by Jade Royal
He pounced on her, clawing at her neck and back. She tried to lock her jaw around any part of him, but Maverick continued to counter her. He pinned her to the ground and clawed at her throat before moving down to her stomach. Her light fur was no protection from his claws. He dug at her abdomen trying to rip her uterus from her belly. If she couldn’t have his pups, then she wasn’t going to have any pups in her natural life. Before he clawed too deep, something hit Maverick hard, sending him flying. He hit the stump of a tree knocking the wind out of his lungs. Maverick for a moment felt fear because he thought Kellan had come back, but when he looked up, Jayce’s black and white wolf was standing over Kyra. He was gritting his teeth and snarling clearly ready to protect the she-wolf. Maverick got on his feet. He howled, forcing all his wolves to bow to him. Maverick was filled with satisfaction at that notion. He shifted back to his human form flaunting his nakedness. No matter how the she-wolves felt about him, it was in their nature to want to have pups by the alpha. They wanted protection, and they needed a provider.
“I need an alpha female who can carry my damn pups!” Maverick shouted. “So, who’s the strong she-wolf, huh?” All the wolves looked amongst each other until a tall she-wolf stepped forward. She smiled manically.
“Hera, no!” someone shouted, but Hera turned around and snarled at them. “Kameron refused me as his alpha female, Maverick, but he wasn’t strong enough to have me, but you are.” Hera despised everything about Kellan’s father, the previous alpha, and the moment Maverick had killed him, she was filled with glee. She was always supposed to be the alpha female, but she was overlooked, and Kellan’s mother was chosen instead. There was no such thing as true mates, but that’s the bullshit Kameron sold her on why she wasn’t chosen, but already Maverick was stronger, and Hera wanted her place.
“Go to my cave,” Maverick said to her. She smiled at the other wolves and walked off with her head held high. Maverick looked at Kyra who was struggling to breathe.
“Good riddance.” He grunted. “She’s useless.” He shook his head and walked through his pack of wolves naked as the day he was born, heading to see if he’d finally found the wolf to give him his pups.
Once Maverick was gone from sight, Jayce shifted back to his human form and stayed close to Kyra. Her wolf was keeping her alive right now, and Jayce was afraid for her. They were shifters for a reason. If she stayed in her wolf form for too long, she’d lose her human conscience and turn into a rogue wolf, but if she shifted right now, she would die immediately, but she couldn’t stay here. Not when her own alpha wanted to kill her.
“I can take her to the woods and see her off.” One of the wolves offered. Jayce shook his head.
“I’m not just going to make her die,” he said shaking his head. Jayce stood. There was only one place to bring her in order for her to be safe enough to attempt to heal.
Chapter Six
Kellan sat in the dark and watched Bliss sleep. The sun had completely fallen, and the moon was bright in the sky, shining light into his bedroom. Rita was asleep on the pullout couch in the living room. Kellan couldn’t sleep. There was too much on his mind. After that visit with Maverick, he just couldn’t stop thinking about the women he’d left behind in his pack, but none of them had said a word to him after what happened with his mother. None of them could look at him. That’s what made Kellan leave, and now Maverick was being the worst alpha any wolf could be to his pack.
He sighed deeply. Watching his mate sleep seemed to calm his racing heart. Kellan’s father Kameron always told him about how it felt to have a mate. About how it changed your life. Kellan, of course, believed the tales, but he thought it was too good to be true for his life, and now look, the universe had dumped a mate right in front of him. Her scent was strong in her human form, but the moment that wolf came alive inside her, everything magnified.
“Are you going to sit there and just stare?” Her soft voice came out. Kellan nearly jumped at her voice. He was so zoned out, he didn’t even notice the change in her breathing.
