by Lia Violet
“Medics for Devon will be here in about ten minutes. We are working on him,” one of them scowled. “Though I’d rather work on Devon.”
“Get the necklace!” the man kept shouting.
They helped Devon sit on a lawn chair at the Alpha’s residence, waiting for medics.
Renee got scissors and bandages from the medics and cut open the side seam of his pants.
He was gripping the arm handles of the chair.
“Did you call his mate? His family?” Renee asked Mark.
“She’ll just worry. I’ll be fine,” Devon was saying.
Mark nodded at her and moved to the end of the porch, pulling out his phone.
It looked like a graze wound, but it was deep, and bleeding a lot. Renee wrapped bandages around his thigh, tightly, and put pressure on the wound with her hands. She felt warmth again.
Devon closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them, and looked at her. “That feels much better. Thank you.”
Mark rejoined them. “Eliana is on her way. She’ll call your family.”
“They’ll go crazy,” Devon said.
Mark grinned. “That’s their job, man. You did yours tonight, let people fuss over you.”
Renee blinked and looked at the wound. The blood soaked through the bandages, but she felt that it was slowing. She didn’t know how she could feel that, but she could.
“That was fast,” Mark said, watching as a young woman came sprinting up to the cabin from the side.
“Devon!”
“I’ll be fine, honey, don’t worry.”
“You’re having a baby,” Renee said.
The woman stopped short at Devon’s side, and looked at her. “I don’t think so. I mean, maybe, but how would you know that?”
“I’m pretty sure she just stopped the bleeding on my leg, too.”
“It nicked your femoral artery,” Renee said calmly. “I’m a nurse. And I don’t know how I know you’re pregnant. I can kind of see it.”
“Yeah, but that’s not how you healed it. She helped me earlier.” Mark moved a chair over for Eliana as Devon made the introductions then another for Renee, pushing her gently into it.
“A baby?” Devon smiled. “What a night.”
Renee woke sometime later, and realized she was on a couch, covered by a blanket.
“You awake?” The low voice came from next to her, where she realized Mark was sleeping in a recliner. “We’re at my dad’s. He was still worried about your safety.”
“How’s Devon? Did I pass out?’
She could see his smile in the semi darkness. “Sort of. The medics said you were asleep. I took off the necklace just in case, and put it in the safe. I don’t know what that damn thing does, but it’s going right back into the case at the historical center.”
“I think I was able to do some healing with it. You should test it on other people.”
“No. It’s you. I can carry you to a bed, if you’d be more comfortable.”
“What time is it? I appreciate that, but your arm…?”
“I shifted a while ago, and am completely better now. It helps with the process. Have you ever shifted?”
“Shifted? I just learned I’m part wolf recently, remember? And, I may want to go to a hotel.”
“I don’t blame you, but there’s going to be a lot of attention on you now, and it’s safest for you here. And… I want you here.”
She didn’t need a necklace to feel the warmth between them. “Okay, I’d like that. How is Craig?”
“Also here. My dad had the medics tranq him a bit. He was so angry. We thought he might hurt his father.”
“He’s a healer. I could feel it.”
“Well his dad was ranting about seeing you in a vision, and that Craig was supposed to be Alpha, not a Healer who wore himself out.”
“What vision?”
“It’s late.” Mark shifted under his blanket.
“Am I going to die?” Renee sat up.
“No, shh, sorry, not a bad vision, exactly, and who even knows if what he said was true.” Mark stood up and nudged her over on the couch, sitting behind her. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Craig’s father placed you for adoption. You’re Craig’s twin. After your birth mother died, he didn’t want another healer in his life. None of us knew. The records show that a twin died during childbirth along with the mother.”
“Craig’s my twin? My birth mother’s name was Dawn Tso on the certificate. Isn’t his name Alvarez? Oh wait – her maiden name, right?” Renee could barely hold on to one of the thoughts going through her head. “What was the vision? I can handle it.”
Mark’s breath on her neck was causing her to shiver, in a not unpleasant way. “He said you and I were mated, and running the pack as Alphas. He wanted Craig to be Alpha.”
“Doesn’t your dad have to die for us to be Alphas?”
“Not in today’s world. He can retire. He’s been talking about it. But I notice you are not saying anything about the mating part.”
She felt a soft kiss on the back of her neck.
“How does it work?”
“Work? The actual physical joining?”
She could feel herself blushing. “I’m guessing sex, but is there anything else to it?”
“Do you feel it already, Renee? I felt it when we kissed. I think I even felt it when I met you in the library. I just didn’t realize what it was. I didn’t know if I would ever find a mate. There is a very good chance that my father and I would have decided to make Craig Alpha if he found his mate first, so there would be descendants. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I took a picture of your ID when you went to the copier at the library.”
“Kind of stalkeresque, don’t you think?” She leaned back against him, then thought of something. “Why did he shoot me? I mean, I was his daughter.”
