by Cecilia Lane
“I am now convinced Sherlock Holmes was a shifter. Those powers of deduction were merely piecing together his superior senses,” Nora answered a little breathlessly.
Jesse swept a hand down her side again and dragged her closer. “I want to keep you in bed all to myself, but I also want to show you off to the entire world.”
“Decisions, decisions.” She pressed her forehead to his chest and inhaled his scent. She doubted she’d ever get enough. Maybe she could stuff some handkerchiefs inside his pillow and carry them around with her to sniff during the day. Because that wasn’t weird at all.
Her stomach rumbled and the fingers slowly inching down her side were yanked away. Jesse dropped his eyes to her stomach. “That decides it, then. I need to feed you.”
“You don’t need to do anything but get back here.” She tried to draw him back down, but he’d grown unreasonably strong.
“Food first, mate.” He leaned in enough to nip her earlobe. “Then I’m going to eat my fill.”
Nora growled at the suddenly empty bed. She rolled to seated, a small smile playing over her face even with the ache in her core.
Mate. He’d called her mate. She was his mate. Bitten, claimed, his. Just as he was hers.
Mates were precious. He’d proved that fact over and over.
Nora yelped when heavy jeans landed on her face. She snatched them away and glared at Jesse. “I’m not even hungry,” she lied as she dressed.
Heat blazed in the gold eyes he trailed from her ankles to her hairline. “Come along, mate. You need to meet your clan.”
Butterflies didn’t take flight in her stomach. A whole herd of horses galloped through her insides. No, a cattle stampede. Wildebeests. Elephants and rhinos and hippos with snapping crocodiles on their backs.
As if he knew her mind had her locked up, Jesse reached for her hand. One little tug set her in motion and he led her out of his hut.
The walk wasn’t any different from the countless ones she’d made since arriving on the ranch. They passed the same front doors and porches and vehicles. The same horses tossed their heads when they reached the barnyard and turned toward the back of the main house.
Someone, somewhere, once told her no step was ever taken twice. The meaning was never clearer than that moment.
While everything looked familiar, everything felt new. They passed the homes of her new clan. The spaces where she’d watch her new family grow and play and find trouble of their own. She didn’t pass places she’d miss when she was long gone; she passed scenes of future love, acceptance, and adventure.
She was home.
Not far from the back of the main house, a bonfire roared in a sturdier pit than the one the men used near the cattle herd. This one was made for guests of the bed-and-breakfast Tansey and Joss would soon be welcoming as soon as Joss was ready to get back to work as head chef. Bricks built a containment wall and paving stones made a nice path around the fire. Extra lawn chairs mixed with decorative metal seats to hold the entire clan, minus Nora and Jesse.
A grill stood off to one side, where Ethan flipped enough burgers to feed a small army. Nora’s stomach growled as the scent of cooking food filled her nose.
Score for getting a solid workout before dinner.
Jesse quirked an eyebrow at her quiet giggle, but she only grinned wider. So maybe she’d been a little hungry.
Tansey was the first to notice them. She rose to her feet and made her way to stand in front of them. Joss, Sloan, and Liv joined her while the other men grew quiet.
“We want to apologize for any harsh words earlier. We were shocked and scared, but we want you to know we would never, ever let that fucker take you back.” A shadow crossed her face. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. I feel partially responsible.”
Nora drew back in surprise. “You didn’t do anything.”
Tansey held out her arm. A shiny scar wrapped around her, much like the one Nora had on her side. Over top was another bite that closely resembled the mate mark on her shoulder.
Nora raised her eyes on a held breath.
They’d fought Viho before. Viho called in every ally he could manage and still lost the war with the bears.
“He turned me, too,” Tansey said in a hushed tone. Anger twisted in her scent, right along with sorrow. “He threatened to claim me to get back at Ethan over ancient bad blood. We didn’t end him the night we fought. Which let him carry on and find his way to you. If we’d finished him then, or if he claimed me—”
“This wasn’t your fault.” Oh, hearing someone blame herself or want to take her place broke her heart. No one deserved what Viho had done. She believed that down to her core.
These women were good. Their men, too. Caring, if rough, but even the rowdy teasing was another sign of their affection. They just showed it differently than what she was used to.
She liked the wild nature of it all.
She liked them.
Nora wrapped Tansey in a tight hug. “This wasn’t your fault,” she said again.
A rough noise of frustration rattled in her throat when they parted. She pressed her fingers to her throat. She didn’t feel the need to swallow back the growl. “I just wish I knew why me.”
“I don’t know that you’ll ever get an answer to that,” Liv offered. “Alex was bitten by a rogue before shifters were out in the open. Big time drama, there. The whole reasoning is still a mystery, though Ethan says that’s not uncommon. Some rogues just... snap. Start chomping on anyone who crosses their path. He fixated on Alex, and that’s how I got changed.”
Sloan nodded solemnly. “Bad people exist in all walks of life. All anyone can do is keep on living.”
They’d all been through so much to find their way to peace by the bonfire. The amazing part was how they’d grown from their ordeals rather than shutting down and running away.
Nora wanted to be like them.
