Mikey woke with a start, shooting straight up in bed. Sunlight streamed in through his bedroom window and he panicked for a second, thinking he might have over slept. He looked over at his clock and relaxed when it said nine thirty-seven. He had time. Nerves jangled in his stomach as he quickly gathered up his clothes and his mask and threw a load in the wash. He continued to tidy up the room and then gather the stuff he would need later. He threw on his orange swim trunks and shell necklace. Then, peaking cautiously out of his door, he ran down to the garage and grabbed two camp chairs and rushed them back into his room. He grabbed a little basket and put some light snacks in it. Then he grabbed a little cooler and filled it with drinks and headed back to his room where he bundled everything up and snuck outside with it. He went as far as he could before the terrain got too rough and he had to set the stuff down and take it to the falls piece by piece. By the time he was finished, it was almost eleven. He booked it back home, switched his laundry to the drier and quickly took a shower. He threw on what he had put on that morning and headed for the downstairs kitchen sans mask to eat some breakfast to stop the growling in his stomach. He was just finishing up a batch of scrambled eggs when the smell of warm cinnamon rolled over him. He turned to see Melody leaning back against the counter. Her tawny hair was a mess and her eyes were still sleepy and Mikey's heart stuttered a little at the gorgeous sight.

"I hope you're making some for me." She said. Luckily, over a decade of cooking for his brothers had taught him to always make extra.

"I always make extra." Mikey said. "We eat a lot." He handed her a plate of eggs with sausage and toast. "You look pretty tired. Did you sleep okay?" He asked.

"Raph and Gabby woke me up and kept me up for a while." She said, her eyes tracking his movements. "They were testing out the new hot tub if you know what I mean."

Mikey grinned and shrugged. "Guy's makin' up for lost time." He said. "It's hard being a virgin til you're twenty-four."

"I wouldn't know." She grinned suggestively as she whisked her food off to the table. Mikey filled his own plate and sat down next to her.

"You've been around for a long time now and I feel like we hardly know anything about you." Mikey said.

"You and your brothers don't ask many questions. If you asked Gabby, I bet could tell you my whole life story." She said as she shoveled food into her mouth.

"Well I wanna know your whole life story." Mikey said in a way that reminded her of a pouty kid asking for something his siblings got first.

"It's long and messy." She warned him.

Messy?" He asked. Thought of her having a hard life made his beast angry.

"Uh uh, turtle boy. We don't dive right into the nitty gritty. Ask me about me, not my life."

"Uh, okay." Mikey said, thinking about all the things he wanted to know about her.

"Favorite color?" He asked.

"Teal." She shot back.

"Favorite food?"

"Cat or human form?" She asked.

"Both."

"Rabbit as a cat, almost any kind of Italian pasta as a human." She answered.

"Favorite movie?"

"Pitch Perfect. The first one. Second one was stupid."

"Favorite music."

"R&B, hip hop, some rap. I'll listen to country if it's on but I don't prefer it."

"Favorite dessert?"

"As long as it doesn't have lemon in it, it's my favorite. I have a hard core sweet tooth."

"Any talents?"

"I grew up a dancer, believe it or not. I don't really have the conventional body type for it but I loved it."

"You don't do it any more?"Mikey asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"I was kidnapped from my pride and have been too busy since." She answered.

"Kidnapped?" Mikey's eyes went wide.

"I told you my life story was a little messy." She shrugged. "The triplets saved me and when they needed me to go to the Thompson Territory I went and that's when I fell in with your family. Next question."

Mikey wanted to talk more about this kidnapping thing but he had always prided himself on being a good people reader and he could tell she wasn't willing to discuss it any further. "Favorite flower?" He asked.

"I don't really have one but I saw these red roses once that opened up and had some orange on the inside. They looked like a sunset and were the prettiest flowers I had ever seen." She answered.

"How old are you?" He asked, his mind bouncing around.

"Just turned twenty-five last week." She said.

"Happy birthday!" Mikey said. "Too bad you weren't here, we coulda had a party."

"We had a party last night." She pointed out.

"But it wasn't a birthday party." Mikey replied.

"Whose birthday?" Donnie asked, striding past hem to swing open the fridge and grab a bottle of water.

"Mine was last week. August thirtieth." Melody replied.

