by Lucy Kelly
For the next hour Frieda had Laura shift into a camel, a frog, a snake, and many other creatures. Laura was amazed, she was actually spontaneously shifting into animals! Then Frieda had her leave the patio and enter the woods. She told her to shift into a tree but she couldn’t do it.
“This just means we have things to work on. Don’t worry, honey, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Frieda. She went on to suggest they break for lunch. Laura was tired so she agreed. She also wanted to send another email to her family. She wasn’t going to mention anything about being a changeling but she missed them and wanted to touch base.
After twenty-one years of seeing her father and brothers nearly every day it was hard being away from them. She had so much she wanted to share with them! Unfortunately, most of it would have to wait until she invited them out for Thanksgiving.
*****
Nearly two thousand miles away in Maryland the Donahue men were meeting once again to give each other a status report on the search for Laura. She had been gone for nearly three weeks and except for a few emails, they still had no clue where she was.
“Status reports, Aaron, you start,” said their father, Doug.
“I’ve eliminated Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont,” he said, “Steven helped me check all highway footage, including coming in from Canada. We had to come up with some weird stories to get some of the footage. A couple of times homeland security agents tried to question us. We’re going to run into problems if this search continues this way. We need to come up with another search vector.”
“While you were bombing out in the east, I got a couple of hits heading west. She seems to have stuck with the side roads but we got lucky a couple of times when there wasn’t any alternative but the larger tollways. There were two camera captures on her license plate, both in Ohio. From the date stamps, she was definitely heading west,” explained Benji.
“Why didn’t you let us know? It’s still cold in Vermont,” said Steven.
“Actually, I met this great programmer with the Ohio State Traffic Safety Bureau. She was able to program an automatic search for me. Bad news, she only has access to Ohio data. Good news, she knows what kind of systems the surrounding states have so she gave me a disk. We have to get access to the data to run the programs though. Can you get the access, Dad?” Benji asked.
“Yes, I think so. Let’s try for Indiana first and see if she keeps heading west we can go from there,” he said.
“Okay, eat now, plan later,” said Josh as he and Evan put large serving platters down on the table. One platter held steaks and the other held baked potatoes, carrots, and other steamed veggies.
They were all digging into their food and discussing the plan going forward. They would have to start back at regular work and school soon. The search would have to be juggled into their normal lives. One thing was clear, they weren’t giving up.
They had finished lunch and were gathered back at the table after the kitchen had been cleaned. Benji and Evan were updating the map on the wall. Blue pushpins were possible sightings that needed to be checked out and red pins were positive sightings. There were only a few red pins.
Suddenly all of their phones announced incoming text messages. David jumped over to the computer to see if he could get a trace but once again Laura had been too fast for him. “Damn, she’s got mag skills!” he said when he couldn’t catch up with the signal, even using the latest tech.
They all got the same message. “Hi, everyone, I love you all and miss you like crazy. A lot of big changes in my life that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. I met a great guy! And for once you aren’t around to scare him off! I’m sure you’ll all like him, he’s wonderful and he says he’s my perfect mate.”
“Shit, some asshole already has his hooks in her. What does she know about men,” said Steven.
“We can’t even run a background check. He could be after her money. We verified she’s rich,” put in David. It hadn’t taken them long to discover her wealth. And since she was of age, they couldn’t find a legal way of getting into her bank records to trace funds. Banks required search warrants.
They all got worked up over the possibility of some man taking advantage of their baby sister and went back to the search with a vengeance!
Meanwhile, there was one man working on getting the revenge he wanted out of the human chick, as he called her. Roland Gantry had not gone away. He was staying downwind of the guards while keeping up long distance surveillance on his future victim. Mostly he had to hang out on a neighboring mountain and watch her house through high-powered binoculars. He’d broken into a sporting goods store to get them and was pleased with how well they worked.
He noticed the only time she left the house was each afternoon when she went somewhere in her camper. Two shifter guards went with her. They would have to be dealt with.
*****
Back at the house Laura had finished sending a message to her family so she sat down to lunch with Frieda.
“Where’s Mara?” Laura asked Lola when she rolled in the serving cart.
“She said now that you’re mated and Frieda is here you don’t need her to stay with you,” Lola told her.
“She’ll still visit won’t she?” Laura said.
“Of course, dear, she just has to catch up on things with her pack. She’ll be here for dinner tomorrow. She would have gone out to say goodbye but you were a snake and she doesn’t like snakes,” said Lola, to explain why Mara hadn’t said goodbye.
“Thank you, Lola. And the food is delicious too. Do you want me to stop and pick up anything from the store this afternoon?” Laura asked before Lola left her and Frieda to return to the kitchen.
“No thanks, sweetie. Your mate made arrangements for the pantry to be filled. They’ll be making a delivery while you’re at the therapist.” That said, Lola gave the table a once over to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything and then pushed the cart from the room. Laura had purchased the cart because it made things easier with her handicap. She was really glad Lola was getting so much use out of it. She needed it too. As it was, she was so tiny she could barely see over the top to steer it.
