Chapter Three
Shane
Day one thousand and ninety two.
As the sun rises in front of me from the east, I stay off the main highway that runs from one end of the city to the other, and open my senses to everything around me as I head deeper into the city.
Skirting through yards, ducking behind SUVs or trees when other vehicles drive by, it’s almost noon when I find myself closer to the east edge of town. This neighborhood has street signs that for some reason make me smile a bit… they are all nature themed names.
Primrose Lane. Meadow View Road. Spruce Street. Maple Avenue. Magnolia Drive. Deer Crossing Road. Drumlin Drive. Oak Street. Pine Cone Circle.
Pine Cone Circle. The green sign with white reflective lettering glistens as the sun hits it at just the right angle, again making my heart jump a double beat, and my paws are making the left turn onto the dead-end road.
Looking around, there doesn't seem to be anyone outside, and I don’t see any movement in any of the street facing windows, so I almost turn around to find a new place to wander—but I stop.
What is that smell?
Closing my eyes, I tip my head back, snout up in the air, and inhale a huge breath. Soaking in the warmest scent of vanilla with a hint of sweet sugar, I am flooded with long ago childhood memories, memories of my mom baking cookies and cakes and pies, and I need to find where it’s coming from.
Eyes open again, nose still at attention, I trace all around each house until I feel like I am swimming in heaven.
The fourth house has dark gray siding, white trim, black front and garage doors, and the front yard is full of Halloween decorations.
Skeletons, headstones filled with funny puns, spiderwebs, colored lights, and even a mummy, I feel like I’m on a spooky movie set—it’s fun, festive, and smells delicious.
But why would a yard make me want to drool and make me hungry for a cookie?
And that’s when I see her.
Mate.
I don’t know where to look first. Her aura is so strong and so bright, I don’t even need to see her face to know she is mine. As she walks out the front door, a mug of—caramel medium roast—coffee in her hand, I feel her soul calling out to mine.
And don’t even get me started on how my inner wolf is acting right now.
Ever since I met Ash, my inner wolf, the first time we shifted, he has been my calm and nurturing companion.
He has never once been afraid that we wouldn’t find our mate.
Every time I would stress and be mad at myself for failing to find her yet again, he would just say that it wasn’t our time yet or that the Goddess wasn’t ready for us to meet her.
I never understood how he could be okay with being lonely for so long, I wasn’t, but I knew deep down that we had to trust in the overall plan and wait for her to be wherever it was fated we meet her.
And, holy crap on a cracker, am I glad we did.
It’s her. Ash’s voice says loud and clear.
Staying hidden below the low lying branches of the neighbor’s pine tree, I take my first full look of my mate.
As she leans back against the front door, mug still in hand, and I start my visual journey at the bottom. From this angle I can see her from the front and right side, so I can picture almost all of her.
Black tennis shoes rest flat on the porch floor.
Dark gray skin tight leggings cover her insanely long curvy legs, and from what I can tell, a round backside that looks just the right size for my large human form hands.
A black hooded sweatshirt completes her attire, other than whatever she is hiding underneath.
I wonder if it’s lace? Could it be cotton?
Or maybe silk? Do her pretty panties match her bra?
Would she let me rip them off of her with my teeth?
I would promise to buy her all new sets…
and then proceed to shred those as well.
A man could go broke dressing her beautiful body in little bits of underthings.
Whooowee, before I get too distracted and off track, I need to finish my first look.
Golden blonde hair the color of wheat, with a slight wave, drapes down over her right shoulder. It looks to brush the top of her chest and I wonder if she would let me use the strands to play peek-a-boo with her rosy, pink nipples.
Dammit, I’m doing it again.
Focus, Shane. Ash barks.
Her lips are full, the lower a bit plumper than the top, but she has a cute soft smile.
I wonder what she’s thinking about?
Does she know we’re here? Ash questions.
I don’t think so. She hasn’t looked directly in our direction, so I think we’re still hidden.
Take us to meet her.
My right front paw shifts forward a step, under no control of my own, and I can feel Ash taking over my movements.