"Happy birthday." Donnie said as he fixed himself a plate. "Is that why you weren't here last week? Did you spend it with your family?"

"My mom and dad were there." She answered. Mikey couldn't help but feel there was some sort of double meaning there.

"You don't have any siblings?" Mikey asked.

"I have a half brother but he's about twelve years older than me and lives in a separate pride out in California." She answered. "We don't really care to know each other."

"That makes sense I guess. Must have been lonely growing up without any brothers or sisters." Mikey said.

"There were other cubs in the pride that I played with. It wasn't so bad." She answered, getting up and putting her empty plate in the sink. "I'm going to run up and shower. Are you all set for our date?" She asked playfully, one eyebrow lifted.

"I found the perfect spot." He assured her.

"Meet you back here in thirty." She quipped and she sauntered off to clean up.

"Dang, Mikey. Look at you going on a date with a lion." Donnie teased. "Sounds dangerous." He got up and refilled his coffee cup.

"She's gonna chew him up and spit him out like it was nothin'." Raph said, coming around the corner with Leo and heading straight for the food.

"No way, bruh. I'm gonna have her purrin' like a kitten." Mikey laughed.

"Just please don't do anything stupid." Leo said. "These girls should be treated with respect, not like pieces of meat." He shot a look at Raph who just shrugged and dove into his plate. He'd been a bit rowdy with the wolf girls before Gabby had accepted him and Leo had always disapproved of his style. He didn't regret it though and he wasn't about to apologize for having needs. Besides, he had Gabby now.

"Don't worry, dude. I really like her. I'm not gonna mess up our first date by bein' stupid." Mikey replied. "I'm not Raph." He shot a teasing grin at his brother who just shook his head. "Where is wifey anyway?"

Raph didn't look up from his food, but they could all see the soft smile that crossed his lips. It was the smile he only used when he thought about her. "Sleepin'." He answered.

Leo watched his brothers face go soft at the mention of Gabby. He felt a twinge in his chest, a longing that he hadn't felt since he liked Gabby. The thought made him freeze for a second. When had he stopped liking Gabby? It wasn't when she decided to take Raph. He still held a secret flame for her then too. So why was it now when he thought about taking someone in his arms, it wasn't the well curved Gabby anymore? Maybe it had to do with a pair of silver eyes that he couldn't get out of his mind. He shook his head. "What about Ronnie?" He asked, looking at his brother who was rarely seen without his girlfriend.

"Got up early to look over the building plans for the medical building." Donnie replied. "She wants it perfect. You know how she likes her things." His eyes kind of got this far away look as he too smiled a smile for his Ronnie.

"Well, I've got a hot date." Mikey said, clearing his place at the table. "Wish me luck." He ran out to grab his mask and the little bouquet of wild flowers he had put together when he was bringing the stuff for their date out that morning. He hurried back down to the entry to wait. He didn't wait long. Melody came down the stairs like the soft, busty goddess of love in a white sundress and sandals with her waves of tawny hair tumbling past her shoulders. Her cat eyes were rimmed in black with gold and brown eyeshadow that made them pop.

"Woah." Mikey said. She beamed at him as he held out the flowers to her.

"They're perfect." She said, smiling. He was distracted by the obvious strap of her black bikini top and didn't answer. She hurried off to the kitchen to put the flowers in a jar and then she popped some ice cream out of the freezer.

"I got the ice cream, now show me the place." She said.

"We'll have to shift to get there." He said.

"I'm game. Lead the way." She replied, and out of the house they went.

Mikey loved being in his animal form. He was fast, and even bigger than Melody's cougar. The only wolves Mikey had even seen come close to the size of their dragons were the Triplets who were literally the size of a Kodiak Grizzly Bear. The turtles were about the same size. Raph's dragon was bigger than both Wayne and Riley, just falling short of Frankie's wolf. Mikey thought Frankie was probably the biggest wolf in the world, followed by his brother and sister. To him, that meant their dragons were probably more powerful than any wolf other than the Triplets. Size meant power in this world and they had size alright. He ran ahead of Melody, his powerful muscles flexing. His tail was swinging back and forth in glee. He and his family were safe, they were blessed with an animal form, and now he was going on a date with the most intriguing girl he'd ever met. Could this day get any better? He led her up to the ledge overlooking the waterfall. She came up beside him and looked down. A beautiful waterfall fell into a rather large and deep looking pool and then rushed off down river. On the rocks next to the pool two chairs were set up with a basket, a cooler, and a radio. She quickly went over the ledge like a pro rock climber. She descended to where everything was set up and then shifted human and looked up at Mikey's dragon. She smiled as he too climbed over the ledge, his powerful body twisting and flexing as he made the difficult climb look easy. He shifted back as he too settled onto the rock.

