Her Wolf

Chapter Four

Tristan walked towards the main house, or the Institute as the outside world thought of it, and shook his limbs. His brothers followed close behind him, but none of them were in as big a hurry to get back as he was.

It felt awesome to be back in his human body. His limbs felt so loose. Michael droned about plans to finally find their father, but Tristan wasn’t listening. His whole mind was intent on getting back to Ashlee. The pack had taken much longer than he’d expected to bring him out of his wolf body. Eight hours of magic and it had hurt like hell the whole time.

He pulled his tee shirt over his head, his pants already on, and once again thanked the fates that Theo had thought to bring along a change of clothes for him. Tristan needed to court Ashlee, and coming to her completely naked would not be a great way to start.

She’d been raised as a human. She wasn’t going to just accept him because his wolf claimed her. He smiled as he pictured her wandering around his room. What had she thought of his artwork?

“Trip?” Theo clipped and Tristan turned around to see what had happened.

Tristan didn’t see anything amiss. “What?”

“Look.” Theo pointed at the second floor of the house and Tristan’s gaze followed his finger to the shattered window of Tristan’s bedroom. Glass littered the grass below.

His heart fell into his stomach

“Ashlee!” He ran, faster than he ever had on human legs, into the house. Theo was right behind him, and he knew the others would be too. He turned the corner down the long hallway that led to his room, his pulse pounding hard in his ears. The wolf wanted back and tried to force himself into his eyes as the dryness that precipitated the shift from man to wolf started inside of him.

He grabbed the door handle. It was locked. What the hell? He banged on the door.

“Ashlee?”

No answer. He shoved his weight against it.

“Wait.” Theo called as he caught up. “I have keys to all the rooms.” Tristan watched as Theo fumbled with the keys in his hands.

Tristan paced in front of the door. “Come on. Come on.”

“Got it.” Theo barely unlocked the door when it swung open. Tristan thrust his brother aside to get into the room. Empty. His eyes scanned the scene. Glass by the window. Her clothes, ripped, on the floor. Oh God, no.

“Dad?” He spun to Theo, Mike, and Rex who had joined him inside the room. “Did Dad take her?”

“Calm down. “ Mike placed his hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath. This is wolf, but not Dad, and not one whose scent I recognize.”

Tristan forced himself to focus. Going off half-crazed would not help find Ashlee.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Mike was right. Wolf. Ashlee had been here. He could smell everywhere she’d gone in the room. He picked up the shreds of her clothes and sniffed. Wolf. There was wolf on her clothes.

Realization staggered Tristan. He took one more deep breath at the fabric in his hands. She’d shifted. Ashlee was the wolf. The magic they’d thrown on him last night had been strong and powerful. Somehow that much magic had made its way to Ashlee and forced her shift. Tristan could feel his blood pressure rise. She’d been alone.

“Not good.” Mike whispered. “She’s shifted all by herself. How could that even happen? It shouldn’t have been able to happen without the pack magic. She’s alone.”

Theo nodded and desperation twisted Tristan’s gut. “You can lose yourself in your wolf the first time if you’re all alone.” Tristan was more than aware of this fact.

Tristan swallowed hard. He rushed to the window, then stuck his head out and inhaled. “She’s got to be terrified, but she went into the woods.”

“She won’t know how to hunt.” Theo stood beside Tristan, Mike on the other side.

Michael nodded. “Some things are instinctual, but we need to get her back. She needs to bond with the pack, become a member, and respond to us. But she barely knows me. I’m not her Alpha yet. Tristan, you’re going to have to go and get her. You’re her mate. She’ll recognize you, whether she realizes it or not.”

Damn it, he’d failed her already. He should have been there, been by her side as she made the change for the first time. Goddamn it. What if he lost her? He’d just found her.

But the possibility of losing her to the wolf forever was grave.

He turned to his brother. “There is still enough time to save her. There has to be.”

Michael nodded. “You have to hurry, Tristan.”

Hell, yeah, he had to hurry. He wouldn’t lose his mate to the wolf without him taking his last breath.

Tristan called the shift to his body. “Get the Aunts. Have them on alert for when I get back with her.”

He completed his shift, as easy for him to do as breathing. His bones cracked, reshaped, and eventually realigned until he was wolf. After so many years of doing it, and six months when he’d been unable to shift back, his canine body was an easy fit for him.

He leapt out the broken window after Ashlee. He would find her and bring her home.

And then he was never letting her go.

He sniffed the ground. Ashlee had come in this direction and she had bled when she’d passed here. Injured?

No, not acceptable.

