Rated M

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing about this story...the writing is all L.L. Raand's and the Characters are all from various television shows (South of Nowhere, The O.C., Orange is the New Black, Lost Girl, The Fosters, and The L Word) Credit goes completely to all listed above

"Wait for me outside," Ashley said to Bo. "I want to run."

Bo regarded the closed door to Spencer's room. "You're not going back in there?"

"Not now. She needs to be with a beta Were, someone who won't incite her dominance instincts."

"Like us."

Ashley hadn't felt a challenge from Spencer, but Bo didn't need to know that. She tilted her head toward the porch. "Go. Then we'll run."

"Yes, Alpha." Bo cast one more uneasy glance at the door, then loped off.

Ashley followed Chelsea's scent to the room the medic used when she stayed in the infirmary to be close to her patients. Before she could knock, Chelsea opened the door. Hale stood behind her, his arms loosely clasping her hips. He was shirtless. Chelsea wore loose pale cotton scrubs. Both had fading bite marks at the juncture of neck and shoulder.

"Spencer is awake," Ashley said. "She's loaded with endorphins and pheromones. She almost challenged Bo."

"She is dominant, then," Chelsea murmured, absently running her nails up and down Hale's arms. He rumbled and caught her earlobe in his teeth. "Is she showing signs of frenzy?"

Ashley remembered Spencer's hand caressing her abdomen, exploring her clitoris with her fingertips. She had come instantly erect and was still fully ready to release. "She might be soon, and she doesn't understand what's happening."

"She can't. She's like an adolescent in a constant state of frenzy, but she's totally unprepared for it." Chelsea shook her head. "She must be in such pain." Chelsea gave Ashley a cautious look. "I can prepare her, but if she really is in frenzy, she's going to need release with another Were soon." Ashley growled.

"She's not ready."

"We don't know what she is," Chelsea argued. "She's unique in our experience."

Hale rubbed his chin on Chelsea's shoulder, a worried whine reverberating in his chest. "How do we know she won't attack Chelsea? I should go in with her."

"No, she's already confused and she'll want to dominate you," Chelsea said gently, reaching back to caress his neck. "I am mated, and her wolf will recognize that."

"We can't be sure," Hale protested.

"You can stay outside on the porch, where you can hear my call if I need help." Chelsea turned in his arms and nipped at his jaw. "You'll know if I'm in danger, mate."

Hale closed his eyes and lifted his chin so she could bite his neck. He grumbled his assent.

Ashley wrapped her arms around both of them, and Chelsea and Hale crowded against her. She stroked Chelsea's hair and cupped the back of Hale's neck. "Spencer might have the urges of an adolescent, but she isn't showing any signs of being rabid. I wouldn't let Chelsea go near her if I thought there was any danger."

"I'll go to her now," Chelsea said.

"Help her," Ashley ordered.

"And if she shows signs of needing true release?"

Ashley growled again, her claws jutting out. "Find her someone."

Bo jumped down from the railing where she'd been crouched, waiting for Ashley. The Alpha stormed through the door, her eyes already wolf-gold, her torso shimmering onyx. Bo focused on the two purple crescents above Ashley's breast that hadn't been evident when Ashley's wolf had been quieter.

"She bit you!"

"Let's run."

"Alpha," Bo cried. "She could have infected you!"

"She didn't," Ashley snapped, striding down the stairs toward the forest.

"You don't know that. She's dangerous!"

Ashley whipped around. "Enough!"

Bo stopped abruptly, her body quivering. "You smell like her."

"I'm covered in her scent from the transition. It's nothing." Ashley wrapped her arms around Bo's shoulders and leaned down until their eyes held. "Save yourself for a true battle, Imperator. This is not your fight."

"You are my Alpha," Bo whispered.

"I am. And you are my second. The wolf of my heart." Ashley pulled Bo close and rubbed her chin on the top of her head. "We need to find out what's causing these fevers in humans and stop it before there's open season on Weres. I need you by my side, Bo, now more than ever."

Bo brushed her mouth over Ashley's chest, careful not to touch the bite mark. "Always, Alpha. Always."

"I'm the Pack medic," Chelsea said, slipping into Spencer's room and closing the door behind her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not so sure." Spencer sat up with her back to the wall and tucked a sheet tightly around her hips. She'd never been particularly shy or self-conscious, but her body didn't feel like hers. When she'd first awakened with Ashley and Bo pressed close against her, she'd been comforted. But she'd been aroused too, painfully so, and when she'd been compelled to touch Ashley, her excitement had been unbearable. She was still intensely aroused.

