by Lucy Kelly
After she finished getting ready for her day, she headed out to see what Lola had made for breakfast today. Her appetite continued to improve, no cravings for strange foods yet though. She was kind of looking forward to that.
“Good morning, Lola, what’s for breakfast?” she asked.
“You need protein and carbohydrates with all the exercise you’re getting. We got some good apples so I made you potato pancakes with applesauce and apple sausage. Along with that, I’m making scrambled eggs with cheese. I’d like to get a milk cow so I can make my own cheeses,” she said.
“All of that sounds yummy. And I don’t mind if you get a cow but we don’t have a pasture and with all the wolves and other predators around wouldn’t the cow be nervous all the time?” Laura asked.
“We would have to buy a cow from a shifter owned dairy farm so the cow is accustomed to the smell of shifters. There is enough acreage to clear a few trees away from the house for a small pasture with a cow barn and cheese house. I also would like to put in a kitchen garden. The hydroponics on the top floor are nice but I also want to grow some things outside,” the little Kobold explained.
“Tell me, Lola, that is a lot of work. Do you have a handsome Kobold in mind to help you?” Laura said with a grin.
“Kobold live a long time. I have plenty of time to find a mate. I would like to invite my sister, Lila, and brother, Lars, to come and stay here too. This is a big house and Lila can help me with the cooking cleaning. Lars can help with the gardening, cheese making, and also keep up the maintenance on the machinery,” said Lola.
“Do you have enough room? The space in the hearth seems so small,” Laura said.
“Yes, yes, there is plenty of room,” said Lola.
“Then by all means, your family is welcome here. Maggie can provide Lars with a list of maintenance tasks.”
Lola wiggled and bounced on her tiny feet so Laura knew she was excited about her family coming. If Lila and Lars were anything like Lola, she would be excited too. Lola did the work of three people as it was. Laura knew there was magic involved, she never actually saw Lola working. She just accepted the clean house and wonderful tasting meals. Lola could have whatever she wanted. Heck, she could invite all her cousins too if she wanted. In fact…
“Um…Lola?” Laura asked as they went to the elevator to head to the sunroom.
“Yes, Laura,” said Lola, humming to herself as she pushed the cart filled with covered plates, flatware, juice and coffee.
“I just thought I’d mention, we’re going to be having up to fifty shifters moving in downstairs, maybe more. They are going to be working and training hard. Can you and your sister handle the extra work that will mean?”
“Hmm, you ask a good question. I will discuss with Lila. Maggie will tell me when more shifters come?” Lola asked.
“Yes, I can have Maggie send you an email or tell you verbally.”
“No email, she just tells me,” said Lola as she laid out the food on the table.
If Laura wanted to know if the little Kobold knew how to use a computer, she would just have to ask.
Frieda didn’t join her for breakfast so Laura ate alone. After eating Laura was ready for her daily training.
“Maggie, where is Frieda?” Laura asked.
“Frieda instructed me not to reveal her whereabouts. She said she wanted to test your abilities. You have to quote—shift and sniff her out—end quote. Do I comply with her request or should I tell you where she is?” said Maggie house.
“Comply with her request, I will take her test,” said Laura. She knew Maggie wasn’t trying to cheat. Maggie couldn’t take a direct order that countermanded an order from someone with a higher security clearance.
Piling up the dirty dishes back onto the cart to go downstairs, Laura thought about what she should shift into. She decided that for searching the house, a dog’s nose would be sufficient. If she had to go outside, she’d rethink her choice.
Getting out of her chair, she laid down on her side and shifted into a bloodhound. She wanted a breed with a good nose. In her shifted form she headed to the bedroom Frieda was using, she wanted to get a comparison scent for tracking.
After an hour searching through the house and the underground facility, Laura realized she would have to go outside. She made her way to the doorway onto the patio and shifted into a black bear. Black bears were native to this forest and she knew they could climb trees. That way if she got turned around, she could climb a tree and see where she was.
It didn’t take her long to catch the scent. She was not alone as she worked her way up the mountain in the woods. Her guards and several other shifters were nearby. If they could scent her pregnancy, she hoped they kept their mouths shut until she could tell Alex.
After almost two hours of trekking through the woods, she came across a large structure built of logs. There were hundreds of different scents all over the place but she was still able to discern Frieda’s amongst them. Laura made her way to the front door and shifted before knocking. The werewolf who opened the door was surprised to see Laura sitting on the stoop outside.
“Hi, I can’t walk in my human form yet. I’ve tracked Frieda this far, is she here?” Laura asked.
“Yes, Alpha, she’s here. Your wheelchair is here too. Let me bring it for you,” said the polite young wolf.
“Thank you, what’s your name?”
“My name is Sylvia, Alpha Laura,” the young girl said before she turned and rushed away, leaving the door standing open.
Moments later she was back with Laura’s spare wheelchair. The Alpha of the wolf pack was there also. He offered to help Laura into the chair but she said if he would lock the wheels, she would manage. He showed her to the pack dining room where she was happy to see Frieda and her friend, Mara.