“Sorry,” he replied. “You’re kind of in my bed.” She sat up slowly. Bliss blinked. Her vision. It was back, but it wasn’t the same as before. She felt her eyes adjusting to the dark room. She saw everything so clearly, and it almost freaked her out. The strong scent of the man she knew to be Kellan greeted her, and she was mewling again. She loved how he smelled, and she never thought she had a thing for ginger. Bliss rubbed her eyes. She turned to the side and reached for the lamp on the bedside table. She flipped it on, and she could feel her eyes adjusting to the new lighting as if it was actually shrinking and readjusting like a machine or something. It felt weird.
“You’ll get used to that,” Kellan said. She turned around slowly to face the man who she’d only ever heard speak and scented. Bliss’ eyes widened at the man sitting across from her. The expresso color of his skin twinkled against the moonlight drafting through the window closest to him. His ducktail beard was trimmed perfectly, the short end of it coming out from his chin looked scruffy yet soft to the touch. Bliss remembered rubbing her face against it earlier and loving the texture on her skin. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his muscles were lean and taut. When he stood saliva literally trickled down the side of her mouth. She wiped her mouth hastily, but that didn’t mean she stopped staring. She knew she was staring, but she just couldn’t stop. He was filled with lean muscles, and his jeans hung low on his hips revealing his v-line. Was he even wearing underwear? She traveled back up to his sexy face where she finally looked into his eyes. She gasped again. They were glowing blue.
“Your eyes.” She gasped. Kellan blinked. He restrained his wolf and turned his eyes back to normal, but the moment, she looked at him, and her eyes weren’t cloudy; Kellan was lost. He knew her wolf eyes would be pretty, but he didn’t expect the richness of the hazel and gold pupils that gazed back at him. It had brought out his own wolf eyes, but slowly, her eyes dimmed and returned to their new, natural state of being hazel.
“You should get used to that too,” Kellan responded. She swallowed. The air around them seemed to crackle. He could smell her arousal, and it was hard for his wolf to stay away from her. She cleared her throat and took a deep smell.
“What’s that smell?” she asked.
“Well, what does it smell like?” he asked.
“I don’t know how to describe it. My conscience is telling me for some reason you’re aroused, but I don’t get that.” Kellan grinned at her.
“Because I am aroused, Bliss. You’re gonna have to learn to listen to your conscience.”
“But it doesn’t make sense, especially before when I was snapping my invisible canine teeth at that lovely woman who was just helping me.” Kellan walked over to her. She immediately drew back from him and pulled her knees up to her chest. She was hoping that stopped her clit from throbbing, but he sat directly next to her, and her body started heating up. Kellan could smell the heat coming from her core, and it was making his wolf begin to pace. Kellan drew in a sharp breath.
“I smell strawberries and melon,” he whispered. “Smells like you’re aroused.”
“I am not. I don’t even know you.” She scoffed. Even if she was making a face, Kellan kept seeing flashes of her wolf on its back in a submissive position, so her wolf knew who he was and was ready to take him.
“Well, speaking of that, I want to get to know you better.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but you know I have to get out of here. Now that I can see, and my legs feel so much better enough for me to walk and get out of here.”
“Yeah, about that. Like I said earlier, it’s not a good idea that you leave. Things aren’t like they were before.”
“Are you really keeping me here so I can pay you back or something for helping me?”
“No, that’s not why I’m imploring that you stay here.”
“So, what is it?”
“It’s about the way I was able to heal you, Bliss.” Bliss was confused. Kellan saw
it on her face before she even had to say anything. Kellan stood and reached out for her hand. She placed her small hand in his, and he helped her out of the bed. Unlike before, she stood on strong feet. Her body felt different. She felt as if she was born again, and she was stronger, more aware, and sensitive to everything around her. Kellan guided her to his full body mirror and made her look at herself. She didn’t look any different than before, but her eyes, her eyes were a deep hazel, rimmed with gold. Her hair seemed bouncier. All her bruises were gone. Every last ache in her bones seemed like a distant memory. Without thinking, Bliss lifted the slip she had on. She was wearing some kind of underwear made out of cloth that looked handmade, but she was checking her stomach. She knew her knife wounds were gone, but it was her bruises she was looking for. All the bruises and marks that Maverick had left on her body had vanished.