Chelsea smelled good. And she was beautiful. Her delicate features were framed by thick, long black curls that Spencer wanted to run her hands through. Chelsea was petite but full-bodied, with luscious breasts and hips. Spencer imagined skimming her mouth over the curves of her breasts and down the center of her gently rounded belly. Her clitoris jutted out and she growled softly.

"I don't think you should be in here," Spencer said.

Chelsea leaned back against the door, watching Spencer carefully. "Ashley says your wolf is challenging you."

"Something is." Spencer laughed shakily. Her stomach ached as if she were hungry, but for much more than food. When she ran her hand down the center of her abdomen, her skin felt different. More sensitive. Her muscles were tighter, harder. Her loins twinged and she winced with another sharp pain between her legs. "I'm…I'm having some control problems."

"You're an adult Were with an adolescent's appetites and urges," Chelsea said calmly. "It's going to take a while for your wolf to find her balance. You're likely to respond to every Were who gets close to you at first."

"Everyone?" Spencer asked. "I've never been attracted to males. Will that change?"

"Most of our young will couple freely until their late teens, when some become exclusive with one sex. You're already an adult, so you may not find the males of interest now."

"So I'll only be aroused by every female I pass?" Spencer thought of Bo naked and pressed against her, but Ashley had been the one she had wanted to touch. Ashley's torso had been a landscape of perfect muscles sheathed in smooth skin and a tantalizing tease of silky pelt. She breathed sharply at the memory and caught Ashley's scent in the air. Her clitoris twitched and she had an overpowering urge for sex. She stared at Chelsea's breasts and her sex tightened. "This isn't good. I'm not going to be safe outside of this room."

"Not everyone will arouse you," Chelsea said with a smile. "Your wolf will quickly come to recognize the mated females, and you won't be drawn to us any longer. You may not find more dominant Weres arousing either."

Spencer immediately thought of her reaction to Ashley, but didn't say anything.

As if reading her mind, Chelsea said, "The Alpha is unmated. Until she forms a mate bond, all of us, even the mated ones, respond to her when her call is strong. It's the natural response of the Pack to their Alpha."

Spencer shifted restlessly, the sheet suddenly feeling constricting. The pain between her legs increased and she winced. She was terribly aroused but she didn't really think Chelsea was the object of her arousal. She was attractive, but Spencer wasn't drawn to her. Not the way she had been to Ashley. Ashley. Another spasm shot from between her legs. "Jesus, what's going on?"

"Your body has undergone a drastic, rapid transformation. You're being flooded with potent neurotransmitters. You're sexually aroused. It's normal."

"Something doesn't feel right. There's…pain."

"Lie down." Chelsea reached behind her and grasped the doorknob in case Spencer lost control. "I need to answer your questions."

Spencer stretched out on her back. Even the sheet made her skin ache and she kicked it away.

"Touch yourself," Chelsea said gently.

"You want me to masturbate?" Spencer turned her head to look at Chelsea.

"Your body needs to release."

"Is it safe…with you here? What if I…are you sure I won't become rabid?"

"You smell like a normal dominant. I'm not afraid of dominant Weres—even when we're not dominant we can reject a partner if we choose." Chelsea smiled. "It's why the dominants fight over us when we're in heat."

"Are you sure?" Spencer trembled with the primal need to take, to claim. The urge was so strong she could barely think.

"Go ahead," Chelsea said softly. "You want to, don't you?"

Spencer smoothed her hand down the center of her abdomen, getting used to the tightly packed muscles. Her curiosity helped her contain her excitement and she cautiously explored. When she reached the space between her thighs she cupped herself. She felt the same, only not quite. Her clitoris was positioned slightly higher, leaving it more exposed. She tentatively traced its length with her thumb and finger, retracting the thickened sheath to uncover the firm head. The shaft was thicker, harder than she was used to even when she was fully aroused. She massaged it from side to side and felt resistance, as if the central core was nearly rigid.

"What's inside?"

"Early in the development of our species, all Weres, including females, had a cartilaginous core in the phallus," Chelsea said. "The dominant females still have a very thin remnant. Feel lower, at the base. You'll have to press hard."

