by Ellen, Jo
“Sit down here with me. I’ll going to tell you a story. I want you to just listen and don’t interrupt till I’m done.”
“All right, she paused. “Remember all those romance novels about wolf shifters that we like to read? Well, they’re not fiction.”
“What are you talking about? I’m trying to understand why Rafe sounds like he’s ready to walk down the aisle, and you’re talking about paranormal romance fiction? Wait, I’m waiting for someone to cue the woo-woo music.”
“I told you not to interrupt. You know me, Lisa. I’m not making this up. When I met Colin, I was instantly attracted to him. You remember how we were constantly together? Well, he explained to me that I was his mate. Colin is a wolf shifter, same as Rafe. I’m in their pack and Rafe is our alpha. They know their mates when they meet them. The strange part was that I knew it too. I could feel him pulling at me.
“Trust me. I had a hard time believing it too, until he transformed right in front of me. Then I sort of just freaked out and threw my shoe at him,” Stephanie said grimacing.
Colin and Rafe walked into the room. They had been listening from the kitchen and Rafe couldn’t stay away any longer.
“It’s true, Lisa,” said Colin. “Our pack has been here a very long time. I knew Stephanie was mine as soon as I saw her, just as Rafe knows you are his.”
“What! What do you mean, his? Is this some kind of joke? Pull a stunt on the city girl? Well, ha ha, good one guys. Can we go back to being normal now?”
“We’re not playing a joke, Lisa. I am the Alpha of the Scott pack. You are my mate. I’d planned on us getting to know one another and then telling you, but things have changed. I’ll tell you about that once we’ve proven that what we’re saying is true.”
“Oh, okay, so this is where you turn into a wolf?” she said scornfully. Lisa was frightened. It seemed her friends were involved in some cult or something.
Rafe sat down and started pulling his boots off.
“No, Rafe. Let me show her,” said Stephanie. “I think that would be easier on her, since she trusts me.”
“So you’re a wolf now too? Wow, all these years and I never knew, so do you get a rabies shot every year?” Lisa said mockingly.
“I changed after I mated with Colin. Just sit there and watch. It’ll be okay, Lisa. Please don’t be scared.”
Rafe turned to look out the front window in respect to Colin. Nudity was nothing to their wolves, but the males did not want anyone else seeing their mates.
Stephanie removed her clothes, while Lisa sat there with her mouth hanging open. She couldn’t believe her friend was stripping right there in front of everyone.
Stepping back from the sofa, Stephanie’s image sort of just wavered and then there was a dark brown wolf standing by the coffee table.
“Shit, fuck, holy hell!” One part of Lisa’s mind was surprised that she had such a potty mouth. I am losing it, she thought. Then she just screamed, on and on.
Rafe immediately ran over to take her in his arms. Her hands were pushing at him, trying to get away. As she pushed herself back into the cushions, Rafe wrapped his arms around her.
“It’s all right, see it’s just Stephanie. Please Lisa, look at her. You know she would never hurt you,” said Rafe.
Lisa started crying, as she buried her head in Rafe’s chest. This was not happening. I must have hit my head, she thought. She felt like her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. Her mind was trying to rationalize what she had just seen. Unbelievable.
“Lisa, you’re a strong woman. You can handle this. I know we’ve rocked your world, but it will be all right. You know Stephanie loves you. We all do, you’re perfectly safe here,” said Colin.
While they had been talking, the wolf moved closer to Lisa. She just stared at it. My God, was that Steph in there? She lifted her hand to touch it, but she dropped her hand instead.
“You can touch her,” said Rafe.
She reached out again to touch its head. She couldn’t think of it as Steph, her friend. The wolf stretched its neck out and licked her hand.
Lisa laughed, almost hysterically. My best friend is a wolf.
“This is surreal. I feel like my head is full of cotton and this is just a dream. Can you change back? I really, really want to talk to you,” said Lisa.
Stephanie promptly shifted back. She ran over to Lisa to hug and reassure her.