Laura was hungry so she dug into her meal. They were eating in the sunroom again, Laura couldn’t get enough sun now that she was allowed out in it, but her skin remained pale and void of freckles. The food was really delicious so neither she nor Frieda spoke for the first few minutes. After her initial hunger was sated, Laura turned to Frieda.
“Mara said all shifters came from changelings and changelings came from another realm. Can you tell me more?” she asked.
“She’s right. Much of our history has been lost because we’ve never written it down. There are two main mythologies. The first is that they came here to build up shifter armies to fight wars in their realm. By building up the armies here, they could hold them in reserve until they were needed and spring them on their enemies,” said Frieda.
“Do you believe that?”
“There has never been a large group of shifters to go missing so the first story is not as popular as the second one. The second myth is about either three or twelve changeling queens coming here to this realm. They were all pregnant from lovers who weren’t changelings and so they needed to have their babies in secret from their own realm. Their sons were the first shifters. Only female children became full changelings and only when mated to shifters.”
“Why is it that only women can be changelings and not men? What if my brothers have daughters, will they be changelings?” Laura wanted to know.
“Because your brothers are the sons of a changeling, they will become shifters if they mate to a shifter or if you give them shifter abilities. The ability to give birth to a changeling comes down through the female line. If your brothers remain human and marry a full human their children will be one hundred percent human. If they mate a shifter, then it’s likely they will become shifters and their children will be shifters. Shifter DNA is dominant and so shifter h
uman mates always produce shifter children.”
Laura chewed on a piece of chicken while she went over what Frieda said in her head. “How can I give my brothers shifter abilities? And what about my father?”
“There is a ritual where you can awaken the shifter inside each of your brothers. Granting shifter abilities to a human is a more serious matter. It has been done, but not always with positive consequences. Humans are attached to their humanity and don’t always deal well with their new animal side. This is not a step to be taken lightly. Once you have total control of your shifting, then we’ll start to work on your magic. Right now though, you need to finish your lunch!” Frieda said with a smile.
Laura did need to hurry so she could get to therapy, suddenly determined to get out of this wheelchair!
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was around two o’clock when Laura arrived for her therapy appointment. JoAnne worked the various muscles of her legs for two hours and then massaged them. Before Laura headed home, JoAnne reminded her that she might have muscle cramps during the night. Now that Laura had been healed of her paralysis, her exercises would become more intense.
“Laura, I know you’re training everyday as a changeling. But you need to work on your legs for more than two hours a day. I’m going to free up my schedule so I can start coming to you. Would you be able to find more time if you didn’t have to drive over here every day?” JoAnne asked.
“I would love it! Are you sure? Of course I’ll make sure you’re compensated for the lost time. Oh, but your other patients need you just as much as I do. It wouldn’t be fair for me to monopolize you,” Laura said.
“I only have one other patient recovering from an injury and he’s nearly to the end of his treatment. He’ll be discharged in three weeks, allowing me to start your in-home care the last week of May. My other customers are for massage therapy only and I can shuffle my schedule around to make sure they are covered by me or another therapist. Right now, you need to have intensive therapy several times a day. We want to build your muscles carefully so you don’t hurt yourself,” JoAnne explained.
“If you’re sure you have the time, I’d love to work something out. How soon do you think I can get out of this chair?” Laura wanted to know.
“That will depend on you and how hard you work. If you put in the work you could be working on the parallel bars within three months and walking in six,” said JoAnne.
“I’ll do whatever I have to,” said Laura.
“Okay, when my other patient is released from care I’ll come up to your house every morning and work with you throughout the day. Between now and then we can work up a schedule that works for all of us.”
“Sounds like a great plan. I had better get back now. This day is the longest I’ve been able to not shift into an animal, I should get going before I shift into a kitten or something.”
Before she could say anything else she turned into a kitten. Concentrating hard she switched herself back. “Oops, time to go,” said Laura to a very surprised and startled JoAnne, as she wheeled herself outside. The two guards assigned to accompany her were waiting for her. She continued to drive her motor home because she was familiar with the hand controls. But now that she was going to get better she decided to donate the camper and buy an SUV. She’d talk to Alex about it over dinner.
She missed him. He hadn’t joined her for lunch because he and Marshall had gone to visit the alpha of the local wolf pack, Marc Hunter. He promised they would have dinner together. She concentrated on her driving and staying human. She discovered it was easier to stay human if she was doing something and giving it all her attention. As she pulled out of the parking lot of the medical building, she thought she saw that weird man, Roland. But when she looked again he wasn’t there. He was nasty and she was so happy to be mated to Alex instead of him.
Turning her eyes back to the road she navigated her way back up the mountain to her home, absently dreaming about when she could walk or run up the steps instead of taking the tram system.
When she got home she was happy to find Alex waiting for her in the garage. He opened the door and pulled her into his arms. Without thinking about it, she wrapped her legs around his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He swooped in for a welcome home kiss.