Spencer palpitated two olive-sized oval masses buried deep beneath her clitoris. When she touched them her hips jerked. Exquisitely tender and pleasurable. "What are they?"

"Sex glands," Chelsea said. "They produce victus, secretions of pheromones, kinins, and other chemicals, when we are aroused. They empty when we tangle—have sex—if suitably stimulated. The emissions are unique to each Were and help identify us to potential mates. Once mated, the chemical transmitters intermingle, identifying the mated pair to other Weres."

Spencer squeezed harder and her clitoris abruptly extended. The pain was sharp and swift. She sucked in her breath and yanked her hand away. The pain in her clitoris increased, piercing deep into her sex. "Is it supposed to hurt?"

"You need a release to trigger the emission of the chemicals that built up during your transition. You're overloaded with them."

Spencer clenched her teeth. Her excitement was building again and she wanted sex so much her reason was slipping. "Chelsea. You should leave."

"Stimulate your clitoris until it's completely erect. Go ahead, it's all right." Spencer closed her eyes and grasped her clitoris, running the shaft between her fingers the way she usually did when she masturbated. She was already harder than she'd ever been but she'd never hurt like this. She felt the sheath pull back and tighten beneath the crown that ringed the tip of her clitoris. She massaged the head with her thumb and felt her sex clench inside. "I feel like I have to come, but I can't."

"Now the glands," Chelsea whispered.

Spencer fingered the swellings, and immediately her stomach tightened. She heard a growl start in her chest. Her hips flexed and she manipulated herself faster. Her shoulders came off the bed and she gritted her teeth, the pressure was so intense. "I really have to come."

"Massage your clitoris and the glands at the same time."

Spencer felt a pinprick of pain and looked down. Short dark claws extended from her fingertips. A feathery line of silver pelt shimmered down the center of her lower abdomen into her sex. "Jesus. What's happening?"

"Those are signs you're almost there. Press harder, down against the bone."

The glands turned to stone and Spencer's clitoris shot upright, twitching violently between her fingers. A bolt of heat shot from her sex down her legs and deep into her stomach. She rolled onto her side and doubled up, her hips thrusting in a series of wrenching spasms. Sweat soaked the sheets under her as she moaned and writhed. When the spasms subsided, she was weak and exhausted.

"God," Spencer panted. "Is it supposed to be like that?" She cupped herself. "I'm still…it's not…subsiding."

"That was only a partial release," Chelsea explained. "Weres need the pheromones from another Were—from a bite—to trigger a complete orgasm. Self-relief is only a stopgap. Our drive for sex is very high—second only to our instinct to protect our mates—probably because our fertility rates are low." She smiled ruefully. "Aggression and danger heighten the urge. Dominants have the highest drive of all and are always semi-aroused. They'll often require a series of releases before the drive subsides."

"I don't feel right." Spencer shivered.

"I wish this could have helped more." Chelsea crossed the room and covered Spencer with the sheet. "It needed to be this way so you'd know what to expect from your body when you tangle for the first time. You're getting a crash course in Were physiology."

"Crash is a good word for it."

Chelsea brushed her fingers through Spencer's hair. Spencer's call had been strong, and had Chelsea not already been mated, it would have been hard to resist her. She wouldn't have wanted to resist her. Spencer might be dangerous if the full force of her sex frenzy was unleashed without warning. She was dominant, very dominant. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it easier for you."

Spencer rubbed her cheek in Chelsea's palm. "It's okay. I understand." She laughed tremulously. "Thanks for the walk-through."

"Move over," Chelsea said.

"Why?" Spencer frowned.

"You're shivering, and I want to hold you. You're a Were now. You need physical contact." She removed her clothes and leaned down to kiss Spencer's cheek. "I'm going to call Hale. You need the Pack. It's not sexual."

"Am I safe?" Spencer's whole body longed for a touch, but she didn't trust herself. "I don't want to hurt you and I don't seem to have any kind of control."

"Hale won't arouse you, and I'm mated, so I won't either."

"It didn't feel like that a few minutes ago."

"You need to sleep and heal. This will help." Chelsea lay down with her head on Spencer's chest, wrapped her arm around Spencer's waist, and draped her thigh over Spencer's. Hale slipped into the room and settled with his front to Chelsea's back. He extended his arm along her hip and lightly brushed Spencer's thigh.