Not yet, Ash. I believe she is our mate too, but we need to see her eyes. Her eyes will tell us the truth.
Fine. He drops his control before we lose our camouflage, so I pick up where we left off.
Pouty lower lip, cute round button nose with a slight tip up, and green eyes the color of dark forest moss.
She is stunning. Beautiful doesn’t capture her allure. Magnificent.
She’s a human, but she’s our mate.
Human?
Human.
Can we be Alpha with a human mate? I question my inner. While I know several wolves who are mated to humans, some in my distant and past family tree even, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of another Alpha or other higher ranking members who have ever been.
If the Goddess picked her for us, I would assume it’s meant to be.
You have a point.
Of course I do. I’m never wrong.
If he could stick our tongue out at ourself, Ash would be doing it to me.
His playful and cheeky moments are few and far between, but I know they are in there.
We had a fun and rambunctious childhood filled with laughter, games, and will times with our younger brother and friends.
When Shaun died, a huge part of our heart died with him, stealing most of our happiness for a long time, but I am starting to feel some of that brightness fold back even in just these few minutes of seeing her.
Her aura, the vibe of her presence, is healing. If just looking at her fills the cracks this much, I can’t wait to feel what her touch will do.
Taking her in again, I get a big wave of déjà vu. Ash, do we know her?
You feel that too?
I could swear I have seen her before, maybe when we were… oh my Goddess Ash!
What? Who is she?
Blythe Daley.
Holy Goddess… you’re r-right. His voice cracks as our recollections of her flood in.
We haven’t seen her since the funerals. I can’t believe it’s her. How did we not know it would be her?
We were too young back then. And she’s human. We never would have suspected or thought of looking at her as more than a friend. But she definitely has only gotten better with age. She was stunning then and she stunning now.
Ash, I can’t believe we finally found her.
Me too… oh, she’s moving. Ash starts narrating like I can’t see what he sees. She’s coming down the steps. She’s on the walkway. Now she’s walking through the funny headstones. She’s getting closer.
Yes, Ash. I see her too.
What if she sees us and is scared?
She won’t be.
How can you be so sure?
I just know.
But not all humans believe or accept our kind.
She obviously knows us as a shifter. Our moms were best friends. She’s been to the pack house more times than we can count.
Oh duh.
And even if she didn’t know of us when we were younger, if you believe that the Goddess paired us with a human mate, how can you be afraid of her being afraid?
Ummm…
If it weren’t for our thick double coat of fur, and if I was looking in a mirror of our human form, I would swear that Ash was making us blush.
Ash, do you think our mate is pretty?
She is breathtaking.
That she is.
When can we meet her? We’ve seen her eyes. We need to go say hello.
I rest back on our hind legs and try to let the tension that’s been holding our muscles hostage for almost three years loose.
I also let out a breath so big, I feel even more years of stress and anxiety float away.
We may have been cursed to this form for a few years, but the waiting and wanting our mate has been there much longer.
Wolves can start mating at eighteen years old.
We are now just days shy of thirty. That is a long time for any wolf, but one of Alpha blood like us… this is exceptionally rare.
As Blythe walks around the yard, looking at the different flowers and bushes that fill the beds around the house, our eyes never leave her.
I can’t believe it has been fifteen years since we have seen little Blythe Daley. She was barely thirteen back then, so I’m not surprised we didn’t recognize her instantly, but once that first string of recognition was pulled, it all came flooding back.
Don’t lose her. Ash calls out when she gets close to the back of the house, but when she turns around and retraces her steps, he lets out a long sigh.
I think it’s time, Ash.
Time to meet her?
Yes.
When do we shift back?
I’m not really sure. Remember, this was the first time the witch had cast this particular spell, and she never admitted who she heard it from, so we don’t know its true origin.
What if we don’t shift back in time to claim her properly?
That’s a very good question that I hope we don’t have to learn the answer to.
Well, I guess there is only one way to find out what happens next.
It’s time to go reintroduce ourselves to our mate. We have a lot of time to catch up on.
Lead the way, Shane.