“My father thinks he never felt like he fit in. Everyone like Dawn, was always going to the house to get her help or her advice. He thought if he got rid of the girl, you, it wouldn’t happen again.” He kissed her temple. “It’s all okay now, sweetheart.”
Renee loved hearing that word from him. “I have some loose ends to clear up at home.”
Now he tensed. “Do you mean another guy?”
“Not exactly. I ended things with my fiance three months ago and he keeps wanting to meet and get back together.”
“Why did you end it?”
“It felt wrong. I don’t know what else to say. He’s a nice guy, but he wasn’t for me.”
“Who is right for you, Renee?”
She turned in his arms and kissed him.
Epilogue
“This is familiar,” Renee said, walking into the visitor center and seeing Mark at the main desk.
He strode up to her and pulled her into his arms for a long kiss.
Her head swam a bit by the time he raised his lips, and she realized there were a few people around, smiling at them. “I didn’t get that nice welcome two months ago,” she whispered.
He smiled. “There are a few people around for the ceremony tonight. I was hoping you would have come earlier this week.”
“I know. I couldn’t leave them shorthanded. I agreed to stay through my shift Thursday.” Renee was ready for a fresh start and agreed to move here to explore the connection she had with Mark. “I have an interview at Crescent View Health Center next week.”
“I’m sure they could use you. We are losing more of our human Navajo every day. We’ve tried donating shifter blood, but many of the humans’ bodies can’t accept it while they are fighting the flu. I am working on something else that may work, though…” He stopped, and pulled her in for another kiss, though a shorter one. “I can tell you all about it later. Let me help you with your bags.”
She followed him through the clearing she remembered from her memorable visit two months before. “How is Craig? We talked a few times, but I didn’t want to push him.”
“We don’t see much of
him. He works at a local veterinary hospital, but he also is talking about going to visit another shifter pack in another part of the country. Too many memories here for him, I think.” Mark headed towards a separate group of homes.
Renee wondered where she was staying this time. She hoped it was with Mark. He’d come to visit her briefly a few times since she returned home, and met her family, but they had yet to spend the night together.
“Ah.” He seemed to read her thoughts. “I was thinking you’d stay with me. I have a guest room. I’m not expecting anything.”
She kissed him, moving first to kiss the little furrow between his dark eyebrows. “That sounds good. My things are mostly in my parents’ garage. I want to find a home near here.”
“Very near,” Mark said under his breath, though she caught it.
She stepped into his home as he keyed in the alarm. It was spacious, with comfortable soft blue sofas with bright blankets and a large fireplace that also opened into the kitchen behind it.
He was gazing at her, an odd expression on his face. Then he shook his head. “I think I’ve dreamt that you were here, with me.” A slow smile lit up his face. “But not in this room.”
“What?” She went and took his hand, feeling the need to touch him.
“You were wearing the jewelry.”
“I thought it was in your father’s safe?” She recognized the look spreading across his handsome face from their all too brief make out sessions over the long, past two months, while she prepared to come down here and join him. “Mark?”
“Just the jewelry.”
She could feel herself heating up. “Maybe that could be arranged.”
“After we are mated.”
She was tired of hearing those words from him, having heard them each time she saw him over the last two months. “Why are we waiting again? I believe we have something between us. I want to explore it. I moved down here, didn’t I?”
“I don’t think you really understand the connection yet. But you will.”
Mark took her to Panera, which reminded her of their first kiss. They made it back in time to get ready for the ceremony.
“Are you wearing sweats?” She purchased a lightweight dress for the occasion, worrying a little about meeting many of the pack members as Mark’s girlfriend.
“I have to be able to shift, remember? I need things that come off easily. You may want to do the same.”
“Oh really?” She thought he was making a sexy comment, but his dark eyes looked serious. “Why?”
“My father had a vision.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“Tell me.” She reached for his hand.
“That you shifted.”
She felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach. “I’m not sure that’s possible. I signed up for an online course through the Navajo Native American Research Center for Health, and they said after twenty one, there’s only like a 4% chance that I will have my first shift.”
“Was it taught by a shifter?” He turned her around gently before moving to put on the necklace.
“No, I don’t think so.”
He snorted. “I suspect they don’t really know.” He put the necklace on, then kissed her nape under her hairline. “I will be there.”
“Thank you all for coming tonight, even if it is a short ceremony and we are spread apart. Our last ceremony had to be canceled and it is good to be together again. Thank you to Adele for providing us with that beautiful song this evening.”
“Hey.” Craig sat six feet from her and waved.
She marveled again that she had a twin, and wondered why he was there.
Mark stood up, expressing gratitude for the pack members’ health and adding a prayer for their Native American human kin. “We will now prepare to shift as our moon calls to us.”
She could feel the eyes of the Alpha on her. She stood and stretched, a bit stiff after sitting on the ground. She heard a buzzing, thinking the sound system for the ceremony was not working. She saw Craig take a step towards her as she dropped to her knees – and shifted.
The terrible pain gave way to sensation. She could hear her own breath, and was able to pick out everyone else’s around her, too.