"You might wake up with the same urges—we call it sex frenzy," Chelsea murmured. "We'll move away before then just in case. Don't worry."

"How long am I going to be like this? So out of control?" Spencer asked, instinctively tucking Chelsea's head beneath her chin.

"I don't know. We've never had an adult, turned Were in the Pack before."

Ashley paced in her office. She wanted to see Spencer. After her run she'd gone directly to the infirmary, and before she'd even gotten inside she'd caught the scent hanging thick in the air. The hall was so laden with pheromones, the potent neurotransmitters so dense, her skin had slicked instantly and her sex readied. The bite on her chest throbbed. Spencer was in need, frenzied, and Ashley wanted to take her. She was surprised other Weres hadn't responded to the powerful call already. Instantly enraged at the image of another Were answering Spencer's need, she'd stormed to Spencer's door.

Then she'd heard Spencer groan and Chelsea's low melodious voice. She knew what Chelsea was doing, caressing Spencer into a release with her voice. She wanted to rip the door from its hinges and wrench Chelsea away from Spencer. She wanted to be on top of Spencer with her teeth buried in Spencer's shoulder, her clitoris pulsing inside Spencer's wet sex. Her claws had sprouted, her canines jutted out painfully, and a streak of ebony shot down the center of her belly.

She wanted Spencer so much she knew she couldn't risk going near her. Spencer's effect on her was too potent, too powerful. She wasn't sure she could endure another bite without claiming her completely. She'd dragged herself away, crashing through the door to the porch so violently she'd splintered the wood and knocked Hale down the stairs.

Ashley knew what she had to do. She had to get away. Spencer was newly turned and couldn't control herself. She was broadcasting her needs so powerfully the others in the Pack would soon detect her call. Spencer would need to tangle frequently, possibly continuously, and if Chelsea was right and Spencer was as dominant as she seemed, she would have plenty of Weres to choose from. If Ashley stayed there, she wouldn't be able to keep away from Spencer. Even if she managed to resist, she was afraid she might tear any Were apart who tried to answer Spencer's call.

Bo!

Bo immediately came through the office door, her eyes scanning the room, searching for danger. "Alpha?"

"Call the centuri. I'm going into the city."

"Until we determine the source of the fever, you're safer here—"

"Now, Bo."

Bo's jaw set. "You think I can't tell why you want to leave? I smelled your scent on her, too."

"I told you I forced her transition," Ashley said. "That's all it was."

"Fine. She's a mutt, a mutia, and could still turn rabid. At least send her to one of the outposts until she's safe, or until she needs to be execu—"

Ashley growled. "Be careful what you say, Bo."

"You'd leave the safety of the Compound, put yourself in danger, before you'd isolate her? She's not worth that."

"Don't challenge me now," Ashley warned.

Bo narrowed her eyes and studied her Alpha. Ashley was shirtless, as she often was around the Compound. A narrow thick trail of black glinted above the waistband of her pants. Her skin glowed as if kissed by moonlight. Her cheekbones were sharply angled, the rims of her deep brown irises haloed in gold. The bite on her breast was darker, bruised looking. Something was riding Ashley hard, but Bo didn't detect the Alpha's powerful call the way she usually did when Ashley needed release. Something else was the cause of the barrage of pheromones besides sex frenzy. Something even more primitive, more critical.

"The bite—did the bite do something to you?" Bo asked, every protective instinct on alert.

"No," Ashley barked roughly. "Enough of this."

Bo had to try one more time. "Sherry is coming into heat. Take her. She wants you to."

"I do not want a mate." Ashley's wolf snapped and snarled as if trying to break out of a cage, refuting Ashley's words. Ashley shuddered with the effort of dominating her.

"Don't mate her, then," Bo cried. "Just take her! I'm still crazy to tangle. You must need to even more. Why are you denying your nature?"

Before the words were out of Bo's mouth, Ashley was in Bo's face. She crushed Bo against the door, her arms braced on either side of Bo's head. Her teeth were on Bo's neck, her heat enclosing Bo in an inferno. Ashley's pelvis jerked against Bo's, her hard nipples against Bo's breasts.

Bo whimpered and licked Ashley's jaw. "Please, Alpha."

"I love you, Bo," Ashley whispered in Bo's ear. Then she pushed her aside and stalked into the hall, shouting to Alex and Aiden, "Get the Rover. I'm leaving."