by Sarah Louise
“Tonight Aylin, as promised. Now let’s see if there was a reason why you were abandoned.” James leered.
“Aylin Lucine! Be blessed by your Pack! May the Goddess Selene grant you your alternate form!” He then pressed his bloody thumb against my forehead and my world tilted on its axis. The pressure in my bones that I had been feeling all day popped and it was like lightning crawling under my skin as my body shifted for the first time. I could feel my torso lengthening, my muzzle popping out as my jaw widened creating room for large teeth. My hand and feet shifting into a new shape and fur sprouting all over my body. It felt like the transformation took hours in my brain though logically I knew it was only a few minutes. When all was said and done, I was still looking at James but I was his height. I didn’t understand, why was I so large? I felt another presence brush against my mind.
Hello Aylin, it is wonderful to finally meet you. I am your animal spirit, my name is Tala
Tala, you feel like home, what are we? Why are we so big?
We are wolf. From what I can scent the strongest of all the shifters here, I also smell one of our mates out in this gathering. Should we go to him, the puny one who thinks he is your alpha is screaming at us. Do you want me to eat him?
Not yet to either of those things. If I shift back, will you disappear?
No, I will always be a part of you now. The moon goddess has made it so and you have shown her you are worthy of me.
Ok, well let’s shift back and see what kind of shit storm this has created.
Shifting back wasn’t as painful or as long as the first time. When I rose off of all fours James was indeed yelling, though not at me. He was yelling at another man, most likely from the Silver Moon Pack. He was a gorgeous man, Native American descent with his tawny skin, long black hair, wide nose and full lips. His eyes were a beautiful amber color not too far off from mine. I couldn’t understand this fascination I had with him.
Mate. I heard Tala whisper in my mind. Well fuck, if my mate was someone in another pack, no wonder James was throwing a shit fit. I began to listen in on what they were saying.
“She is my mate James, you cannot stop what the Goddess has deemed!”
“She is MINE! Goddess be damned! You will not have her. I’ve waited too long for this.” I realized as they were distracted with each other, now was the perfect time to flee. I made eye contact with Duke who gave me a small nod and began backing away from the crowd. Once I’d made it behind everyone watching the two Alphas argue I turned and broke out in a run. I made it just as Duke turned on the ignition of the four-wheeler and we peeled off into the night. We made it back to the house in record time.
“What the hell was that Duke!?” I asked as I quickly stripped into leather pants, a tank top, and my leather jacket, pulling my hair up into a high pony.
“Baby girl, you done turned this whole pack on its head. You shifted into the biggest damn wolf I ever seen. You were almost completely white with just some black on your paws and stomach. Then when you shifted this white light shot out of you in five different beams. One of them hit the Silver Moon Pack Alpha straight in the chest. He started going off about you being his mate and James lost his shit.”
“Yeah my wolf claimed him as ours too. If he really is our mate, then he will find us. I’m starting to think that the dream I had about the Goddess wasn’t exactly a dream Dad” I came out of my room fully changed wearing a backpack full of provisions I had been saving up. Duke already had the trap door open and was waiting on me to get in, so he could close it and make it back to the big house before everyone noticed we were both gone.
“If the Goddess is talking to you Aylin, then you better listen. I’m starting to think you may be linked to a long-forgotten prophecy. In light of your transformation, I think you should seek asylum with the supreme council.”
“Are you sure that’s the smartest move? What if James petitions to take me back?”
“I think you’re as strong as the ruling council, they will bend over backwards to meet your demands.”
“If you think that’s best. Where should I head then?”
“They have headquarters in the woods outside of Pigeon Ford, Tennessee. Go there. If I can find a way to get a message to your mate I will. If not, your bond will lead him to you, and if I’m right in my thinking, you’ll have four more headed your way too.”
“This wasn’t quite the plan Dad.”
“I know baby girl, but remember what I said, your greatest strength is your ability to adapt. I love you, be safe, I’ll see you again one day.”
I gave him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek.
“I love you Dad, please be safe.”
“Always,” he said and closed the trap door on me.
We must move, I sense danger heading our way. Your father will be safe, but if we don’t get a move on, we won’t be. We must find our mates and soon. It’s the only way to stay protected. The Goddess has gifted you with my spirit and does indeed have big plans for you. I heeded her advice knowing her instincts were stronger than mine at the moment. I started down the tunnels, watching the walkways for markers leading the way I wanted to go and using a pine bush to sweep away my tracks on the off chance they found the entrance. I decided to take the longest underground route which went on for about 5 miles all under the mountain surrounding pack lands. It would let me out in the middle of the woods on the other side of the mountain putting a decent amount of distance between James and me. I prayed to the Goddess she knew what she was doing, and I pondered over what kind of prophecy I had gotten myself tangled up in. I thought back, trying to remember my dream. I knew the Goddess said five of her original children would be mated to me, I guess those rumors about Anakin Felis were not too far off. I also wondered which others would join me. According to our histories, the Goddess Selene found a male or female of prime age who represented all the qualities of the animal that best suited their nature and soul. From there she gifted those children both with a spirit animal for which they could shift into the shape of and a magical gift to aid them on their journey. It was also said her original children were immortal, staying out of the main shifter population unless needed when things were dire. I guess the threat of human discovery and half the shifter population being treated terribly constituted as dire. Though, for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how I was connected to all of this. Hopefully when I met up with my mates they would have answers for me. The goddess said to trust in them, and her words were all I had to cling to in this moment.
