by Tia Siren
As he ran up the street, he saw the car. Patrick’s blood boiled as he watched Kerri get into the car. Patrick’s hands balled into fists as the car drove away. His chest began to tighten as anger consumed him. This couldn’t be happening.
Patrick couldn’t stop thinking about Kerri in a car with that jerk. Patrick hated Jay. The moment Kerri had started dating Jay, Patrick knew he was bad news. Jay didn’t deserve her, but Kerri had been charmed by his good looks and money. Eventually, they had broken up when Kerri found out he was cheating. Patrick had defended and protected her through every step of the break-up, but now it didn’t seem like that mattered.
Patrick felt like a fool. He thought that Kerri was over her ex, but now it seemed like she was all too eager to get in his car. Patrick could feel bile fill his mouth as he thought about them together. He couldn’t stand it. It felt like someone was piercing his chest with a hot dagger, slowly carving out his heart.
As these emotions grew stronger and stronger, he could no longer control himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it back. Patrick’s eyes grew big as he felt the onslaught of a shift. He ran as quickly as he could into the nearby woods before suddenly shifting into a giant black bear.
He roared in agony as his bear lamented the loss of a potential mate. Soon he was running full speed through the woods, taking down trees in his anger. He ran until everything became numb until he could no longer remember Kerri.
Finally, fatigue hit him, and he was forced to stop. He stood in the middle of the woods, breathing hard. As he did, he thought about Kerri. He couldn’t keep her out of his mind. All he could think about was her gorgeous smile and those beautiful eyes. Why did she have to be with someone like Jay? Patrick couldn’t understand it.
He sighed and laid down, feeling saddened by the day’s events. As he did, he thought about Skye, the woman he had abandoned. He thought about the dating site he had signed up for. Patrick had tried so hard in recent years to find a mate that wasn’t Kerri. Every day his bear urged him to find a mate and every day his heart strings pulled him toward Kerri, but Patrick was scared.
He was terrified of hurting her. He was afraid of ruining their friendship. Patrick would never forgive himself if he ever caused her any harm. But, as he laid there in his bear form, there was no denying that Kerri was his true mate. She was the girl he was destined to be with. His bear roared in agreement. His bear wanted to be with her, but Patrick didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to put her in danger.
Patrick sighed heavily, wondering what to do.
Chapter 5
Meanwhile, Jay continued to drive his car. There was complete silence engulfing the space between Kerri and Jay. Kerri continued to look out the window. She refused to look at him. She didn’t want anything to do with the person who had cheated on her.
As she sat there, her mind wandered back to Patrick. She thought about him with Skye and her chest tighten. She didn’t know where these emotions were coming from. Patrick was like a brother to her. She should have been happy for him. Instead there was jealousy running through her veins, turning her into a green-eyed monster.
Kerri bit her lip. She didn’t know what to do. She knew, deep down, that no one would treat her better than Patrick. But, on the other hand, she didn’t want to risk it. Relationships had hurt her before, and she didn’t want to put her heart on the line. Inner turmoil churned inside of her like a storm. She didn’t know what to do.
All she wanted was to get out of the car. As she thought about this, she looked out the window again. They were now on the south side of the city. She looked at Jay suddenly, wondering what he was up to.
“What are you doing? You know I live on the west side.” Jay kept quiet as he suddenly took a sharp right turn into a dirt path. The whole car started to shake as it made its way over the bumpy path. Kerri looked out the window, her view filled with trees.
It seemed like he was driving into the woods. Kerri was confused. Where was he taking her? Fear started to creep its way under Kerri’s skin. She looked over at Jay and saw something sinister in his yellow eyes.
“Jay. Stop the car.” She said, softly, her voice wavering with fear. She tried to open up the door, but it was locked. She was trapped. Her face grew pale as her fear intensified. She gulped and started to tremble. Maybe this was all some sort of nightmare. She tried to keep calm, but she could feel herself shake.
