Pops and cracks sounded, she began to shift. A moment later she stood as her wolf, auburn fur blowing in the breeze while she sniffed out the trail. Then, she shot off in pursuit.
“That was the first good look I’ve had at one of you shifting, it seems unpleasant,” Jen said quietly, staring off at Kris’s running form.
Ian chuckled. “It’s not that bad, sounds worse than it is. Well, best be on our way.”
We made camp at the same site we had used on our way up. Ian tended to the fire before walking off to shift and hunt, leaving Jen and I free to spend some time together in the tent.
Night fell quickly, bringing with it a light flurry of snow. Jen sidled up to me beside the fire to keep warm as we ate another hot meal of venison.
“I was never that big on camping before, but it’s not all bad.” She smiled into the flames as she nestled up closer to me.
Ian’s words came around a mouthful of deer. “That’s a good thing, particularly as an alpha’s mate. You’ll be making this hike fairly often, whenever Liam is needed on the reservation.”
I sighed; in the freedom of being able to be with her, I had forgotten that I was obligated to be involved in clan matters now.
“I never thought of that, how often is often?” Jen looked at Ian, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Every few weeks, probably.” Ian laughed at her flat stare.
“What did I get myself into,” she said, shaking her head.
“Paradise?” I supplied, grinning down at her and earning a punch to my side before she laughed and hugged me tightly.
When Jen and I retired to the tent for the night, Ian surprised me by not giving me a hard time about it. Mostly.
“Don’t let her tame you too much lad,” he said, grinning and walking off to make his own camp.
Out of earshot.
Morning came and went and we soon found ourselves within sight of the gym. Jen retrieved her things while I got Kristen’s and we brought everything to her car.
“My luggage!” Jen saw the bags and excitement radiated from her. “I forgot these were here! I’m going back in to shower and change out of these.” She gestured to her now dirty sweat suit. Four day’s worth of hiking up and back hadn’t been kind to them.
A short time later, a clean and irritated Jen emerged from the entrance. She still wore the gym’s clothes. “I forgot I’ve been having a growth spurt. None of my clothes fit any more,” she sighed and pouted.
“I’m sure Kris will love to help you fix that problem.” I smiled at the thought. The only thing she liked as much as dressing herself was dressing others.
“Do you think she’ll be back soon?” Jen asked, concerned.
“Maybe, it depends on how far Troy went and how long their ‘talk’ will be. She could be back by tonight or tomorrow.” I shrugged. Kristen would get here when she got here.
For some reason... I still felt some unease.
As we got into the car I had a moment of entertainment as I watched Ian struggling with the seat belt in the back seat. Remembering my own first experience in a car, I looked on in amusement as we drove off, catching the flash of panic across his features.
Laughing, I adjusted my seat and sat back comfortably. Watching Ian interact in the human world was going to be hilarious.
Chapter Thirteen
Jen
“Answer, damn it.” The call went to an answering machine and I hung up in frustration.
“Still no answer?” Liam sat at the table beside me.
“No, it went to her answering machine again.” I was getting very worried, we’d been home three days and still no sign of Kristen.
“I need to go follow her trail, it is well past time for her to have returned.” Liam was frowning, lines of worry creasing his face.
Ian stood up from his seat across from me at the table. “If you’ve decided, then let’s go. No sense in wasting daylight.” He gestured for us stand as well.
“I’ll drive you both back to the gym, then come back here in case she calls.” Putting on a heavy jacket to stave off the cold, I grabbed my keys and stepped out into the white wonderland that the town had become in the past day.
Winter in New Hampshire had arrived.
The last few days had deteriorated from bliss to a tense frustration as Kristen’s absence drew on. Ian had kept an eye on her place for any sign, but to no avail. Liam and I had even driven to Troy’s house, but it had appeared empty.
Now, as our worry reached the breaking point, it was time to search for her. The snow would make it far more difficult, but if there was a trail Ian would find it.
The ride to the gym was somber, each of us lost in our own thoughts and worries. The trip seemed to take far longer than usual. Traffic was slow and every light was red, as they always are when you’re in a hurry. Eventually, I stopped in front of the gym’s front doors to let Liam and Ian out.
“Be safe,” I said to Liam as he undid his seat belt and left the car.
He walked around to stand beside my door, leaning in, kissing me tenderly. “I will. We will return as fast as we are able.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” I smiled back up at him.
He walked over to stand beside Ian as I drove off, both waving before turning to enter the building.
The ride home was far quicker, as these things usually are, and before long I was sitting on my couch and flipping through the channels on the TV. Both my cell phone and house phone were within easy reach in case Kris tried to call.
Hours passed by, night fell, and still nothing. I couldn’t find anything to watch that managed to hold my attention. I grew more and more frustrated as the night wore on.
A low thud came from somewhere in my apartment and I realized with a start that I had fallen asleep on the couch. The television was now running an infomercial on some lame thing or other.
Trying to figure out what woke me or whether or not I had just imagined it, I caught the faint sound of fabric rubbing against itself. “Liam? Are you already back?” The rustling stopped but there was no reply. Coming fully awake I stood quickly and whirled, unsure what to expect.
Troy stood in the flickering half shadows thrown by the television. His eyes were wide, frantic, as he stood straight and smiled weakly.
“Troy? What the hell are you...”
He began talking right over me, not even hearing my words, maybe not even seeing me at all. “You understand, right? Had to... I had to.” He was fidgeting where he stood, speaking quietly as if he were talking to himself. “It’s all her fault. HER FAULT!” Spittle flew from his lips as he ranted.
“Troy?” I asked weakly, trying to get a read on him as I stepped slowly away, but it was no use. Trying to read him was like trying to read a book someone had put through a blender, all disjointed and chaotic.
Insane.