“I’m so sorry I scared you, but there’s just no other way to prove something like this,” she cried.
As Lisa hugged her back tightly she said, “You know, I love you too, but um, you really need to put some clothes on.”
Stephanie blushed, realizing she’d grabbed Lisa from Rafe’s arms and stood there totally naked. She squeaked and ran to put her clothes on. She was a wolf now, but she still had a lot of her human hang-ups about nudity.
Rafe had politely turned to speak to Colin as Stephanie dressed.
“Thank you both for helping me to tell Lisa. There was just no easy way to do this,” he stated.
He turned back to Lisa. She was sitting there with a bemused look on her face. Rafe knew it would take a while for it all to sink in. He calmly sat back down and put his arm around her.
Colin took Stephanie’s hand and led her from the room.
“We’re going to take a walk and give y’all some privacy.”
“Wait! You’re leaving me alone with him?” Lisa panicked.
“Rafe needs to explain a few things to you. He would never harm you in any way. In fact, he would protect you with his life,” Colin said.
Stephanie didn’t want to leave her either, but she knew Rafe needed to talk with her alone. She went over to hug her again and she told her everything would work out; that she was safe with Rafe.
Lisa pulled away from Rafe and moved to the end of the sofa. She couldn’t think with him holding her.
“I need to explain why I’ve come on so strong. When we meet our mate, we feel it inside,” he paused, gathering his thoughts.
“It’s like I’m being pulled towards you, like a connection. My wolf recognizes you as my mate. You are my other half,” he stated.
Lisa simply stared at him.
“What am I supposed to say to that? I’ll admit I felt a pull towards you also, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to, how would you say it, mate with you?” Now she was getting all worked up. She stood up to stride around the room.
“So, I don’t get a choice? I’m just expected to bend over for you? Is that it?” she shouted. “And then you bite me so I become a wolf too?”
“Calm down. It doesn’t work that way,” he said firmly.
“Oh, you did not just tell me to calm down!”
Rafe realized he had just made a strategic error. He was used to leading and not having his decisions questioned. It was time to do something he had never done before, grovel.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think this is like the movies you’ve seen. We’re nothing like that. Would you please sit down and let me explain?”
Lisa sat with arms crossed, glaring.
“I’ve explained about knowing you’re mine. Don’t interrupt.” She had opened her mouth, then huffed and just glared at him.
“When we make love, our souls become permanently connected. What you feel is your soul calling to mine.”
She noticed he had said ‘when’ and not ‘if.’ Fat chance, she thought rebelliously.
“We’ve been given a gift. Not everyone finds their match. For shifters, it’s partly instinct also. I’d like you to give us a chance. The universe chose you for me and me for you,” he said patiently.
“I can’t give you an answer right now. Am I supposed to be instantly in love with you? Since I’m not, well, so sorry. Like I said, I’m attracted to you, but I don’t know you,” she told him sarcastically.
“I’m asking you to get to know me now. There’s more I want to say, but it will have to wait. I can hear Colin and Stephanie coming back
. But know this, you will be coming home with me today,” he said firmly.
As Stephanie and Colin entered the house, they could hear Lisa yelling. They looked at each other, frowning. Didn’t sound like things were going too well.
“What! Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere with you. You just blew it, buster. I’m staying right here and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it,” she dared him.
“We’re back,” Stephanie said quietly.
“Good, you can talk to his highness. I’m going to shower.”
“Not yet,” said Rafe. “There’s more.”
“Oh, so now I can’t leave? Watch me”
“Please stay, Lisa,” said Colin. “We really do need to talk to you. There’s more going on than you understand.”
Lisa stopped abruptly. She had always liked and respected Colin. She decided she would stay for him, so she silently went over and sat down in the recliner. No way was she sitting anywhere near him. She didn’t say a word, just looked at Colin and totally ignored Rafe.
Rafe jumped right in. “We have a pond in the front of our home that we protect from the unseelie. It heals us and gives us longer lives, among other things. It’s magical.”