"Whatdya think?" Mikey asked as he sidled up to her.

"You picked a good spot." She praised. "It's beautiful."

Mikey grinned and swooped down, turning on the radio. Then he motioned to a chair. "I promised you a special spot, now where's my special ice cream?"

She picked up the half gallon container she had set on the ground when she had shifted. "Ever had Spumoni?" She asked.

"No, but I'll try anything once." He replied as he sat in his chair and pulled a couple of spoons out of the basket.

Melody popped the lid off and took a spoon from Mikey. She dug out a scoop and he watched as her eyes closed in pleasure at the taste. He grabbed a scoop and took a cautious first taste.

"This stuff is really good!" He said, finishing his spoonful.

"It's probably my favorite ice cream." She replied, taking another bite.

Together they demolished the whole container. Mikey pulled out an Orange crush and offered her one.

"A crush for my crush?" He teased as she took the cold can.

"That's so cheesy." She replied, laughing.

"Nothing wrong with a little cheese here and there." Mikey replied.

"I guess." She chuckled. "So tell me, what was it like growing up as a mutant?"

"Well, I got to play with my brothers and my dad taught us all to read and write and do math and stuff. He taught us martial arts. Other than the fact that people would scream and run when they saw us, I think it was pretty cool. I loved New York. Stuff was always happening there, but now…" He trailed off and looked around. The sound of the waterfall and the twittering of birds was the only interruption to the quiet. "It's different." He picked up where he'd trailed off. "I can just sit and look at things. I can see stuff for what it really is. It's nice to just be at peace every now and then."

"You couldn't find that in the city?" She asked.

"Too much noise. Too much movement." He replied. "I have a hard enough time staying focused as it is. All of the distractions in the city made it worse. I got my brothers into trouble a lot because I couldn't keep it together. It always felt like they were having to save me."

"I watched you fight in a lot of battles, Mikey. You seemed to hold your own just fine." She said.

"I got better as I got older." Mikey replied. "Master Splinter always told me I had a lot of potential if I would just focus. Back then I didn't really listen. I never wanted to be as serious as Leo was anyway. Even now he has trouble just letting go and having some fun. I'm glad I didn't end up like that."

"Me too." Melody replied. "I've been around a lot of serious people in my life. It's almost stressful having to be around that all of the time. That's why I like being around you. It's refreshing."

Mikey chuckled. "I could say the same about you. It's always been so easy for me to read people, but sometimes what you're thinking or what you're doing is a complete mystery to me."

"I think that's a cat thing." Melody mused. "Most people, even other cats, find it stand-offish or rude but cats are just natural observers. We like to know what's going on around us."

"I don't think you're rude." Mikey reassured her.

She covered his hand with hers. "Thanks, Mikey."

With a smile he pulled her to her feet. "Let's go swimming." He said. "According to Ronnie, this is probably going to be the last good week of swimming weather before the fall starts taking over."

He watched her shimmy out of her sundress and he felt his cock twitch as all of her soft curves came into view. He just wanted to run his hands all over her supple body.

"Race ya!" She yelled as she bolted for the water. Mikey burst forward, quickly overtaking her and hitting the water with a splash that was quickly followed by her own. When he popped up for a breath, he immediately got a wave of water to the face as she splashed him.

"Oh, Girl, you're askin' for it." He said as he dove underwater again. She made for the rocks to try and get out before he could retaliate but he was just too good in the water. He grabbed her ankle and dragged her under, pulling her tight to his body, keeping her from escaping. They popped back up, both laughing, Melody pressed tight to Mikey's now aching body. He had never really expected to have a girl this close to him. He'd seen it happen with Raph and with Donnie, but he just hadn't really dared to hope that he would find someone he really wanted to be this close with.