Mara came over to give her a hug. “You haven’t been out of that house except for therapy appointments since you moved in. This was our way of getting you to come over for lunch.”
“Alpha Marasov needn’t worry, you were well guarded all along the way,” said the wolf Alpha.
“Marc Hunter, right, we’ve met a few times at the house,” said Laura, holding out a hand.
“Yes, that’s right. Let me introduce you to everyone here and then we can have lunch,” he answered.
Laura ended up having a blast at lunch. She loved meeting all of the members of the local pack. They were the largest cohesive shifter group in the local area. Most of the other shifters were smaller family units.
After lunch, the pack provided a truck and two guards to take her to her therapy appointment. It had been a wonderful day so far! And tonight, when Alex came home would be even better. She wanted to send him a text, but unfortunately, her cell phone was in the sunroom on the table, where she had first shifted into a dog.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Laura arrived at the medical building, she took a careful look around. The little hairs at the back of her neck were tingling and goosebumps ran down her arms.
“Is everything alright?” she asked her two guards. Because of the unexpected trick with lunch at the pack house she had two new guards and she had only met them that afternoon.
“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Is something bothering you?” asked one of the tall men, named Jason.
“Goosebumps, maybe it’s just getting cold,” said Laura. She didn’t want to act like a worrywart. She was going to be a lot happier when Alex got home. Distracted she let one of the men push her wheelchair into the building.
*****
“See, there she is, just like I told you,” said Roland.
“Hmm, I see what you mean by guards. Pity you couldn’t have intercepted her closer to her home,” said the sorcerer.
“I couldn’t get anywhere near the place. The local wolf pack was on some kind of run, they were all through the woods. You’re not going to get what you want if they catch me,” said Roland.
“True. But I don’t want to stay here a
ny longer than I have to. While I appreciate you’re pointing out a community of shifters for my brethren to exploit, I want Alex Marasov first. Once I have his magic, I might be willing to share.”
“She’ll be in there for two and a half hours minimum, maybe three. So we gotta get set up,” said Roland. Now that he was committed, he wanted the whole thing over with so he could get out of town. His wolf senses were telling him he’d pushed this thing as far as it could go. Like all bullies, Roland was a coward and his own skin was more important than anyone else’s. He was going to help the sorcerer and then take the woman and go. When he was done with her, he’d toss her out on the side of the road. Then it would be time to head south of the border.
*****
“You’re really coming along, Laura. Did you get the equipment I recommended installed in your gym?” JoAnne asked as she supervised Laura’s work on the weight machine.
“Sure did, everything’s just the way you said it should be. I’m looking forward to increasing my workouts. I feel much stronger now,” said Laura.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and end up with a setback. I’ve seen how you push yourself. When I agreed to be your therapist and we set up a regimen for getting you on your feet, you promised to listen to me. If you work your muscles too hard you’re going to get hurt. Are you hearing what I’m saying?” she said, looking Laura in the eyes.
“Yes and I agree with the program you set out. At the same time, you’ve seen how my healing as sped up. I know my body and I know how much I can do without hurting myself. So please work with me here. When you’re at the house, please monitor me as closely as you want, you’ll see I’m not pushing too hard,” said Laura. She was really motivated to achieve her goal of walking within another two months. And with her changeling magic she really felt it was doable. She just needed to convince JoAnne.
“I’m more than willing to accelerate your program once I’m there to oversee it. But no exercising if I’m not there. Deal?” said JoAnne.
“Deal, now can we increase the weight I’m currently lifting? I know I can do more.”
In harmony the two women worked through the remainder of the session. Laura knew when JoAnne was massaging her legs after the workout that she was right. Her muscles weren’t cramping and knotting as horribly as they did when she first started. JoAnne could see how well she was doing and would go along with her plan.
When she dressed to leave, Laura was happy JoAnne agreed to work up an accelerated program. She had a big smile on her face when she got back into the truck to go home. This day just kept getting better and better.
Tired from her long day and her hard workout, Laura dozed in the corner of the extended cab while Jason drove. The second guard, Clark, sat up front in the passenger seat. It was about a forty-five minute drive back to the house on winding mountain roads. Laura was jolted awake when the truck slammed to a halt.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, she saw a burst of red bloom on the side of Clark’s head. Jason was already shifting as he leapt from the driver’s seat. Laura was shocked to see a man step from behind a tree and zap Jason with what looked like an actual magic wand. She froze in her seat as the wizard or whoever the man was, forced Jason to shift back into his human form.
When she saw that horrible shifter, Roland, walk around a tree carrying a rifle in his hand she got pissed off. She wanted to scratch his eyes out. Then he opened the door and spoke.
“I’ve got you now, bitch. If you want to live you’ll do exactly as I say,” he said, grabbing his crotch.
It was his turn to be shocked when she changed into a tiger and attacked him. One swipe of her claws and she nearly took off his head. His jugular was severed and he was pumping blood with every beat of his heart. She could feel the air shift as he started to shift and there was no way she was going to allow him to heal himself. Clamping down on his head with her enormous jaws, she used her enormous claws to gut him even as she tore off his head.