She straightened her shoulders and addressed the entire clan with another apology. “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest about why Viho was after me. I was scared. I knew you’d fought against him and I didn’t want you to think I was cut from the same cloth.”
Ethan stepped to Tansey’s side. “Who bit you has nothing to do with the help we’d offer. We help because it’s the right thing to do.”
“That’s an honorable way of looking at me dragging trouble back over your heads. You were clear of him.”
“And you will be, too,” Jesse said, nudging her with his shoulder.
So much hope in the air was almost overwhelming. “I want to believe that.”
“Believing in yourself? That’s easy.” Tansey waved a hand in dismissal. “You just take every opinion that doesn’t matter—spoilers, that’s everyone’s but your own—ball them up, and light them on fire. Then you go on living your best damn life and say fuck the haters.”
Despite herself, Nora couldn’t help but smile. Tansey made it sound so easy and tempting.
“And listen, we’re kind of like sisters. Viho made us both into wolves. If I can figure this out, so can you. It’s not hopeless.”
“I’ve never had a sister,” Nora said in a small voice.
The pang for a family hit her in the middle, but with less of a punch than before. Her wolf chuffed and sat back, learning each and every one by scent and sound.
Family. Pack. Clan. The same word for the same group of people.
“Perfect! Me either.” Tansey made a face. “A brother, but he’s kind of a pain in the ass and the reason why I got involved with Viho in the first place. You’re already miles better. And you’re going to keep getting better. That’s a big sister order.”
Tears welled at the words and Nora nodded. She would get better. She would figure herself out. Because both would make them all proud.
“Your place is here with us, you understand?” Tansey murmured. The others all nodded fiercely.
The tears that threatened before spilled over on her cheeks. In the short amount of time she’d been
there, the women had made her feel welcome and part of their special group. She was one of them.
“Come here,” Tansey ordered and threw her arms around Nora’s neck. Joss did the same from the other side. Sloan and Liv smooshed in from the back to help with the attempted smothering.
Nora held on tightly, feeling her heart expand in her chest and her wolf howl with joy. The little lovefest shook and wobbled, just like her grasp on herself, but steadied out with the push and pull of each other.
She’d steady out, too.
“Everyone,” Jesse said over the noise, “I’d like you to meet my mate.”
Squeals pounded through Nora’s eardrums. The massive group hug tightened and wobbled again until someone’s foot caught between hers. They fell down in a laughing, smiling, happy heap.
Nora caught Jesse’s eye over the heads of the others.
You’re mine, he mouthed.
Red flushed her cheeks and her wolf howled with delight. You’re mine, too.
They were all hers. Her mate, her clan, no one would take them away from her.
She’d found her family.
Chapter 24
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Nora muttered to the ground.
“You are a wolf shifter. Shifting is what you do.” Jesse crouched down next to her. “Let her out.”
“But what if she takes over?”
“You haven’t shifted in your sleep at all this past week.”
“That’s because you’ve been there. She likes when you’re there.”
“I like you there, too. You belong in my bed.” His lips twitched in a lopsided smile and he pressed forward for a quick kiss. “Keeping her locked inside will only make it more likely she takes over. She needs to be let out. You need to work together. With practice comes control.”
Nora made a face. “You’ll make sure I don’t do anything stupid?”
“Only because I’m shifting with you and I don’t think my bear can operate a camera. Otherwise, no deal. I want that shit on film.”
“You’re the worst,” she groaned.
“And you’re stalling.” Jesse ran a hand up her back to the collar of her robe. “Shrug out of this so you don’t tear it.”
Nora drew her arms out of the sleeves but let the robe drape over her body. Nudity was an inevitable part of being a shifter, but she was still getting used to having four feet. Crouching naked in the dirt without a care was something she could work on as soon as she came to terms with her other half.
She reached inside herself, which was more difficult than she imagined. Her mind worked over a thousand possibilities of what could go wrong, then a million more of what could go right. All while her wolf paced through her, brushed fur against her, howled in her ears.
Nora dragged down a calming breath. Darkness descended as she closed her eyes.
Not a sound. Not a smell. She existed in nothing.
Breath curled up her spine. Awareness of something else. Her other self.
In the darkness, she opened her eyes and stared into the face of her wolf.
She’d never felt so close to her other half. She could pick out impressions and interpret those damn sendings, but actually working with her? Never. They’d been at odds since her creation.
Yet there she was, calmly staring back. Dappled grey fur covered her body. Cute ears perked to attention. Even her glowing eyes were beautiful.
Nora reached a hand forward to stroke the wolf’s silky fur and the world flipped.
Air rushed from her lungs as her limbs broke and reformed. Fur slid out of her pores while muscles grew and changed shape. Claws extended out of her fingertips; her palms thickened into pads of her paws.
When it was over, she wasn’t locked deep inside her wolf. For the first time, they were of one body and one mind.
Nora lifted her snout and sniffed the air. Her sense of smell was much improved since becoming a shifter, but it was a thousand times better in her wolf form. She thought she could even smell hints of barbecue on the breeze wafting from the town. Horses, those were near. Cows, too. Other scents she recognized as belonging to the clan.