“Alpha!” She heard Craig yell. Then he dropped next to her, and she watched as fur and paws emerged. His fur was the same luminescent black she could see on her own paws.
A large, grey wolf stopped in front of her before he was nudged aside by a brown wolf. She knew those eyes. Mark.
He lowered his face to hers, rubbing against her. She could hear growls and howls around her in the beautiful light of the moon.
She could smell him distinctly from his father and from Craig. He lowered his head in front of her. She knew he was her mate. She could almost see the connection in this form.
Alpha turned to run, and she and the others followed. She saw some eagle shifters, some deer and other animals, and it all felt as if they were together, a family, a pack. Her pack.
She didn’t know how long they ran. She felt so alive, so free. The urge to run was powerful, but she was tiring quickly.
When they returned, she saw some of the group shifting back. She paused, watching as Mark’s limbs and muscles returned. He stroked over her fur, dropping next to her.
“You can do it, my Renee. My wolf mate. Return to me.”
She felt the pull, but couldn’t quite reach the change she felt she needed. The Alpha came next to her and put his hands on her head next to Mark’s. Then Craig appeared in front of her and added his hand.
A moment later, Mark was covering her with a blanket and helping her rise.
“Mate ceremonies during the Full Moon festival are lucky.” Alpha was saying.
“Come on. She’s been through enough tonight, don’t you think?”
Renee realized she was wearing the jewelry still as Mark set her down next to her partially ripped dress. “What happens in a mate ceremony?” She asked while slipping her dress back on, trying to hold on to the blanket while dressing.
“It’s like a marriage ceremony. Alpha declares you mates in front of the pack. Then-“ Craig looked embarrassed. “Well, honeymoon time.”
“Let’s do it.” She said, surprising the men into laughter.
Mark pulled her close for a kiss.
“It is my profound pleasure to welcome you to our pack, Renee, and to my family.” The Alpha’s words were drowned out by cheers and calls as Mark picked her up and spun her around for a kiss.
He ran towards his cabin, stopping as Craig held the door open.
“I’ll stay in your yard, make sure no one bothers you.” He said. “Congratulations.”
“Craig?” She asked, looking at him. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
He smiled. “Sure, sis. I had a feeling something was going to happen. Thought you might need help.” He hurried down to the end of Mark’s walkway, moving to sit on the ground.
“There are lots of shenanigans that go on during mating nights. He’s not wrong. Sometimes our area is a little too much like a camp.”
She laughed then kissed him. “We could have another ceremony with my family, couldn’t we?”
“Of course.” Mark didn’t put her down until he set her in his large bed. The moonlight streamed into the windows as they kissed and explored.
Renee was pulled into the heady sensations of lovemaking with her mate, feeling pleasure and delight she’d felt with no one else. When he stretched his big body over hers, she was more than ready. The sharp pain of his teeth near her collarbone melted away in the intense feelings of love and pleasure.
Later, as they lay in the moonlight, Mark kissed the bite mark, nudging the jewelry she still wore aside. Then he paused. “It’s a Naja mark.”
“What?”
“True mates have marks showing their bond. Yours looks like a Naja pendant shape over your heart.”
She pushed him onto his back so she could search his soft skin and found his mark over his
heart. She brushed a kiss over the symbol before he gathered her in his arms.
Craig will find his mate in Wolf Twin, a story in the New Year of Dreams anthology.
About Lia Violet
Lia Violet is the pseudonym for an author of a bestselling Amazon mystery series with recipes who enjoys heat in and out of the kitchen. She writes humorous, sexy stories, especially ones with hot shifters. Enjoy book reviews at https://www.facebook.com/QuickieRomanceReviews/ or find her on Twitter @LiaVioletAuthor.
www.liaviolet.com
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Other Stories by Lia Violet
Wolf Healer
“Wolf Twin” story in The New Year of Dreams Anthology
Seasons of Three series
Three Hearts
Summer Heat
Autumn Fever
Winter Blaze
The Seasons of Three Collection
Cougartown & Hot Hearts Café
Cougartales (prequel to Hot Hearts Café series)
Bearly Married
Bearly Festive
Sweet Hearts
Shifted Hearts
Spooky Hearts
Foolish Hearts (by Ginger Leone)
Rockin’ Hearts
“Delicious Hearts” story in Dangerous Curves Ahead collection
Merry Buns
Magical Holiday Fruitcake Rolls by Trinity Blacio
The Cupid Competition
Raffle of the Heart by Trinity Blacio
“The Cupid Crush” story in the A Valentine’s Book Coupling
Lucky Hearts
Bites & Bows
Full Moon Werewolves
Wolf Training (Prequel)
Full Moon Dangers
Full Moon Shimmer
Full Moon Foretold
Full Moon Everlasting
Royal Wishes (Coming January 2021)
Off-screen Heat (Grandmas Need Loving, Too and Full Moon Werewolves series)
Thankful for Fame (Grandmas Need Loving, Too and Full Moon Werewolves)
A Shot at the Moon