When she was sure he was dead, she shifted into a smaller cat and slipped under the truck to see what was happening to Jason. Peeking out from behind the tire, she saw Jason unconscious on the ground. Looking up she saw what she now knew must be a Shayatin Sorcerer looking back at her.
“A changeling, that idiot wolf!” he yelled before swinging what Laura could plainly see was a short stick of some kind. She ducked back behind the tire and she could hear him maneuvering around for a new line of sight.
Deciding that magic was best fought with magic, Laura decided she needed Incanta. As she shifted in to her enormous dragon, the truck flipped over. She flashed her memories of the last few minutes through her head in case Incanta wasn’t aware of what was happening.
She and Incanta were fighting for their life. Unfortunately, the sorcerer already had magic and he had stolen Jason’s so he was strong. ‘Incanta, we must defeat this sorcerer,’ Laura cried out in her mind.
‘Do not worry, little one, I will not allow this pretender to harm our eggs!’ growled Incanta. The dragon rose up towering over the sorcerer. He aimed his wand and a blast of magic hit the dragon, attempting to siphon off her power.
Laura could feel the slow drain and fed all her energy to Incanta. The dragon rose and roared her anger at the man. While he faced her, she swung her spiked tail around and impaled him. He screamed as the razor sharp spikes drove through him. Flexing her tail, she flicked the dead body into a tree. Gathering up the unconscious Jason in one large claw, Incanta flexed her wings and leapt into the sky.
The trip over the mountain to where her house was didn’t take very long when you were a dragon. She landed on the road in front of the garage, sending a magical command the main doors opened and she walked in. Another magical command closed them behind her.
Everything suddenly became too much for Laura and she lost contact with Incanta, letting herself slip into the dark. Incanta felt the pull when Laura went to sleep. Her own energies dimmed, but Laura’s magic was strong and so Incanta as the personification of that magic had all that strength. When the sorcerer died, all the magic he had stolen left him. Incanta as a purely magical creature soaked it up, making her even more magically stronger.
Stretching her neck, she checked to see if the wolf shifter was okay. Then curled herself into ball protectively around the life forces resting inside her. At the same time she sent out a telepathic call to Alex letting him know his mate needed him.
*****
Frieda stayed behind at the pack house after lunch. She was spending time with Mara teaching her about her magic. Frieda believed Mara was closer to the changeling bloodline than most shifters. It was why her magic was stronger than others, and she was the Priestess of the Lady for the region. She had never had proper training and didn’t know all she should about her power. Frieda had taken it upon herself to make up for the lack.
While the women were working, the wolves were patrolling. Marc Hunter, the alpha, was in temporary charge of the territory with both Marshall and Alex out of town handling an emergency in Canada. Taking his duties seriously, he had extended the patrol perimeter around the changeling’s house. Hours later, one of the perimeter guards came running back frothing at the mouth.
Shifting, he bent over hands on his knees to catch his breath. “I scented the rogue, Roland Gantry, on the hill opposite the changeling’s house. The scent was strong, he’s been watching her,” he panted.
Marc stood up fast. “Shit! I want four guards to intercept Laura; she should be heading back home about now. Then let’s get a hunting party together to find this asshole once and for all. He’s dead meat!”
The wolves jump to follow the command. The entire shifter community knew the value of having the changeling here; they weren’t going to let anything happen to her! About twenty minutes later half the pack was combing the woods while a large group of enforcers sped to meet up with the changeling and put her under their protection. With their heads to the ground, they missed the dragon flying swi
ftly over their heads; it was just a shadow passing over, like a cloud.
When they came upon the two wrecked cars and three dead bodies, they went into a panic. The changeling wasn’t there but they could read the carnage at the scene all too well.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As Alex and Marshall were returning home, they came upon the crumpled cars and dead bodies in the road. The local sheriff, a bobcat shifter, was going over the scene while his two deputies took care of any traffic that came along. Wanting to know what was going on, Marshall stopped his car and waited for a deputy to come to him. Currently there were no other vehicles waiting to pass.
“Sam, what happened here?” asked Marshall.
The deputy paled when he saw the two alphas sitting in the car. They still hadn’t located his mate and he wasn’t looking forward to giving them the news.
“What we’ve been able to discover is two or more men created an ambush for Alpha Laura…”
Before he could continue, Alex yelled in anguish and jumped out of the vehicle. He quickly stripped off his clothes so he could shift into his bear. He knew in his bear form that he would have a better chance of scenting her, especially if she had been taken through the woods.
At a signal from Marshall, the deputy continued speaking fast, “We found three bodies, the first was one of her guards, he’d been shot in the head. The other two were attackers and they both show signs of being killed by large animals. The second guard and Alpha Laura are missing.”
At this point, the sheriff, having spotted them, came over. “Alphas, the two men killed here were the only attackers. One of them was the rogue, Roland Gantry. We can’t scent any others here. Just in case, we’re combing the woods all around. My understanding is Frieda, the older changeling, is performing some kind of locator spell to find Alpha Laura. The second guard, Jason, is also missing. Our current theory is he is protecting the Alpha,” explained the sheriff.