“I hate being away from you all day. Soon I’ll have my office moved here and things organized better,” he said.
“Why are you here in the garage?” asked Laura. The two guards had also gotten out of the camper, stepping out of the garage to give their alphas some privacy.
“I wanted to look at the space. I have two vehicles, a four-wheel drive truck and a convertible sedan. Before I asked my assistants to drive one or both of them out here, I wanted to make sure there would be room. Why did you build such a big garage?” he asked. He didn’t give her time to answer, kissing her again.
It didn’t take long for the kiss to become heated. “I need to be inside you,” he growled into her mouth.
“Yes!” she said and, reaching down with one hand, she pushed at her sweats. “Hold me up,” she said as she dropped her legs from around his waist to drop her sweats to the floor. She was so wrapped up in the moment she didn’t realize she was using her leg muscles. After she got rid of her own clothing, she went to work on Alex’s. It was difficult because Alex kept on moving his mouth over her face and neck nibbling and kissing her. She giggled because he had found a spot that tickled.
Squirming, she finally got his pants open, his engorged shaft falling into her small hand. Wiggling into place, she locked her ankles around his hips as she impaled herself. “Ooh, this feels so good!” she said.
Alex stepped forward, each movement driving him deeper inside her. Backing her up against the side of her camper and began to thrust. Taking her mouth as he took her body, the camper began to rock from the force of their loving.
Over, almost as quickly as they begun, Laura moaned out her release and the spasms of her climax bring on Alex’s. Collapsing, he holds her up against the side of the camper. As Laura got her breath back she remembered the feeling from the night before. She hasn’t said anything but she’s sure she’s pregnant. She can’t believe in her excitement that morning she forgot to ask Frieda if shifting would harm the baby.
She got distracted when Alex swung her around, placing her in her chair. Then, after she’d unlocked it, he lifted the chair with her in it out of the door so she didn’t have to go into the back of the camper and use the lift. Her bottom was cold and she could feel Alex’s cum leaking out of her. Alex picked up her underpants and sweats.
“Just the sweats, I’m not putting on underwear that’s been on the garage floor. Now where were we before you started this delicious interlude?” she asked as she expertly pulled on her sweats with only a little help from Alex.
Alex quickly tucked and zipped before helping Laura. As she finished with her sweats, he looked around. “I just wondered why you built such a large garage. From the front it looks like a large five car garage. But when you’re inside you can see it’s more than twice as deep,” he asked.
“I have a big family, if everyone visits in the winter, I wanted to be able to put all the cars and trucks inside. And then I was planning to own three vehicles of my own, a car and a snow-cat in addition to this camper. Plus, I expect when the underground facilities are put to use the garage will be helpful. I’ve considered a tunnel from the garage into the facility, what do you think?” she asked, intending to talk to Frieda about the baby before saying anything to Alex.
“Well there’s definitely plenty of room for my two vehicles,” he says as he tucked her underwear into his pants pocket. “I know you were looking forward to having Mara over for dinner, but I want you all to myself. So Mara is taking Frieda to the pack house so we can be alone. I need time with you.”
“I like your plans. I do need to have a few minutes of conversation with Frieda and I need a shower. Is she gone yet?” Laura asked.
“No,
I don’t think Mara is picking her up for another hour. There’s time,” said Alex as he followed her out of the garage and over to the tram. He had a few questions of his own to ask Frieda. Her legs seemed so strong one moment and then so weak the next. Maybe the older changeling would have answers.
Alex got to the house first and found Frieda in the kitchen with Lola. The two often spent time together, both being from the same part of Europe originally.
“Frieda, Laura has some questions for you. After you finish and before you leave with Mara I’d like a word with you too,” he said.
“Of course, I’d be happy to speak with both of you,” she said.
Alex nodded his thanks and then made himself scarce. He got the impression Laura wanted to speak privately with Frieda. He’d take his shower first and then when Laura took hers he’d speak with Frieda. Besides, if they showered together, they’d never leave the bathroom and neither of them would speak to Frieda.
Laura reached the top of the tram station. She wondered why Alex had run ahead. She got her answer when she entered the kitchen through the pantry and found Frieda waiting for her.
“Your Alex is showering, giving us time to have a few words. What’s bothering you, my dear?” Frieda asked her.
“Frieda, I think I’m pregnant. Is there any way to tell? Is it safe to shift while I’m pregnant? I’m worried about my control,” Laura asked her in a worried voice.
“It would be wonderful if you are pregnant! It’s perfectly safe for you to shift through your fifth month. After that, you will need to be more careful though. First, let’s make sure you are pregnant. What symptoms are you experiencing?” she asked.
Laura explained her feelings of the night before. “It’s really too soon to tell isn’t it?” she asked. “I’m being silly.”
“No, dear, not silly. After all, you know your body better than anyone. If you believe you are pregnant then you probably are. They have these tests you can take at home, but this early on I think a blood test is what you need.”