He was giving her the shortened version, seeing that she wanted to leave and not listen to him.
“We are in service to the Queen of Faerie and she blessed us with these waters. Our job is to protect the pond from the dark fae.”
“Oh, so not only are there werewolves, fairies are real too? Why not? How about monsters?” Lisa was sarcastic when she was frightened.
“We prefer the term shifters,” Colin said. “Werewolves are for the movies.”
“We consider the dark fae as monsters. There have been no attacks on our property for many years. A seer in another clan has given us a warning. We have asked the seelie for guards to help us protect the pond. The unseelie want to use the magic the water holds,” Rafe went on to tell her about Robert and the prophesy.
Lisa sat there amazed. It was like a fairy story. No pun intended, she thought in disbelief.
She looked over to Stephanie, with tears in her eyes. “Have you always been a werewolf, I mean, shifter, and I just never knew?”
Stephanie crouched down in front of her chair. “No, I was changed by the waters after we mated. It’s a blessing from the Queen. You know I have never been happier. Colin is my soul mate. You remember how all we wanted was to be together. Just give it a chance, I promise you won’t regret it.”
Lisa felt lost. Her world had turned upside down.
“But you bought silver earrings at the fair,” she said in a daze.
Rafe came over and knelt beside her chair. “That’s another myth. Please come to my home, just be with us and see how we live. You’ll see that we’re not that much different. My parents can’t wait to meet you and I need to know you’re safe. With all that’s going on right now, I can’t concentrate on my duties. With you at the house, we’ll have a chance to get to know each other better.”
“Oh shit, with all that’s going on I almost forgot,” said Stephanie. “At the craft fair, Lisa said there was some man watching her. We didn’t see him when we left, but she saw him from the restaurant while I was in the restroom.”
Both men went into warrior mode immediately. Questions started flying at Lisa. She described him as a tall man with black hair.
“It was his expression that bothered me. It was as if he knew me. I felt like he, I don’t know, needed me. He watched me from across the street, but when I turned back again, he was gone.”
Rafe promptly went into action.
“Call your parents. Have them take your girls to my house. I want the families with pups close. I’ll call Ian and have him get started moving them into the castle.”
He then turned to speak with Stephanie and Lisa, “Go get packed. You’ll be staying at the main house. No arguments.”
Rafe pulled out his cell phone to call Ian. Once he explained the situation to him, he asked about Robert and the guards.
“He hasn’t come back yet. Probably because time between here and Faerie gets so screwed up. I’ll take care of everything here. Hurry back,” said Ian.
As they went upstairs, Stephanie was once again trying to reassure Lisa. Sitting on the bed, they were both quiet gathering their thoughts.
Lisa spoke first. “I should go back home. There’s no need for me to go stay at some stranger’s house.”
“Besides the fact that you two belong together, I think you might be in danger now. Rafe will explain it better than me, but basically, this guy you saw could be unseelie. You’re in danger of being taken to be used as a hostage.”
“Why me? Not to be heartless, but why me and why now? There is a whole den of you guys, so what’s so special about me?” Lisa asked.
Stephanie sighed. “Shifters can fight pretty darn well. I’m stronger now than I ever was as a human. You though, are vulnerable. The fae can see mate connections, I was told. Since you and Rafe haven’t done the deed, that guy could see that and he would know that he could use you. That would put the pack in jeopardy as shifters would give everything to protect their mate.”
“But what does he want?” asked Lisa.
“The waters. If he could get access to the pond, he could use the magic there. I don’t know how or what he would do, but I do know that it would make him magically stronger,” Stephanie said fearfully.
“I’ll go, but I’d better have my own room. I am not sleeping with him,” she stated firmly.
Stephanie grinned, “But you don’t know what you’re missing. Sex with your mate is amazing.”
“No, no, no. I do not want to hear about your sex life. Us talking when you were still single is one thing. Too much information and I’ll blush every time I see Colin,” Lisa said with red cheeks.
