Chapter 16
“Where did they go?” I ask, scanning the shop.
“Did he take her outside to shift?” Draven turns on his heel and races out the door of the back room.
There’s a muffled oof as I follow close behind, only to find him tangled up in climbing gear on the floor. “You can’t run through here the way it is. It’s a hazard.”
“I don’t want to miss her shifting for the first time.” Draven shoves at the ropes around his ankles.
“Well, this isn’t how you get a front row seat,” Raven snickers. “Let me help you.”
We untangle the cords around him and pull him out of the mess before making our way out of the shop and into the clearing. Pan stands with his back to us, arms folded over his chest as he watches a struggling Kira shake like a leaf.
“I don’t know if I can do this without an alpha,” Kira says.
“I’m here.” Greyson jogs over to where Kira is standing. “I have helped many pups shift for the first time. I can help.”
“I’m not a pup,” she growls.
“I wasn’t calling you a pup, just explaining that I know what to do,” Greyson says patiently. “Now close your eyes and reach out to the wolf with your mind.”
“Okay. She wants to come out,” Kira says. “What do I do? I was never allowed to participate in any of this because no one sensed I had a wolf.”
“Your pack were a bunch of assholes,” I snarl.
“That may be, but we aren’t discussing pack dynamics right now.” Greyson glares over his shoulder at me.
“Sorry.” I raise my hands in surrender. “Just pisses me off.”
“Okay, you just have to metaphorically step back. If inside your mind looks like there is a cage holding her back, open the cage and let her surge forward. Don’t fight it or the shift is going to hurt like a bitch.” Greyson instructs her.
Kira’s body shakes and when she opens her eyes, there are flames burning in her irises.
She drops to her hands and knees, her bones cracking and reforming an instant later.
Fur sprouts over her arms and face, a beautiful red with golden highlights and undertones.
It’s only minutes before the wolf stands almost as tall as Greyson.
“Wow,” I whisper as she shakes out her coat and actual fire sparks off her body. “She really does have fire magic in both forms. Her wolf is an inferno.”
The wolf lowers her head to the ground sniffing before a scent must catch her attention because she’s sprinting the fifty feet between her and Draven. The flames die on her coat as she bumps Draven’s hand and takes a long breath through her snout.
“What’s she doing?” I ask.
“If I had to guess, she’s scenting her mate. I’ve never seen this happen on a first shift before.” Greyson cocks his head to the side.
Kira rubs the side of her body all along Draven’s legs and torso and rests her chin on his shoulder, inhaling a deep breath into his neck.
“Dax and Olly are going to be so jealous.” Draven laughs. “This is so fucking cool. You’re so beautiful, baby.”
Kira’s wolf yips and spins around. Flames curl up around her, dancing along her fur. It’s the most beautiful and deadly thing I’ve ever seen in my life and that’s one of my closest friends.
“You are going to be a force to be reckoned with when we get back to the academy.” I grin at her.
“She really is amazing.” Raven crouches next to me.
Kira’s wolf bares her teeth, snarling at her as she holds her hand out for the wolf to sniff.
“Raven, I wouldn’t get too close. She’s going to be territorial over Draven because she scent-marked him,” Greyson says.
He walks over and puts a hand on Raven’s shoulder. A rumble sounds in his chest as he stares down at the wolf a few feet away. Kira whines and bares her neck to him.
“Does that mean you’re more dominant?” I ask.
“Not by a long shot, but I just staked a claim on my mate which she is acknowledging with her submission.” Greyson squeezes Raven’s shoulder. “She is more powerful than me even juiced up and gods touched.”
“So she really will be the catalyst in the shifter war,” Draven breathes.
“Sorry, man. Looks like you guys aren’t going to get much of a break.” I crouch next to Raven. “Kira, if you can hear me, we need to go to the mountain. Can you shift back?”
The wolf snarls and shakes her head. I don’t blame her. She didn’t get to stretch her legs at all. I wouldn’t be too happy about it either.
“How about this? If you can keep the flames contained to a minimum, you can help us track a route through the forest to Mt. Etna.”
The wolf yips and turns but sparks fly around her as she twirls.
“That’s not exactly keeping the fire contained, Kira.” I laugh.
Kira whines again, then turns more slowly to the forest. She turns her head to us and barks. I guess that will have to do since she’s not shifting back and she contained the flames.
“Bye, Pan. Thank you for the warning. We’ll try to steer clear, but I have a feeling that Olympian is in exactly the place we need to be.”