Melody herself was thankful they were in the water. The way her body was pressed to the tight and hard plains of his body would have been enough to scent the entire area with her arousal. The way he was so capable of staying afloat with her on him and the way his muscular arm wrapped around her waist was just adding to his appeal. He would makes a strong mate. She frowned for a second. She was in no place to be thinking about Mikey as a mate. She was promised to someone else.

"You alright?" Mikey asked, concern in his bright blue eyes.

She studied his face for a second and then brought her lips down to his, claiming them in a passionate kiss.

Mikey's world was exploding. Her soft lips were moving with his. Her bold tongue was tasting his. Her soft, warm hands cradled the back of his neck. He swam backwards so he could lift them onto the rock ledge there. When he was seated, Melody wasted no time in adjusting herself so she straddled his lap. That's when she felt his hard cock straining against his shorts. Her lips met his again and she slid a hand between them, running her palm down his impressive length. His whole body jerked and he quickly pulled away, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from his throbbing shaft.

"You don't want me?" Melody asked, the hurt in her voice and eyes searing through Mikey.

"If I didn't want you I wouldn't be hard." Mikey said, a little sharply. The confusion on her face didn't go away, and Mikey relaxed his posture a bit, trying to calm down. "It's our first date." He explained. "I think you deserve more than one little swim before we dive in. I have a lot of respect for you. I don't want you to feel like I'm just using you to lose my virginity."

Melody's face softened and she cupped Mikey's cheek. She brought her lips to his again in a much more tame kiss. She had never been respected like that by a man before. She had never felt like a treasure worth protecting and in one shot, Mikey had given her that. Her heart squeezed painfully. She should tell him about Emerson, the cougar she was betrothed to. She should stop this running around with the turtle who was so obviously smitten with her, but she knew when she mated Emerson, she would never feel this joy and excitement again. She couldn't bring herself to tell him. She would in a few weeks. She just wanted some time to know what it was like to be adored. Was that so wrong? She cuddled into Mikey's chest and sighed. A part of her knew that what she was going to do to Mikey was selfish and wrong but a larger part of her was in denial. A part of her was counting on time standing still.

Time stands still for no one though. The week passed and Mikey and Melody spent a lot of time together. Leo, however, didn't really notice as he was busy himself. He had made special arrangements for his own first date. By Friday, he was nervous and his brothers tried to reassure him.

"Dude, it's like the coolest first date ever." Mikey said. "Especially cuz the two of you get the whole roof to yourself for an hour before it opens."

"All the girls will be so jealous." Saffron agreed. "I know I am."

"She likes you man." Raph said. "If she didn't she wouldn't've wanted a date. Don't worry."

"Have you ever even taken Gabby on a real date?" Leo asked him.

Raph frowned and glanced at Gabby, a bit embarrassed. "We've been a little busy being Alphas after a war and all." Gabby replied in his defense. "We just got back from sorting out the Linley territory. We'll get there eventually."

"Stop worrying, Leo." Jayden said. "She can smell fear and that's a turn off. You gotta be confident if you wanna get it in."

"You know, Jayden, it's not all about sex." Leo said.

"You like her then?" He asked.

"I don't really know her." He replied. "That's kinda the point of a date."

"Two weeks ago you couldn't stand her." Jayden pointed out.

"Yeah, well two weeks ago she was the most annoying thing to ever walk the earth. If she was still being like that, I would still think she was annoying." He replied.

"You like her." Jayden said, smirking. Leo just rolled his eyes. He was tired of talking in circles and he had other stuff to worry about.

"Is everything set?" He asked his brothers.

"You're good to go. All you have to do is show up at her door." Donnie said.

Leo sighed and then straightened. "Wish me luck." He said, standing.

"I hope you choke." Raph teased.

"Thanks asshole." Leo replied as he left the room.

Leo walked across the compound grounds in the waning light. The day was drawing to an end and he wanted to get things started. He couldn't believe it was Friday already. Where had the week gone? The rec center had been finished. The medical building was built, though it didn't have any of its machinery or supplies yet. They had even managed to erect a handful of cabins. One that sat right next to the woods along with two others was where he was headed. It was Riley's home. She had just moved in the day before. He knocked on the door and when she answered, he stood frozen. She wore a beautiful skin tight pale blue dress with rhinestones. Her white-blonde hair was pinned so all of her waves fell to one side and her graceful neck was exposed on the other. Her silver eyes were painted in a way that made them glow, as though he were staring into the moon. A slow smile spread across her glossed lips.