He raced forward as he followed her scent, each step he took her smell grew stronger. He sniffed the air. Damp earth, moldy leaves, wet vegetation and something else, Ashlee. As a human, Ashlee had smelled like vanilla beans and cinnamon. She still smelled of those things now but her wolf added to her the smell of pine leaves and fur.

Yes, he was close.

He heard a whimper nearby and he whirled around.

Ashlee?

Small vibrations on the ground behind him alerted him as she stepped out of the thick bushes. If he could have gasped, he would have at Ashlee’s red and white coat.

Very unusual. He’d never seen the like before. Her eyes bore into his before she dropped her gaze in submission and whimpered again. His wolf howled at its mate’s distress.

Tristan forced himself to focus. Little Ashlee? You are a beautiful wolf. Can you hear me?

Ashlee moaned.

You’re hurt. Come to me. We’ll shift back together and get you healed.

Ashlee’s wolf raised her eyes to him for a moment. Alone. Her voice was so soft in his head he barely heard it.

You’re right. I left you alone. I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.

Her wolf blinked twice rapidly. Good, that meant she understood at least some of what he said.

Tristan?

That’s right Ashlee. It’s me. I’ve come for you.

You’re still a wolf. The magic didn’t work?

He shook his head. It worked. I shifted back to find you. Come with me.

She closed her eyes. I hurt, Tristan.

I know. We need to get you home and back to your other form.

How do we do that? I don’t know how I became a wolf.

Come here.

Ashlee finally relented and stepped forward to him. She buried her nose in his fur and he shuddered. His wolf wanted free reign, but he couldn’t allow it.

Mate? Her voice sounded strained.

I am your mate. You understand now.

I do. She closed her eyes.

No, no, no, Ashlee. I am going to shift back and hold onto you. My magic should make you shift to a human as you are in my arms. Do you understand?

Tired.

I know you’re tired. Please don’t go to sleep. Internally his wolf howled at him to not let her sleep. She’d lost so much blood. He bit down gently on her shoulder and she cried out in protest. He called his magic and felt it surround both of them. He took a deep breath. It would work; it had to. He felt his bones start to shift and Ashlee screamed. At first it was a harrowing howl of an animal in pain but quickly it was her own human voice. When he could, he wrapped his arms around her naked body. She trembled in his arms.

He held her tighter. “I’ve got you, I won’t let you go. We’ll get you fixed now.”

She pulled back her head to look at him, dazed and slightly out of focus. He wiped the sweat off her brow and kissed her forehead. She was his to treasure and protect, given to him by fate as a gift, and he’d already let her get injured. Fury with himself welled up inside of him. She smiled weakly at him.

Her voice sounded hoarse. “I dreamed of you.”

“You saw me as a man in your dream, not a wolf?” She nodded and closed her eyes.

He looked down at her naked form and tried to force himself to catalog her injuries and not be distracted by her loveliness. Despite his best intentions, he did feel a pull in his groin. Ashlee’s breasts were small and pert, perfect for her frame. He wanted to reach out and cup them, then lick the sweat from her body. His wolf howled at the thought. Yes he would stroke her with his tongue all the way from the bottom of her neck to the beautiful blonde hair that formed a V between her legs. He craved the taste of her, both on her skin and inside her beautiful folds where he knew heaven waited for him.

But he wasn’t an animal, not entirely, and even his wolf knew it wasn’t the time for that. He forced himself to focus on her wounds. Her hands were torn to shreds. Her sides looked raw and blood seeped out of a particularly bad wound.

She opened her eyes to stare at him. “I don’t want to ever do that again.” Her head fell backwards and her eyes rolled to the back under her eyelids.

“No, no, no.” He picked her up in his arms and ran in the direction of the house. His brother should have found his aunts by now. They would know how to fix this.

Ashlee first became aware of the sensation of drifting. She felt like she was on a slow-moving raft that gently moved in the ocean. She was warm and cozy and didn’t appreciate the voices that spoke to her. They tried to rip her from her quiet, peaceful raft.

“Why can’t you just let her sleep?” Ah, Tristan. Yes, he understood. He would make them leave her alone.

“She needs fluids so we can bring down the fever. Wake her up, boy.”

The woman's voice was unfamiliar to Ashlee. She was going to open her eyes up in a moment and kick her behind for talking so harshly to Tristan. Ashlee attempted to do just that but her eyes felt so heavy. Her eyelids fluttered but didn’t open.

“Ashlee, can you hear me?” Tristan wanted her attention but she just couldn’t give it to him. The waiting warmth of her raft called to her and she went gladly.

The next time Ashlee awoke, it was to darkness. She forced her eyes open only to find that the room she slept in was nearly as dark as the inside of her eyelids had been.