Suddenly, the car stopped. Wolves. So many wolves. All around the car.
Kerri stared out the window shaking with fear. She had never seen so many wolves before. She knew they were common in the woods surrounding Gloster, but she never expected to find a whole pack of them.
She watched as the wolves formed a neat circle around the car. She suddenly claustrophobic trapped as she looked around and all she saw was wolves. Her heart was beating a mile a minute.
Kerri, in her fear, didn’t even notice Jay getting out of the car. Suddenly, her door opened, and she was dragged out of the car. She tried to protest, but Jay’s grip was too strong. She couldn’t get away. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, but he had no sympathy. His face was cold and emotionless as he dragged her to the center of the circle.
At this point, Kerri was overcome with fear. She no longer had any control of her body. It seemed like all of her limbs weighed a ton. She quivered as Jay let go of her.
Kerri could do nothing but stand, helpless, in the middle of the circle. She wrapped her arms around her torso, trying to calm down, but it was no use. She was frozen in place, and she couldn’t do anything to help herself. All she could do was look around at all the eyes staring at her.
She watched as the wolves started to get closer and closer to her. The circle was getting tighter now. Kerri gulped and closed her eyes, fearing they would pounce on her at any moment. She was barely conscious of the fact that Jay was still by her side.
“Well, well, babe, I am sure you are glad to meet all of my new friends.” Jay’s eyes flashed sinisterly as he looked down at his ex-girlfriend. She looked at him, terror in her blue eyes.
“J…J… Jay… what… what is all this?” She managed to stutter, her voice barely a whisper. This had to be some kind of nightmare. This couldn’t be real.
“Well, you see… I don’t take kindly to girls like you dumping me. You were the first girl ever to dump me.” Jay circled the defenseless girl now, like a predator circling his prey.
“I am Jerimiah Lane. I am the richest boy in this town. My father owns Lane Industries. Lane Industries. I could give you anything.” He snarled, angry now. Kerri looked up at him, her face pale as these words were spit at her. “What gave you the right to dump me?” There was venom in his voice now as he looked down at the girl.
Kerri refused to look up at him.
“But don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you never do that again. I will make sure that you never dump anyone ever again.” There was a smirk on his face now, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Was he threatening her?
“I’m going to make you pay for everything you did to me.” Kerri looked at him with a shocked expression. She had done nothing to him. She had loved him. She had been a faithful girlfriend throughout their entire relationship. He was the one who had treated her badly. He was the one who had cheated on her. She couldn’t believe he was blaming her right now. She was about to defend herself when he beat her to it.
“But… since I am such a nice guy... I’ll give you a five-minute head start. Starting now.” Kerri looked at him confused. What did he mean? Suddenly, Jay started to shift before her. She watched as he turned into a giant white wolf. She couldn’t believe it. This was something out of a fantasy novel.
Despite this feeling of disbelief, Kerri willed herself to run. She had to get out of there and get to a place of safety. So she ran as fast as she could through the woods. Kerri, however, had never been very coordinated. She was actually quite clumsy and so as she ran through the woods she kept falling and tripping as the paranoia
of fear crept up behind her.
She kept looking back over her shoulder, looking for the wolves but saw nothing. Eventually, she was covered in cuts and bruises. She was already out of breath when she heard a howl sound through the woods. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she started to run again. Her lungs were burning, and her legs begged her to stop, but she knew she couldn’t. She could hear the sound of the pack catching up to her. She needed to run.
So she continued to run. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her but suddenly a large branch, hidden under a bed of leaves, caused her to trip. She fell hard, crying out in pain.
She tried to get up only to realize that she had twisted her ankle. She tried to put weight on it, but she only managed to fall again. She cursed under her breath, knowing she was now a sitting duck. Her heart pounded in her chest as she heard the wolves get closer and closer to her.
She closed her eyes, fearing the end.