Chapter 5
I’d made it through the tunnels and onto the other side of the mountain. I kept running, the new change I’d experienced gave me better endurance and speed than I could have hoped for. I made it all the way to the first human city outside of my pack’s radius, Sam Hell, North Carolina. It wasn’t much bigger than Knob Creek but it was out of the way enough I could rest. I walked into a 24/7 motel just as the sun started to rise. I booked myself a room in cash under a fake name and I finally let the exhaustion of everything I experienced hit me. I drew the blinds closed, threw the dead bolt, and added a chair from the desk under the handle just to be safe. None of that would stop a determined shifter from getting in, but it would make enough noise to wake me up and give me time to prepare to fight. I took my hand gun out of its holster and set it on the bedside table, my knife came next going under my pillow. I then laid down on the top of the covers, fully clothed and willed myself to sleep.
“Child, why did you run from your closest mate?” the goddess wearing my mother’s face asked.
“It wasn’t safe for me to stay. Tala told me he would find me again.”
“Your wolf is wise. Are you pleased with my gift of her?”
“I am honored to carry her Goddess.”
“That is why you are worthy above all others, Aylin. You understand her value as you do the value of all my children. I have given you a difficult task to fulfill but you are the only one who is capable of it.”
“What is the task you have for me?”
“You will liberate my children who are suffering and see them through the ordeal of being discovered by humans. This is something fate has set in stone. I cannot change it, but I can give my children the leaders they need to see them through it all. It is time for shifters and humans to live in peace again.”
“I am honored you chose me, I will do my best.”
“I know child, now it is time for you to wake, your mate is fast approaching. Remember to trust in them.”
I woke up to a heavy knocking on my door. I took a deep breath in trying to discern who could be knocking at the door. The person smelled of sage and lemongrass with a hint of pine. Not a smell I was familiar with which could be good or bad. It meant it wasn’t the pack, but it didn’t mean James hadn’t hired someone to track me down.
Tala, do you recognize this scent?
Mate. Cougar. Safe.
Thank you, Tala.
BANG. BANG. BANG. “I’m coming, I’m coming, hold your horses.” I re-holstered my gun and my knife and moved the chair away from the door. I unlocked the dead bolt and opened the motel door with the hook chain still attached so I could get a better look at my new mate. I peeked out the door and it was indeed the man I saw arguing with James last night. He was just as stunningly handsome again today as he was yesterday. He was wearing a grey v-neck tee with dark wash jeans and Timberlands. His long dark hair was pulled into a messy bun at the crown of his head and those amber eyes were staring at me as if he were trying to read my every memory.
“Are you going to continue staring or are you going to let me in?”
“That depends? Are you alone? Is my old Alpha with you? Tala says you are mate, that you are safe, but anyone could be hiding out of eyesight.”
“Your wolf is smart, as are you for checking with her. Yes, I am alone, no that prick isn’t here.”
“One second.” I shut the door to undo the latch and reopened the door enough to let him in. He slipped in and quickly closes the door behind him, turning to stare at me more now that he is able to get a full look at me. The pheromones he was shooting out were enough to get my juices flowing with just a scent. He smelled like sex on a stick. I’d never had such a visceral and instant attraction to someone in my life. It was fairly disconcerting, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I stared and scoped him out just as much as he did me, taking advantage of the ability to check him out. If the bulge in his pants was any indication, he was having just as physical of a reaction as I was and boy howdy, I couldn’t wait to see if he was as impressive as the packaging suggested. I finally came to my senses and stuck my hand out for him to shake.
“Uhhhhhh hi, I’m Aylin.”
“My name is Anakin,” he said as he grabbed my outstretched hand and brought it close to his face and kissed the pulse point in my wrist and nipped at the fleshy part of my thumb. I clenched my thighs at the lightning strike of need that pulsed through my body as his lips made contact with my skin. His eyes dilated with lust as he scented the reaction I was having. My brain decided to throw caution to the wind as I grabbed his shirt and used the momentum to fling him onto the bed twisting around until I landed on top of his lap.
“Mine,” I growled, then I leaned down into a punishing kiss. His mouth instantly opened for me and our tongues tangled for dominance as we continued to kiss one of his hands reached around to fist into my hair, the other going to cup my thigh as I ground myself against his hard cock through our clothes. Once my instincts had calmed down, I pulled away looking down at him, both of us panting and out of breath.