Her head pounded, but she’d had worse headaches; her body felt achy and she couldn’t really move.

The source of the last problem proved to be Tristan. He was asleep, his head pressed up against the back of hers, his arms wrapped around her body. She closed her eyes and forced her brain not to start coming up with reasons to be upset that he held her. It didn’t work. They didn’t really know each other. She’d only ever seen him as a human once.

He’d told her she belonged to him, and that wherever she went, he would go, but he’d left her alone to face her first change by herself. None of that was enough for her to force him to move his arms, so she decided to listen to him breathe for a while.

He didn’t snore; that was a relief. If there was even a chance this was going to work, and it was a small chance at best, they’d need to be compatible in most ways. She’d never been able to tolerate a loud snorer. Contentment flowed through her as she tentatively stroked his arm. What she could remember from when she’d seen him as a human had confirmed her mother’s earlier assertion that he was good-looking. Attraction wasn’t going to be a problem, at least on her end.

Tristan took a deep breath and pulled her closer against him. Okay, now it was too tight. He was going to bruise one of her ribs. She took his large hands in hers and gently tried to loosen his grip on her side. He murmured something but didn’t let go. Damn it, she was going to have to wake him.

“Tristan.” Silence answered her. He’d been a lighter sleeper when he’d been a wolf.

She tried again, this time louder. “Tristan.”

“What?” He pulled her fully up against his body as he came awake, which hurt even more. She grunted and he let go and she pulled away from him just enough to get a little breathing room.

“Sorry, was I squishing you? I meant to stay awake; guess I fell asleep.”

Ashlee took a good look at Tristan, and was surprised by how clearly, in the darkness, she could make him out. There he was—the man from her dream, the one who’d rescued her in the woods. His features were regal, his body hard and pressed up against hers. She shivered against him. He looked rumpled, sleepy, and sexy as hell. His hair was cut close to his head, its color a golden brown shade with red highlights like his wolf’s fur. He had stubble strewn across his face and a dimple in his left cheek. In her dream, his brown eyes had been sad but now as she stared at him they were tired but happy. Specks of grey, the same she’d noticed when he’d been a wolf, dotted his irises.

In some ways it had been easier when he was a canine; she could just reach out and touch him whenever she wanted, in the same way you might pet a dog. Now he was all man, and she couldn’t just stroke his face. Could she?

“I’m a little unsure of myself.” She wasn’t usually so bold. She swallowed and felt her cheeks grow red with embarrassed heat.

He nodded. “Me too.”

“Really? You’re a hundred years old. Haven’t you encountered just about every situation at this point?”

“I feel like I really am thirty again. It’s a little bit like I’ve rewound the last seventy years.” Ashlee watched him scrunch up his forehead. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’re very new to this. I need to treat you like a human girl, and I have next to no experience with that, but I gather it’s important for you to have choices, that you not feel rushed or forced into something.”

“It’s true. I need to be my own person, but I understand a little better now what’s happening. When I was in the woods, I felt alone in the world and I knew I shouldn’t feel that way. I should have a pack. Then you came and I could smell you. I knew you were mine just by the way you smelled. It called to me, fed my soul in a way I didn’t understand when I hadn’t ever been a wolf.” She paused to consider her next words and was grateful he gave her the time to do so. “I still feel her with me, the wolf. I’m changed because of her, even now as a human.”

Tristan nodded. “She’ll always be with you now. She’s been sleeping your whole life; now that she’s awake, you’re going to have to fight her for dominance for a while, and then eventually you’ll meld into one being where you are both always. Although sometimes I still let myself disappear into the wolf when I’m on all fours because I like the sensation. But he never disappears into me. He’s way too dominant for that.”

“I’m feeling bold and frank; I’m not usually either of those things.”

“That’s her then. I’m not surprised. She, or rather you, is an exquisite wolf. I’ve never seen one like you before.”

Ashlee put her hands in her lap and sat up straight. “So, since I’m in a truthful mood, I will tell you that while I’m not sure I want to be owned.” Tristan opened his mouth, but she kept speaking and didn’t give him a chance to answer. “I don’t know if I can go without smelling, touching, or having you around, so I think we’re going to have to work something out.”

“Your eyes just went wolf, little one.”

Ashlee reached up to touch her eyes; they felt dry. She blinked twice and tried to clear them but it didn’t help.

“Take a deep breath. She’s just trying to protect you because she doesn’t know how I took that speech. Reassure her I am not upset, and even if I were, I would never harm you.”

