jason gave the smallest eye roll as I sank down to sit behind Smirkums and Serena. Finally, the lovebirds turned back around to give me their full attention.
“Thanks.” I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes for one moment. “I have something I need to show you.”
Smirkums’ eyes lit up.
“Ooooh!” Serena clapped her hands together. “A surprise!”
“Not the kind you’re thinking of,” I said. “I need to tell you… that… well, I…”
Even though kin magic bound me to the three people in front of me, even though I cared about those three people a lot, the lifelong habit of concealing my paranormal perks halted my tongue.
“That what?” Smirkums asked, her tone tight with anticipation.
Water broke out along my hairline. Earth song swelled around me, but I wouldn’t let myself get distracted by its mixed melodies.
“Just skip the intro,” Jason said. “Show ’em.”
“Show me what?” Smirkums demanded.
“Alpha?” Serena asked tentatively.
Jason’s right. I couldn’t make my mouth shape the simple words, but it was easy to walk over to the middle boulder. To wrap my arms around it. And heave all three thousand pounds up into my arms like it was just a sack of potatoes.
“What the flying fu—”
“Oh my god!” Serena squealed so loudly she drowned both Smirkums and Earth song out.
“You just picked it right up!”
“Like it was nothing!”
I grinned, heat flushing my cheeks with pride. The Alpha preened under my sleuthmate’s awe.
The Alpha really liked that praise. A little too much.
But I wasn’t dominant enough, experienced enough, or quick enough to catch myself from impulsively hefting the boulder up over my head to further prove my strength.
Smirkums and Serena’s exclamations devolved from shocked compliments into unintelligible bewilderment. I could barely hear Jason’s chuckles.
I set the boulder down after Smirkums started looping the same stupefied sound effect over and over while gesticulating at me as if I was the one made of gold. Serena eventually recovered her wits first.
“You are literally blowing my mind right now,” my human sleuthmate said.
Smirkums snapped out of her dumbstruck admiration at the sound of her girlfriend’s voice.
“Alpha, what in the sweet Earth are you made of?” she asked.
I gave them a big smile. “I’ve always been special among shifter kin for a lot of reasons. One is my dominance, but the others… well… both my skins share my bear’s senses.”
Serena squinted, trying to understand, but Smirkums’ eyes grew wider and wider as she processed what I revealed.
“You… like when you’re human…?” the mythic tiger asked.
“I’m as strong as my bear skin. I can always smell everything—” I paused, and focused specifically on Smirkums. “—everything.”
She flushed, but she didn’t turn her wondering eyes away from me.
“Sight is actually mostly the same, but I can hear better than other humans, too.”
Smirkums glowed. “I knew it!”
Serena’s jaw dropped yet again. “You so did not.”
“No, I mean, yes, but—”
“And you didn’t tell me?!” Serena pouted.
“That’s not what I meant!” Smirkums pleaded.
Jason caught my eye as Smirkums stumbled over herself to make sure Serena didn’t feel excluded. He rolled his eyes, and I grinned back. His voice rang in my head.
Still worth it. Even if I have to listen to this now.
My smile stretched wide. The Alpha fed off the lovebirds’ veneration. The sight of them, though, swept away by passion, their heads bowed together, safe and sound under my protection, it satiated something deeper in my spirit.
Seeing my sleuth whole and happy made me dream. Of hope. Of the future. Of belonging.
“Wait! Alpha!” Serena abandoned her annoyance with Smirkums.
“Yes?” I asked.
“How strong is strong? Like can you…” She nodded at the tallest boulder.
I raised my eyebrows at her. “It’s more than double the weight.”
Serena’s eyes sparkled with blind faith. Smirkums’ breath hitched audibly.
“There’s no way,” Smirkums muttered.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” the Alpha pushed from my lips.
“Holy shit, she hears everything, too,” Smirkums said again under her breath.
“Sure do,” I said.
I walked over to the tallest slab of granite. It was too tall. Too wide.
But I was an Alpha, and my sleuthmates were watching.
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