He finally noticed me, going through a terrifyingly quick change. Suddenly, he was standing confidently, full of his old arrogant swagger. “Jen, nice to see you here.” His grin was dark below his wild eyes. “No Liam?”
“He’ll be back soon, he just stepped out for air.” I cursed my lack of imagination, it had been a lame thing to say and Troy shook his head, expression never changing.
“Poor thing, couldn’t handle his execution could you. Made you crazy. That’s all right, you’re free to pursue others now and, as it happens, I am a free agent.” He smiled at me, a baring of his teeth. “We’ll be perfect together.”
“Troy, I’m spoken for,” I said gently as I continued to slowly back away, watching him warily. “What happened to...” The rest of my question was lost as he leapt at me.
“We’ll be perfect together!” he screamed at me, inches from my face. I felt his hands at my throat and struggled to break his hold as stars began to dance in my vision. Insanity had given him an unexpected strength.
“Perfect,” he whispered into my ear.
Chapter Fourtee
n
Liam
Stepping out behind the gym and into the snow, I had to admit, to myself at least, that it was a too cold to be standing here naked. Embracing the wolf aspect of my being, I closed my eyes and began to shift.
It felt fantastic to stretch out, it had been days since I had run as the wolf. When the final itchiness of my fur growing in receded I threw my head back and let out a howl, loud and strong.
I was on the hunt.
Opening my eyes, I turned to see if Ian was ready to begin and found him still in human form, staring up at me.
Staring up at me.
“Lad, you uh, might want to keep the howls to a minimum.” His voice was weak, eyes wide as he watched me warily. A cacophony of car alarms sounded from the parking lot in front of the gym, and beyond.
Looking down at Ian, I guessed that the top of his head would be just beneath my shoulders.
I was a Prime.
“So this is why bonding a human is forbidden.” Ian’s voice was hushed, awed.
We needed to move, there would be time enough to find out what this body could do later. I turned back to the trail and began to run up it but was stopped almost immediately at Ian’s yell.
“You need to stay off the trail, if anyone sees you...” He gestured at me, not needing to finish. “I’ll go ahead on the trail to where she caught his scent and give a howl for you to follow. Stay out of sight.” He looked me up and down and sighed, “If it’s even possible.”
The sound of his shift came to me as I left the beaten path and thanked the heavy snowfall. If I was lucky it would be able to cover my tracks so that nobody would realize what they were.
I paralleled the trail that Ian ran on but struggled to keep up. Even though I would likely be able to run far faster than anything else, I was much too large to go between most groupings of trees.
Going around them ate up a lot of time.
We were still moving far more quickly than was possible in our human forms. In less than three hours we had made it back to Troy’s trail. It had taken over a day and a half as humans to cover that same hike.
Ian’s howl reached me and I charged off in his direction, meeting up with him as he followed the scents of Troy and Kris. To my surprise I could smell it clearly as well; the scent was sharp, distinct, easily identifiable even after several days of rain and snow.
Night had long since settled around us as we continued to follow the trail. Even in the near whiteout conditions I was able to see clearly, making out every detail far into the distance.
Even still, Ian’s help was invaluable. I was too large now to be able to follow the scents directly as they wove over, under, around, and through spaces I couldn't fit in. Ian would pass through the obstacles quickly as I went around and caught up with him.
It was late in the night, closer to being early morning, before we came to the first sign. My heart sank. Kristen had caught up with Troy here... and they had fought. The scent of old blood led off in two directions, the more severe of them being Kristen’s.
Ian looked to me before charging off along her trail with renewed energy.
Hours later we came to the end of her trail, the morning light showing a small hollow near a stream, and found her barely clinging to life. Shifting quickly, Ian and I went to her side and examined the wounds, seeing her chest rising and falling as she breathed shallow breaths. She was still warm, the hollow had sheltered her from the worst of the storm and her fur was thick, but the loss of blood had taken its toll.
“This is bad.” Ian looked her over; the injuries were minor for the most part, but when all were added together it was dangerous. There was also a deep wound on her stomach that would prevent her from shifting back to her human form for quite some time.
Stretching out gut wounds was almost always fatal.
“We have to get her to the doctor,” I said. Her eye cracked open at the sound of my voice and she whimpered in pain. The naturally powerful healing of being a shifter had kept her alive, but wouldn’t be able to for much longer.
Placing a hand on her fur I turned to Ian. “I’ll shift. I need you to pick her up and get on me, I’ll run while you keep her warm and secure.”
Ian nodded slowly before sighing. He picked Kris up gently as I shifted. Laying down, I waited for Ian to get settled on me with Kristen pressed between his chest and my back.
I couldn’t even feel their combined weight as I stood. Testing the air I turned slowly, unsure as to the fastest route to take to get to a shifter doctor.
“That way,” Ian said, leaning forward and pointing off to my side.
Slowly at first, but quickly building speed, I tore off in the indicated direction. I still had to maneuver around obstacles but now that I wasn’t following a specific trail I was able to move much more quickly than before.
Ian clung to my fur while my sister clung to life.
And I clung to hope.
END OF BOOK TWO
Book three coming soon!
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About the Author
Sonja Morelle is an avid reader who decided enough was enough and it was time to start contributing.
When her nose isn't buried in a book she's just as likely to be off on some adventure. Visiting jungles and deserts in South America, being snowed in during a Canadian winter, or visiting any of the iconic American cities. And, always, spending time with her wonderful daughter.
As adventurous with food as she is with travel, you will never see her shying away from trying something new. You are just as likely to find her with a glass of wine, mixed drink, or even a beer with the guys.
Always one to let her imagination run away with her, it is her greatest pleasure to be able to share some of that with you all!
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Bound to the Tribe (Bound to the Pack, #2) Page 10