“What happened to me?” She gasped.
“Do you believe in the supernatural, Bliss?” he asked. She scoffed thinking he was joking, but he didn’t smirk at her.
“Of course, I don’t believe in it!” She snapped. “I’m not a child.”
“You should start believing in it.” He advised. “Because that’s how I healed you.”
“So, what, are you some sort of warlock or something?” Bliss asked smartly. She started backing away from him. She didn’t know what kind of crazy shit was about to come out of his mouth.
“I’m not a warlock,” he replied. “I’m a wolf shifter.” Bliss just knew he was going to say something crazy.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she said.
“No, I’m not. In fact, you’re a wolf shifter now too.” She shook her head hard.
“You’re crazy!” She rushed out. She wanted to dash out of the room and just ru,n but he was blocking her path. She doubted she would be able to get by him if he didn’t let her.
“Calm down,” he said to her. “Just hear me out.”
“Hear you out? I can’t even believe you’re saying this. Please, please just let me leave.” The bedroom door opened, and Rita came in. Bliss breathed in a sigh of relief.
“Rita, help me get out of here! This maniac is talking about crazy shit!”
“No, Bliss, listen to him. He’s telling you the truth.”
“Wait? You believe him?”
“Of course, I believe him. I’m a wolf too.” Bliss couldn’t believe this. She backed up until she felt the wall hit her back.
“Why-why are you two telling me this? Why can’t I just leave? Please, let me leave.”
“No, we’re saying this to keep you safe, Bliss. If you leave, you might not survive. Trust me.” Rita told her. Bliss looked at Kellan who hadn’t spoken for a while. When they made eye contact, the look he gave her automatically made her heart rate begin to slow. Her body began to heat again, and she just felt like rubbing herself all over him. Why was her body having this reaction to a maniac? He was surely crazy if he thought she was going to believe any of this, but then he blinked, and when his lids went up, his eyes were blue. Bliss gasped.
“You’re insane.” She breathed.
“I know how it may seem, Bliss, but you can feel that I am not here to hurt you. That conscience you were talking about, listen to what it’s telling you.” Bliss searched her mind, and that second conscious she had was completely relaxed. In fact, it was telling her that she was safe. Like before, when she blinked, the vision of that wolf came to her mind. The animal was laying down lazily as if it didn’t have a care in the world.
“Wha-what is happening?” Bliss whispered. Kellan gave way to his wolf and shifted in front of her. A high-pitched scream left her throat as a large wolf formed where Kellan was just standing. Bliss wanted to back up some more, but there was nowhere else to go.
Relax, Kellan spoke into her mind. Her body went shock still when she heard him.
How are you doing that? she asked.
Because we’re connected. Kellan walked slowly to her. Even though she wanted to stay away, it was her second conscience that was egging her to get close to the animal. She didn’t understand, but she trusted her second conscience. She slowly reached out and touched the fur of the wolf. It was soft but sturdy. Once Bliss had her hand in his fur, she couldn’t stop herself. She kneeled in front of the wolf. He nuzzled her neck, groaning softly in pleasure. Bliss couldn’t believe she was caressing a large wolf that was just a human as if it was a dog, but something told Bliss not to be afraid.
“This is the wolf I saw in my head,” Bliss said.
I saw yours too, Kellan spoke in her mind. Bliss didn’t even know how it was possible, but low and behold, here she was speaking to a wolf in her mind.
This is insane, Bliss said projecting to him. She had no idea what she was doing, but that was her second conscience doing all the work. Kellan bumped her chin with his cold nose before he turned away from her. When he reached the corner of the room, he shifted back to his human form. Bliss couldn’t help but gasp as she watched his muscular buttocks slide back into jeans. Bliss was begging silently for him to turn around, but he didn’t until he was dressed.