Ashlee took a deep breath and closed her eyes. How was she supposed to reassure her wolf of anything? With her eyes closed, Ashlee could actually feel the wolf within her. A presence in her mind. Had it always been there?

All is well?

Her wolf spoke soothingly in her mind. She opened herself up to its thoughts and feelings. The canine was relieved to be with her now, sorry that her change had come so violently, and glad that they were no longer alone. Also, she adored Tristan, who she thought of as one entity, not man or wolf. Ashlee’s wolf had already made her choice; she was with Tristan for the long run. She just wanted Ashlee to catch up.

Ashlee decided to answer her . All is well.

I gave you dreams. It was the only way to speak to you. We can see things others don’t see yet.

Ashlee nodded. I know. Should she thank her? Thank you for saving Tristan.

He belongs to me too.

Her wolf sighed, pacing around inside of her. You thought you were crazy. You betrayed yourself when you let those people tell you that you were.

I know. She had denied her own truth, and she’d let others define her. It won’t happen again. I feel like I know myself now.

This was the declaration the wolf had been waiting for, and she settled back down before she added one last thought. If you forget, I will remind you.

Ashlee opened her eyes. Tristan smiled at her.

“You did that fast.”

“I actually kind of like her. She’s very simple to understand; she craves loyalty and love. It’s very easy to love a creature like that.”

“She’s not trying to dominate you?”

Ashlee shook her head. “At least not right now.”

“Then yours is nicer than mine.” He laughed aloud and grimaced. “My wolf didn’t think that was very funny. Actually, now that I’ve found you he is rather content and unobtrusive.”

Ashlee dove forward and captured Tristan’s mouth with hers. He froze and Ashlee wondered if he was stunned for a second, but then he pulled her head closer to his so their lips pressed together more firmly. Maybe her wolf was more in control than she realized, because Ashlee had no idea what had come over her. She wasn’t complaining—Tristan tasted fantastic. His lips moved over her own with a firmness that she loved. Then, he snaked his tongue past them and his taste burst in her mouth—mint and sex.

One of his hands held her securely against him, and the other roamed her back to trace patterns with his fingertips under her shirt, against her skin. She trembled and her nipples hardened. The sensations made her breathless. She wanted him inside of her now.

She pulled her lips from his and pushed him down on the bed so she could climb on top of him. It seemed desperately important she have him right that second.

His body showed her he agreed. The bulge in his corduroy pants told her he was hard and ready, beckoned her to reach inside and see for herself. Desperate to touch him, Ashlee stroked his large shaft through the velvety fabric of his corduroys. He groaned and closed his eyes.

“Ashlee, if we do this,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “It will complete the mating ritual. We’ll be bound together. I don’t want you to do this and not know the full implications.” An ill-timed knock on the door stopped whatever response she would have made.

“Plenty of time to mate later, children. I need to check on the patient.”

“Damn it.” Tristan uttered a low curse and shoved his shirt into his pants. He stood up and Ashlee watched him try to adjust himself. It must have pained him because with a grimace on his face he turned to face the wall.

Ashlee looked down at herself. She was a disheveled mess but whoever was out there—and Ashlee actually had to suppress the urge to sniff to see if she recognized the scent—knew what they were doing in here. Feeling comfortable in her state of rumpled clothing, she sat on the bed.

“Ready to meet some more family?”

Ashlee cocked her head to the side. “They’re related to me?”

“Everyone is pack, little Ashlee, we’re all family here.”

The knock pounded on the door again. “Stop fussing with yourself, boy, and open this darn door.”

“She’s charming, I assure you.” Tristan gave her a crooked smile and walked to the door. “Please, won’t you come in, Auntie?”

He opened the door and a tall, striking woman walked into the room. She was at least six feet tall with long grey hair that stretched all the way down to her feet. An elastic rubber band secured it behind her head. She wore huge glasses that covered most of her face, a calf-length purple skirt and a green tee shirt that read “Rhode Island Rocks” across the front.

Ashlee had never seen anyone who looked like Tristan’s aunt.

Tristan’s Auntie put her hands on her hips. “So, you gave us quite a fright last night.

The injury wouldn’t have been so bad if your body wasn’t already under a tremendous amount of strain from lack of nourishment.”

“I know, I haven’t been eating. But I will from now on.” Ashlee had been listening to the same speech from her mother for months but it seemed more important to listen to Auntie. With all of her bright colored clothes and her long crazy hair, she still came across as incredibly intimidating.

“Right. So let’s have a look at you, Ashlee. And by the way, I have a name, despite this one’s preference to call me Auntie. It’s Clarinda. And after I tend to you, I’m going to teach you to do what I can do so that my sister and I can finally kill ourselves.”