"Hey handsome." She said. "How do I look?" She twirled for him, showing off the cuts in her dress that exposed her creamy skin on her sides, showing flashes of ink and making him wonder what tattoo she had hidden underneath her clothes.

"Beautiful." Leo managed to respond to her question. He offered his arm. "You ready?"

She grabbed his arm and he escorted her over to the rec center.

"I didn't think they had opened it yet." She said as he led her in through the front doors.

"They haven't." Leo said. "It's grand opening is tomorrow but there's a party tonight on the upper levels. It's really exclusive."

"Is that where you're taking me?" She asked excitedly.

"We'll be joining the celebration, but it doesn't start for another hour. I wanted to show you something special first." He said as the elevator opened for them. They stepped in and Leo hit the button for the roof. They rode up until the elevator stopped.

"Close your eyes." He said.

She obliged and he led her carefully out of the elevator and out of the glass encased first half of the roof out to where a table had been set for them with white wine and candles. That wasn't the first thing he'd wanted her to see though so he positioned her to face the west.

"Open your eyes." Leo said gently, standing close.

Her eyes opened and he watched as they absorbed the light of the sunset before her, giving the silvery orbs a dusky tint. Her hand came up and rested on his upper arm as she watched in amazement. Pinks, yellows, oranges, and reds streaked the few drifting clouds and painted the sky. The water of the lake seemed to be alive with the colors. It was spectacular.

"This is amazing." She said, turning only to see Leo wasn't looking at the sunset at all. His eyes were on her and he was being as quiet and stoic as ever, though this time she believed it was because he was taking her in, rather than trying to keep his demeanor in control, and that made it okay. She noticed the table and then raised an eyebrow at him.

"How did you know what my favorite wine was?" She asked.

"You know Gabby knows everything right?" He asked her, cracking a smile.

She returned his smile with one of her own, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "Of course she does. Crazy telepath."

He pulled out her chair and she sat. He poured each of them a glass and then he sat down opposite from her. "I figured we'd start with something classy. I've got a feeling that when this party starts, all class is going to go right out the window. Gabby and Raph planned it so that no one older than twenty-nine would be here and no one younger than twenty. A lot of the kids of other Alphas are coming. I think Gabby was trying to ease the sting of not inviting older Alpha pairs."

"She's smart." Riley said, sipping her wine, enjoying the sweet moscato. "The older Alphas have to understand that Raph and Gabby are different. Their politics are going to be different. Keeping their families close is a good way to appease the differences in how they'll run things."

"I hope so. I can tell a lot of Alphas will underestimate them. Maybe not so much in the northern half of the states. They saw Gabby and Raph rebuild half the nation. I worry about the southern states though."

"So do I." Riley said. "Frankie thinks they should tour down south, maybe travel to each pack to extend a personal invite to their mating. I think they should, and they should bring you and your other brothers too. The south has to get used to seeing you guys. I have a feeling you'll meet a lot more prejudice there than you did in the east."

"We've faced prejudice our whole lives." Leo replied. "I'm just glad we finally have a place we can call home. I love that we don't have to hide anymore and that we get to make a difference in people's lives without fighting. I love a good beat down on assholes who deserve it as much as the next guy but after that war I just want some time." He looked off over the lake where the last sliver of the sun was slowly disappearing beneath the distant tree line. "I've never seen that much death before."

"I know what you mean." She replied softly, also looking out toward the slowly fading sunset. "Before Gabby was forced from Minnesota she was helping my brothers and me build a pack. We were called the Rebels. We were just a couple of kids at the time. Gabby was nineteen, I was eighteen. She was scared for her family even then but when I found her she helped me. I was going into heat and I had no idea what was happening. She hid me and when my brothers came looking for me, she showed them what she was. Did you know we had no idea other Weres existed in the world until we were eighteen?" She sighed and took another sip of her wine and then looked into Leo's serious blue eyes.