Cracks and pops jerked her attention to the right. Jesse’s form broke apart and left a giant bear where the man once stood.
The beast shook out his fur and fixed her with golden eyes. He lumbered forward and nudged her with his head. The nudge turned into a rub of his body against hers before he stepped away.
A look over his shoulder was all the encouragement she needed to follow.
Nora pranced after him. After a moment, Jesse picked up his speed. A jog, then a bit faster. He glanced at her before each change of pace, but neither she nor her wolf had objections.
They ran the fence for a spell, then circled the herd still near the main house. A sharp whistle and raised hand from Ethan and Lorne were signs they’d been spotted, but Jesse didn’t slow them down.
They circled further out, crossing hills and through small bunches of trees as the moon rose higher in the night. Her wolf loved every second of learning their new territory.
This was home. A new beginning. A life where they could grow and be happy.
Nora darted forward and swiped her body against the bear in front of her. Her mate rumbled with amusement and tripped her up with a paw between her feet.
Wolves howled in the night, cutting the play short and chilling her blood.
Jesse jerked his attention somewhere over her shoulder. Nothing moved when she looked behind her, but the howls still bounced over the hills. Her breath picked up; her heart raced.
Then she spotted one shadow moving low to the ground.
Jesse roared fury at the intruder, then twisted to nudge Nora’s side. When she didn’t move, he shoved her harder in the direction of home.
When he lifted his lips and growled, she listened.
Run, he ordered.
She shot toward the house in the center of the territory. Soft lights glowed in the distance. She just needed to be fast enough, strong enough, to make it there before the wolves caught her or hurt Jesse.
The ground vanished under her long strides, but it wasn’t enough. Growls followed at her heels and pushed her faster.
Then a wolf barreled into her side.
The air rushed from her lungs. She struggled to get her legs back under her before the wolf jumped for her again or dug into her soft underbelly. She rolled away from snapping jaws just in time.
Nora twisted around, snapping at the wolves at her back. Two more leaped for her. She dodged the first, but the second tore into her shoulder.
A roar sounded in the night. Loud and ferocious, the noise seemed to vibrate through her and shake the ground under her feet. The wolf on her shoulder disappeared with a sharp whine and sickening crack of bone.
She crouched down, growling and backing away inch by inch. Her eyes squeezed shut, afraid to open and see her mate’s blood spilled on the ground and afraid to abandon him to danger.
Now or never. Fight or flee. She couldn’t be a trembling mess when shit hit the fan.
Nora pushed back to her feet and ripped open her eyes.
The night had plunged into chaos. Wolves circled her and Jesse, at least a dozen in number. The bear lashed out whenever one came too close.
They’d come for her, just like Viho promised.
She didn’t want her life with Jesse to end. She didn’t want to be chained again.
Terror pressed down on her organs. Her heart didn't want to beat. Her lungs refused to suck down air. Error error system-wide failure.
Jesse shifted from one shape to the other between steps. “Run!” he growled in a twisted, inhuman voice. “Warn the others. Keep safe.”
He turned his back on her to meet the oncoming tide of enemies, flowing back to his bear form in a cracking blur. The noise of it tore through her frozen brain.
Nora spun and ran.
Run. Warn the others. Keep safe. The words played on repeat as she put on a burst of speed.
Faster. Still faster. She pushed herself until the breath burned in her lungs. She didn’t have time for weakness or hesitation. Her mate fought for her and the rest of the clan against monsters in the dark. He needed the help she could summon.
The scent of cows grew stronger. There. Cheery lights glowed from the windows in sharp contrast to the blood and horror somewhere out in the darkness.
The wolf didn’t let her loose until they were right at the door of the main house.
Nora bolted over the threshold, panic cresting over her as she skidded to a stop. Three men rose to their feet, fists clenching at their sides. They shot daggers into the darkness at her back. Their mates eyed her with worry.
The fur and aggression in the air choked her. The wolf wanted to crouch down and cower under such dominance, but Nora refused to let her. Run. Warn the others. Keep safe. They had their orders and the clan needed to be told.
“Jesse,” she said between heaved breaths. She pointed over her shoulder. “Viho.”
Snarls spat out of more than one mouth. Her wolf howled right along with them, still afraid but unwilling to let them do all the fighting for her. Their mate was out there, battling for his life! They needed to do something. Be better than the cowering submissive Viho said was broken.
She felt broken in that moment.
Ethan turned to Tansey. His voice, like Jesse’s, sounded like gravel. “Bar the doors.”
His face twisted into something inhuman right before he made it through the door. His bear burst out of him, the others following his lead even before they jumped from the porch. War cries roared from their mouths as they disappeared into the darkness.
Then silence pressed down on them all. Thick, choking, poisonous.
“It was Viho? You’re sure?” Tansey asked in the stillness.
Nora nodded.
Her wolf paced through her, ready to bite anything that moved. Ready to fight. Anger bubbled in her veins. Jesse wanted her to run? She’d ran to find him help. He wanted her to stay safe? That was an order she couldn’t respect while he was out there, fighting for her.