“So, am I supposed to see other wolves, like I saw yours?” Bliss asked. “Because I haven’t seen Rita’s wolf. Just that other wolf.”
“No, seeing my wolf is a special case,” Kellan said. “But the other wolf you keep seeing is yours, Bliss.”
“So, you’re telling me that I can do what you just did?” she asked.
“After the full moon, yes, but now, no. When a human is turned, they can’t shift until the first full moon, but the reason you need to stay with me, Bliss, is that you’re gonna need help to shift for the first time. If not, the power of it can kill you.” Bliss blinked rapidly and quickly went over to the bed to sit down.
“But, why? How did this happen?”
“I found you in the woods. You were pretty much done for. There was nothing I could do. I thought you were dead, but then you whispered to me that you didn’t want to die, and well, I couldn’t let you, so I bit you.”
“But I thought you had to be an alpha to change someone?” Bliss asked. Kellan smiled.
“So, you know some things, huh?”
“I mean, I’ve read books, watched shows.”
“Right, but we’re not werewolves; we’re shifters, which means anyone can bite you and change you, but just because you get the bite doesn’t mean you’ll survive it. Your heart has to be pure to be given the gift, which is so fucked up since there are born wolves who should not have the power.”
“So, how’d you know I would survive!”
“The fierceness you had to stay alive. The need to keep living. Wolves appreciate that kind of fight.” Bliss couldn’t believe this was happening to her.
“So, that’s why I couldn’t see when I first woke up?”
“Your body is adjusting to the changes, so your vision has been enhanced, so has your strength, and your muscle. That second conscience you have inside you is your wolf.”
“Wow,” Bliss said. She would have much more trouble believing this if he didn’t just shift in front of her, but then, there was the fact that she felt the changes inside her. Saw her wolf. Bliss inhaled deeply. She could smell the leaves outside, the dirt, everything. Her ears peaked when she heard a squirrel jump from tree to tree. Her stomach growled loudly when she smelled the squirrel. Bliss felt disgusted. Did she really want to eat that thing?
“Hungry?” Kellan asked.
“Yes.” Bliss rushed out.
“I’ll get you some food.” Rita spoke up walking out of the room. That left Bliss and Kellan alone. They looked at each other, and the air sizzled again. Bliss could feel the heat of her eyes glowing. She blinked to try to get it to go away.
“Newly turned wolves and young pups can’t control their sudden emotions.” Kellan informed her. “So, it’s important that until you have control, you can’t be around humans. No doubt they’d try and kill you if they see you show your powers.” Bliss nodded, she understood
that. Kellan came over to the bed and sat next to her again. Her nostrils flared as she looked him up and down.
“You smell good,” she whispered.
“So do you,” he responded.
“Is it normal for me to um-” She swallowed hard. Her skin was heating again, and she felt her stomach begin to clench as she was filled with an ache. A sexual one.
“To what?” Kellan asked. Bliss felt so embarrassed for what she wanted to admit. She shook her head.
“Forget it.” She breathed.
“No, none of that. Talk to me.” Kellan knew she was talking about her arousal because he could smell it dripping from her core again. Newly turned wolves were like teenagers when they hit puberty. Their hormones were almost too hard to control. When young wolves came into puberty, they were the hardest to control because they wanted to fuck everything on sight. Women were probably worse than the men because the women give off vibes that riled up every male in the pack. They sometimes couldn’t help it. Unfortunately for Bliss, she was going to have a double dose of hormones. She was newly turned, and her wolf realized who its mate was. Without a doubt, she was going to experience a harsh amount of arousal, and in turn, Kellan was going to have a hard time resisting his natural urge to mate. After admitting to her what she was now, the last thing he figured she was ready for was for him to tell her, they were destined to be together. That they were a mated couple by the universe.