“Okay, guess I’ll just wait until you’re mated and we can compare notes,” Stephanie said outrageously. “By the way. Ever lose it in class with your students? I’m just curious because I heard words out of your mouth even a sailor doesn’t use.”
“Oh shut up, I’m always in complete control in class. Only around ‘mystic creatures’ do I let loose,” Lisa protested.
Finished packing, Lisa went to see if Stephanie needed help packing for the girls. Once done, they hauled their suitcases into the living room. Lisa made sure she had all the things she needed for her kitten.
Rafe turned to take Lisa’s bags, intending to put them in his vehicle. Following him outside, she realized he expected her to ride with him.
“You can put them in my car; I’m not leaving it here.”
“You won’t need your car. I’ll take you anywhere you need to go,” said Rafe.
“I’m a big girl, Rafe. If I want to drive myself, I will. I don’t like the thought of not having my car with me. And you’d better make sure your wolves know my kitten is a pet, not lunch.”
“I would suggest you keep it in your room. They’re not used to having tiny felines around.”
Rafe moved to put her bags in her car. This was not worth arguing about. His dad always told him to pick his battles. He was just glad she was going. He thought having her car gave her freedom. He did not want her to feel like a prisoner.
Rafe got in his Tahoe with Lisa following in her car. Stephanie and Colin were behind her in his sheriffs SUV. He had called his parents and they would meet them at the castle with the girls.
Lisa followed with mixed feelings. She was still reeling from all the revelations she had heard in the last hour. One day, I’m a single teacher leading a boring life, next I’m supposedly a mate to some wolf. Oh, and fairies are real. She kept picturing a small character with wings on their back. Somehow, that didn’t sound like the same ones Rafe described.
It didn’t take long before they were pulling up in front of the castle. She was floored. A Scottish castle in the woods of east Texas. Can my life get any weirder?
“You didn’t tell me you lived in a castl
e. More surprises? I don’t think I can take much more, I’m just sayin’.”
“It’s a replica of the family home in Scotland. I had nothing to do with building it here. You can blame my ancestors for that. We do love it, though. I was born here,” said Rafe.
Lisa stood looking in awe at their home. Un-freaking believable. It was huge, with woods on either side. She turned to see the pond in front. So that was the cause of her problems, and why she needed to stay here. It looked so normal. Pretty with flowers and the sun shining on the surface. She felt drawn towards it. As she started walking to the pond, Rafe followed silently behind her.
Dazed, Lisa spoke softly. “I can feel it. There’s a vibration pulling me to it. Is that normal?”
“Yes. The magic here is very powerful. You can see now why the unseelie would want to use it.”
As they walked around the pond, Rafe casually took her hand. He wanted to show her everything that he loved about his home. Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away.
“It’s beautiful here. You must have loved growing up in a castle,” she said.
“Yeah, my brothers and I had a lot of fun running around this place. Especially running in the woods. I could never live in a city. I have freedom here I wouldn’t have anywhere else.”
“I’d like to meet your brothers, but the thought of meeting your parents scares me to death. Do they, um, know about the mate thing?” she asked nervously.
Rafe grinned. “Yes, they know I’ve found my mate. They’re thrilled and mom can’t wait to meet you. Don’t worry. They’ll love you. It’s a big thing for us when we find our match. We celebrate the union.”
“Okay, I know you said it’s not like the books or movies. Just tell me now, we don’t, ahem, do it in front of the pack, right?” she asked fearfully.
“Do it? Oh hell no! Not the actual mating. We’re not voyeurs. Shit. What exactly is in these books you’ve been reading? I think I need to read them,” he said, eyes twinkling.
“I don’t think so. You might get some bad ideas,” she said laughing.
By now, they had walked the perimeter and now were back in front of the castle. Two men walked out who looked a lot like Rafe. Must be the brothers. Wow, there’s something in the water, pun intended. I am losing it, she thought.