"When my heat broke Gabby brought us to a small camp in the woods led by an old Alpha named Herbie. They were the last of a decimated pack and they were taking in strays if they could convert them. Aiden was already three years into his warpath and he didn't notice when a lot of his underlings went missing. Our pack grew as we mentored under Herbie. I became the She-Alpha of the pack almost a year in when I refused to take orders from Aleena who was She-Alpha before me. The very next day Aiden's forces came through and tore our pack apart. My brothers and I were still so young. We didn't know we were spirit blooded then. We didn't know our powers except that sometimes my dreams came true. We couldn't help them." Her voice quavered for a second and she almost jumped when his hand covered hers, offering comfort.

"I know what it's like to watch people die. I understand why you like it here. It's the same reason I do. It's safe. It's warm. Our family is all around us. For once in my life I feel like I have a future that isn't filled with blood and death." She finished.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. It's a hard thing, being different. When you're different, people don't understand you and that makes them afraid. It makes life pretty lonely." Leo said. "It's good that we all have each other. We don't have to be lonely any more."

"Why are you scared of your beast?" She suddenly asked. "Why don't you trust that side of yourself?"

Usually Leo would get defensive but after how vulnerable she had been with him only moments before, he couldn't help but let his guard down a little bit.

"I grew up watching Raph fly off the handle. It was like he was more animal than human sometimes and I never wanted to be like that. Plus, Master Splinter always taught us that control and balance were important. I took that to heart. I'm not an animal, Riley."

"Then what are you?" She asked. He stared at her for a second, unable to answer.

"You're not human, Leo. You have human in you but you also have turtle in you, and now wolf as well. You are an animal, Leo, and so am I. Do you think any less of me because I can turn into a wolf?"

"Not at all." Leo replied. "I think your wolf is beautiful."

She smiled at him. "I'm sure I would find your dragon extremely attractive if you would let him out."

"What if I lose myself to him?" Leo asked. "What if I become someone else because of it?"

"What if you become better? What if you become stronger?" She shot back. "You are still you when you shift. You just have sharper senses and more primal instincts. You don't just stop being who you are."

"I try every day." Leo admitted softly. "I try to let him in but it's like there's a block there or something."

"It's not about letting him in, Leo. It's about joining with him. It's about becoming him. Splinter taught you well, but in your quest for control you forgot balance. You need to balance yourself with the beast. You need to remember that you are one person, that the animal has always been a part of you, even when you push it away."

Leo watched her for a second. "Why don't you just give up on getting me to shift?" He asked. The sun had faded and the roof lights had switched on, causing her dress to sparkle and catch the light.

She stood and walked over to him. "Let me show you." She said, holding her hands out. He stood and took them in his, soaking in her warmth. She closed the distance between them and rested her head on his shoulder. He felt energy crackling around them and then his sight went blank only to look down on a scene that was startling. He knew the dragon before him was himself. None of his brothers dragons were that dark. His skin was so dark green that it was nearly black and his eyes glowed a strange sandy color. The dragon dipped his head and nudged at a little furry bundle at his feet. It was a pup. His pup. Leo felt his heart race as he was pulled back to the present.

"Was that my future?" He asked.

"If you ever find a way to your dragon then that's your future. The spirit world hasn't granted me a vision of wether or not that will happen though. The future is a strange thing. It can change when people make decisions, or when they give up on something."

"I'm not going to give up on my dragon, if that's what you mean." He said. "I want to be with the pack. I want to run and hunt and play. It's just hard to let go after all of those years of doing just the opposite."

"I have faith in you." She replied, releasing his hands and returning to her seat.

Leo also sat. "Thanks. I need all the help I can get."

They sat and talked until they heard the elevator ding and the Triplets, the turtles and their partners all came out, dressed nicely.

"Times up." Raph said.

"It's party time." Mikey crowed, his exuberance flowing over. Wait staff appeared to clear their table and they stood to welcome their guests as the bouncers checked their invites downstairs and let them in. Elevator load by elevator load came up. Introductions were made, conversations started, and drinks poured. When the roof was full and all the guests were accounted for, Mikey grabbed the mic and hit the retractable stage.

"Are you ready to party?!" Mikey yelled to the crowd. They responded with deafening cheers. There had to be a couple hundred or more people there.

"Let's turn up!" Mikey yelled again and he pointed to the DJ who put on some beats. The whole crowd was drinking and dancing and living it up in minutes. They could already tell it was about to be a wild night.