Chapter 6
While Jay had brought her to the woods, Patrick was still in another part of the same woods lying down, trying to comb through the countless thoughts running through his mind. He didn’t know what to do with all the emotions that cartwheeled in his heart, threatening to strangle the life out of it.
Suddenly, however, he was pulled from his thoughts. He suddenly felt a sharp jab in his chest, like someone was running a dagger through his heart. He gasped, bringing a paw to his chest. What was this feeling? Inside of him, his bear roared in anguish. He had never felt something like this before. Suddenly, Kerri popped into his head.
Somehow, he knew she was in trouble. She needed his help. He got up quickly, and his instincts kicked in. Instantly, with one sniff, he knew exactly where she was. He rushed off, full speed, toward her scent. That was when he heard the wolves. Their howls reverberated through the woods. Kerri was definitely in trouble now. Patrick prayed he would reach them before they did.
Patrick continued to run as fast as he could, following Kerri’s sweet scent. He knew that scent by heart: a pleasant mixture of warm vanilla and honey. As he got closer to her, he also picked up the scent of at least twenty different wolves. Patrick started to worry, and his bear whimpered in concern. He forced himself to run faster.
***
Jay slowed down as he spotted Kerri lying on the ground, nursing her ankle. He licked his lips as he slowly got closer to her. Kerri tried to move away, but she was trapped. There was no way out of her situation. She was forced to look up into Jay’s bright yellow eyes as she softly uttered a prayer under her breath. She prayed for a quick and painless death.
Jay was so close to her now that she could smell his rotten breath. She fought back the urge to gag as he leaned forward and gently licked her cheek with his rough tongue. He was toying with her now. He circled her, instilling even more fear into her. He loved the look in her eyes, the trembling of her body, the way her teeth chattered.
He then started to walk away, and Kerri looked at him curiously. Was he letting her go? She looked at him, dumbfounded as he continued to walk away from her. She didn’t know what was going on, but she was glad for it. Suddenly, however, to her horror he started to charge toward her, with every intention of killing her. She closed her eyes and waited for death.
Instead of feeling his sharp K9s sink into her neck, however, she heard the sound of a very loud whimper. She slowly opened up her eyes to see a large black bear standing in front of her, protectively. He was growling at the various wolves that now surrounded them. She looked around and saw Jay lying on the ground, a deep gash in his side. Had this bear protected her?
Kerri looked at the bear in a state of shock. What was going on? Surely she was dreaming. She tried to pinch herself and winced in pain. This was no dream. She was about to get up and move when a fight broke out. Jay, although injured, had lunged out at the bear. The bear fought back, roaring and clawing at Jay with such violence that it shook the whole forest. It seemed like they would fight to the death.
During the fight, the bear had the upper hand, being much larger and stronger. As they fought the bear inflicted wound after wound on the wolf until finally he was reduced to a pulverized mass that ran away with his tail between his legs. The other wolves, seeing their alpha male defeated quickly followed him, disappearing into the woods.
Patrick, still in his bear form, looked around, checking for additional wolves. It seemed like the coast was clear. While he did this, Kerri looked at him. She wondered why this animal wasn’t attacking her. She wondered why he had protected her. This all felt like a weird dream, but the throbbing pain in her ankle told her it was all a harsh reality.
Finally, Patrick turned around and looked at her. The bear looked at Kerri with honey colored eyes. They were warm and inviting. All of Kerri’s fear disappeared. She suddenly felt calm and relaxed in the presence of this animal.
After a moment, Patrick turned back into a human. Kerri gasped as her whole world flipped upside down. Patrick? Kerri couldn’t believe her eyes. Patrick was the bear? This couldn’t be real. She had to be dreaming. She looked at him, completely dumbfounded. How could this be happening? How could her best friend since second grade be a bear?
“P…Patrick… how? How are you? How is this possible? What are you? What just happened? A million questions spewed out of her lips as she looked up at her friend with accusing eyes. She wanted to know what was going on, and she wanted to know now. “Why did you never tell me?” She asked harshly, anger coming to the surface of her words. “Why did you keep this from me?”