“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me just now.”
“Don’t be sorry, that’s the best kiss I’ve ever experienced. Plus, it was your wolf reacting to being next to her mate. She needed to claim me verbally and then meld our scents together. You’ll probably feel restless and umm, well horny for lack of a better term, until we complete the mating.” He actually blushed when he said that, how adorable was this man. I was literally sitting on his lap after grinding on him and making out within him in all of two minutes after we met, and he still blushed telling me I was going to be horny. I would have laughed out loud if I wasn’t worried that would embarrass him more. I wasn’t a virgin, but I wasn’t terribly experienced either. Once James made his interest in me known, when I was around twenty, any and all offers for casual sex or more dried up overnight. No one wanted to risk offending the alpha by playing with his toy. All shifters had high sex drives though, so during my five-year dry spell I’d developed a very good relationship with my BOBs.
“Whatever you are thinking of, you should probably stop because it’s putting your scent into overdrive and I don’t think you want the first time we are together to be totally lost in the mating drive.”
“Sorry, my bad.” I hopped off his lap and moved to sit in the chair across the room. He sat up on the bed, eyes glittering at me with unfulfilled lust, mouth puffy from my kisses, and the smell of our desire thick in the room. It took every ounce of willpower not to just go ahead and jump him.
Down girl, we will get there soon enough.
Mate. Need. Tala whined.
Trust me, I know but we need to talk before we get down and dirty.
Pfft. Your logic doesn’t work on me, she said haughtily, though I could feel her amusement. I gave her a mental eye roll and she retreated a little further back into my mind taking some of the desire with her. I could still feel it thrumming under my skin, but it was more manageable now.
“Were you just talking with your wolf?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. Trying to logically explain to her why we can’t just jump your bones right this minute. She didn’t care for my logic too much, but she has retreated some to help make it bearable.”
“I had to have a similar conversation with my cougar, Ohanzee. He had a similar reaction as your wolf. We have waited a very long time for a mate and he is impatient to claim you.”
“You’re one of Selene’s children correct? The original cougar shifter?”
“How did you know this? That is a closely guarded secret that I work hard to keep.” He narrowed his gaze at me.
“Hey! Don’t get all meany faced at me! The Goddess told me in my dream.”
“She speaks to you?” he asked reverently.
“Uh, sometimes. Twice now in dreams. Although she has left me more confused than knowledgeable, so I have some questions.”
“It has been such a long time since I have heard the mother’s voice. I had worried she had forgotten about us. Tell me everything and I will try to answer your questions.”
“Uhm, she told me I was the center of a prophecy, that I would be mates to five of her children and to trust my mates, this last dream she encouraged me to continue on to my destination to the Supreme Council, which is where my adoptive Dad told me I should go. He also mentioned a forgotten prophecy and that with my level of power, I would be safe from the Alpha there.”
“Sweet baby Zeus, she really just laid it all out there for you. She must really like you. Your alpha by the way, total ass hat. What’s his deal?”
“She didn’t tell me what the prophecy was. So still in the dark on that one; but yes, he is. Basically, he is an egotistical megalomaniac who wants to spawn only sons with any woman he deems attractive. He rapes them until they’re pregnant and then kills them if they don’t give birth to a son, which none of them have. I was his next choice, probably doubly now since I shifted into a predator and he thinks I’m submissive which is the farthest thing from the truth.”
“I’ll kill him. Why does he think you’re submissive? Most predators have a hard time controlling their instincts before their first shift.”
“Because I’m not an idiot and I wanted to survive that shitty excuse for a pack! I wasn’t blood, I was raised by a fox, only my dad knew the possible extent of my power and he taught me to hide it or the alpha would have killed me when I was a youngling. James doesn’t tolerate possible thr
eats to his power. He has the entire pack in a chokehold of fear and poverty.” Anakin’s eyes were dark with rage, his plump lips set in a hard line of anger. He stood up and stalked over to where I sat, dropping to his knees.
“I am so sorry that was the pack experience you grew up with. Most packs would never hurt their own. Your alpha must be put down, it’s a mockery of the gift the goddess gave us and as her child I will not stand for it.” He looked at me and all that anger he felt for me, my pack, and the injustices James had spewed upon us all, something clicked in me. It was like the lust that had been sitting on the back burner rushed forward in blinding fury. I threaded my hands through his hair bringing his mouth next to mine. I kissed him softly at first, increasing pressure and passion as it fully hit me that this man I had just met, cared enough about me, and about what was right to step in and make a difference. One of my biggest pet peeves in life was that people who could make a change for the better chose to sit on the sides in willful ignorance. To see this perfect specimen of a person, shifter, sentient being that the goddess herself chose for me, embody that which I prized most, was the biggest fucking turn on of my life. I stopped the kiss in a breathless haze.