“You are probably right.” Pan pats my shoulder. “Stay as safe as you can, and I will see you all soon.”
Kira huffs and picks up her pace, so I have to jog to catch up with her. She’s fast in this form. I just hope the wind through her fur isn’t going to ignite the forest in her haste.
“Kira, your nose might not be very good yet so maybe slow down so we can try to navigate until you can get a hold of your senses,” Greyson calls out to her.
Kira whimpers and stops in her tracks, turning a pleading gaze on Greyson who laughs.
“We’re on an important mission. Your human is needed on this one. Once this is all over, we can go for a run at the academy together,” Greyson says.
Kira yips and starts to change. Draven rushes forward with her pack and blocks everyone’s view of her and digs through the bag, handing her clothes and her boots.
“She let me shift back. She wasn’t happy about it but understood what’s needed, I guess.” Kira bounces on the balls of her feet.
“I promised her a run,” Greyson says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I know. I could hear and see everything. I was just a passenger, though. I didn’t have control over anything.”
“You’ll learn to trust each other with control.” Greyson waves us forward.
We wander the forest for hours before I let out a growl of frustration. “We’re going in circles. I’ve seen that big rock three times. What in Hades is happening?”
“There’s something I can’t get past scent wise. It’s like sulfur and fire. I can’t pick up a trail and there are no landmarks when trudging through the forest.”
“I need to get to higher ground. You think that one could hold my weight?” I ask Raven, pointing at the fir tree.
“It’s possible.” Raven cranes her neck to glimpse the top of the tree. “Do you think that’s wise, though?”
“Probably not but if Draven stands below me, magic at the ready in case I fall, it would be preferred.” I shrug my pack off my shoulders.
“Why you? I’m an excellent climber,” Greyson says.
“I’m not risking you all.” I plant my feet in front of the tree.
“But you’ll risk yourself?” Raven glares at me.
“My mission, my risk, Raven. Just like always. Draven caught both me and Kira last time. He can catch just me no problem if I fall.” I grip a branch just above my head and haul myself up, swinging my body so I can grip the next branch.
“Beth, this is crazy. Greyson knows how to climb. Just let him do it.” Raven shouts but I’m halfway up the tree already.
“I’m already up here. We don’t even know if the upper branches will hold me let alone two hundred and fifty pounds of built like a tank shifter. I’ve got this.” I keep climbing as several curses fill the silence of the forest.
“Not helping,” Kira sings. “They are about to send Draven up with magic to extract you from the tree.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ve got this.” I glare down at them.
“You guys,” Kira says. “You’re just delaying the inevitable and distracting her. She’s going to do it whether we like it or not so might as well stop harassing her.”
“I agree with Kira. I’m almost there and if you assholes try anything, I’ll zap the shit out of all of you except Kira,” I call down to them.
“Fine,” Raven shouts, throwing her hands up.
I climb the rest of the way up. As soon as I am above the rest of the trees, I smell what Greyson smelled before that was keeping us from navigating toward anything.
Sulfur and flames. The air is thick with an oppressive dry heat that shouldn’t be present in Montana. Something is terribly wrong here.
I spin around until the mountain looms in the short distance and glance down at my friends in horror, pointing to the east. Etna is billowing oppressive black smoke into the sky.
“Fuck,” I shout.
I scramble back down the tree as quickly as possible, breathing heavily when I get back to the ground. I glance at the others’ horror as I point to the east.
“What is it?” Raven asks. “What did you see?”
“We have to move faster.” I heave in a breath. “I found out why you can’t smell anything but sulfur and fire.”
“Why? What did you see?” Greyson asks.
“Mt. Etna is going to erupt. The forge will be impassable to us if that happens, and the world will end.”
“Let’s go.” Kira spins on her heel and stomps the direction of the volcano. “I’m going to stop this. Those assholes don’t get to ruin my dad’s main forge on earth. That’s not happening.”
“No, it’s not but we can’t go in their fire blazing, Kira. Remember what Pan said about traps. We have to be smart about this.” I race in front of her, putting my hands out, but her wolf is close to the surface, her eyes blazing with flames.
“Move,” Kira snarls. “I won’t let them do this.”
“Greyson, I need your help for this. Her wolf is in control,” I say as calm as I can manage even as my hands tremble facing off with the fire beast who deep down is my friend.
“Kira, you need to pull her back. I know you’re angry, but this is just wasting time. Beth is right. It’s suicide going in without a plan of attack or even knowing what we’re up against here.” Greyson bends forward, locking gazes with her. “Stand down, wolf.”
“No,” she snarls.