Patrick however, did not hear a word she said. He could not process anything that came out of her lips, all he could do was focus on them. A million emotions were running through his chest, but none of them were more concrete than the feelings he had for her. This girl was his true mate. The girl of his dreams. He couldn’t hold back anymore.
As Kerri spit out these questions, Patrick walked toward her. His steps were sure footed, and soon enough he closed the distance between them. Kerri, still lying on the ground looked up at him with curious eyes. What was he doing? Suddenly, he leaned down and gently picked her up, holding her bridal style in his arms.
Kerri blushed darkly when this happened. She looked at him, questions in her eyes, but she stayed silent for a moment. Patrick looked down at her beautiful face as emotion consumed him. He couldn’t help himself as he leaned down and kissed her rosy lips for the very first time. His heart beat fast as he pressed his lips to hers and they started to kiss.
At first, Kerri found herself in a state of shock. Soon enough, however, her own emotions came to the surface. Her heart swelled with happiness as she felt his rough lips press against hers. She smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him and gently kissed him back. She felt like she was floating on cloud nine.
Deep down, a part of her was still afraid of falling in love. This part of her was afraid of getting hurt. She was also scared of hurting Patrick. However, as the kiss intensified, that part of her was quickly overshadowed by all the pent up emotions that came to the surface. There was no denying, at that moment, she truly did have feelings for him.
Finally, Patrick pulled away, his face beaming with pleasure. He had finally kissed the girl of his dreams, the girl he had liked since puberty. He couldn’t believe it. There was a smile permanently etched onto his face as he looked down at her. She was blushing crimson and looked incredibly cute. He leaned down and kissed her nose gently.
He then started to walk out of the woods, carrying her. As he did, Kerri’s questions came back to haunt her. They started to swirl around her head, making her feel dizzy. She wanted to ask him all of these questions. She wanted to know all of the answers, but instead she stayed quiet. She decided to take the time to think, to get her thoughts in order. It had been a hectic day, and she needed some time to get everything straight in her mind. Kerri closed her eyes feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole thing.
&nbs
p; Chapter 7
Finally, they arrived at Kerri’s house. Patrick opened the door with Kerri’s spare key. He walked inside before gently placing Kerri on the couch, careful not to hurt her ankle. He then placed a pillow under her injured leg, elevating it. Kerri watched as he moved into the kitchen. She could hear the ice machine working as he filled up a bag with ice.
Soon he came back and gently placed the ice on her ankle. Kerri winced as he did.
“Shh… it’s alright. It’s just sprained. It’s not broken.” He told her comfortingly as he massaged it a bit, soothing the strained muscle. He then placed the ice on it again. “You’re going to be okay,” he said with a warm smile as he looked at her.
Kerri blushed a little at his compassion. He had always been so protective and thoughtful of her. She smiled at him as he sat down on the coffee table before her.
“Patrick?” Kerri’s voice was a soft whisper as she looked at her friend with large eyes. Patrick raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she wanted.
“Yes?”
“Can… can you get my teddy for me?” They both blushed but eventually he nodded before getting up and disappearing into her bedroom. A few moments later, he returned with the teddy bear and handed it to her. She hugged it tightly to her chest, nuzzling its black fur against her cheek. She gently fidgeted with its paw as she looked at Patrick, who once again sat on the coffee table.
They looked at each other for a moment, the distance between them filling with awkward silence. Finally, Kerri broke the silence, asking Patrick a million questions. He answered every one of them. Telling her all about the shifter world. He told her how some people could turn into animals and how some of these shifters worked in packs like the wolves. He even, hesitantly, told her about shifter mates and how every shifter had a mate, a person they couldn’t live without. A soul mate. Patrick didn’t tell her, however, that she was his true mate.
“Patrick?” She whispered, looking meek. She looked nervous as she tugged on the bear’s left ear. He looked up at her and tilted his head.
