"Will it ever not hurt when you shift back and forth?"
Carter tugged me to a stop and I didn't hide my exhaustion. "I'm tired."
"Let's take a break, come here." Carter gestured to the log that thankfully wasn't covered in the fresh pile of snow that covered the ground.
We'd spent all night laughing and celebrating. The guys had all bought presents for me, and I'd gotten my new phone with my personalized unicorn case with the words "Our Girl" in beautiful glitter handwriting.
It was amazing how natural it was to hang with everyone, though we did miss Ian who had to leave after we ate marshmallows and I opened all my presents. He promised to be back by nine in the morning and we talked at three in the morning when he took a break.
The festive activities had gone well with very few incidents, and there would be morning mass at eight. After that, Ian would be able to come home, and O'Neil would come with him since he had a bunch of gifts to give us.
By the time the others had fallen asleep it was six in the morning, and the sight of the new snowfall had gotten Reika and me super excited to run through it for the first time as a wolf.
Seeing as Carter and I wouldn't have been able to sleep until after breakfast, we’d decided to enjoy the fluffy snow with a morning run. It had ended up being an exploration adventure as Carter showed me around the different parts of the forest and which direction led to the other Cardinal Sanctuaries.
After the lesson, we’d played some snow tag and found an area that wasn't as snowed on to take a break and cuddle. We obviously couldn't have sex, and I didn't know how to have sex as a wolf either, but I was brewing a plan for tonight.
A diabolical one to get Ian and Carter in the same room and seduce the fuck out of them. Desperately proud for my need of a threesome.
With how I’d progressed with the others, I actually felt more confident in taking the next steps with them. I knew they were committed, but I was afraid to go too fast with them and offend Ian and Carter.
But with Carter being chilled about the whole thing, and with Ian appearing to be more laid back about actually sharing me in a human physical sense with the others, I could really move forward.
Maybe skip straight into third base.
We were heading back, but my body ached, and even Reika didn't feel too well. Carter encouraged me to switch back, saying it could be due to me having stayed up all night.
I'd only changed into my wolf form three times now, it would take a few more attempts for my body to begin to adapt to the back and forth change.
Carter sat down and pulled me down to sit on his lap. His strong hands began to massage my stiff shoulders and I groaned in agony. "Fuck, that feels good and hurts at the same time."
"When Damien wakes up, I'll let him give you a proper massage. He took classes and everything for it. He wants to open a hair salon and spa for wolf shifters with Levi."
"Really?!" I was a bit taken aback by the revelation, not picturing Damien as one to pursue learning how to be a massage therapist. With Levi's awesome skills with hair, I wasn't surprised he wanted to collaborate.
"Ya. All the guys are a bit unique. You'll learn more about them during our downtime. Also, if you want to go on dates again, just tell me. Kira heard about what happened and said she'll send her Alpha men to be bodyguards."
"She'd… do that for me? But she doesn't know me. Sure, we met and all, but we haven't had a one on one conversation for her to be willing to send her mates to protect me and the rest of us when we want chill time at the mall." Don't get me wrong, I was moved by her thoughtfulness, but I didn't want her to feel the need to send her men to come and babysit us.
"We're in difficult times, and if you think they're babysitting, they aren't. Sometimes we have to rely on others to avoid bigger problems. We just have to approach everything cautiously until the 1st Gen Alphas get here."
"I guess you have a point," I replied, and his lips pressed lightly on the back of my neck, making my back arch at the soft touch. "Carter."
"Hmm?" He hummed against my flesh.
"I'm not getting frostbite on my ass," I pointed out. He let go of my shoulders and I leaned back against his chest, turning my head to give him a kiss.
"Let's go home and hop in the shower?"
"That sounds better. We can multitask," I purred.
"You can walk back?"
"Yup!"
We both stood up and he took the lead, beginning to walk forward, but he stopped suddenly. I followed his movement and halted mid-stride. I felt a tingling feeling run through me.
Carter?
"Fuck. We're not alone."
How many?
"Enough to be a problem. I can't handle this many."
As in you can't handle this many with me being present?
"I can't handle this many without you getting hurt. Even if Reika can defend you both, they'll all aim for you. They're still far out, but I can guarantee they're in wolf form."
We can shift?
"You'll be in more pain. As a new wolf, you shouldn’t be switching back and forth. Your body needs time to adapt to being a full-fledged wolf shifter. It isn't compared to when we're younger and have a flexible bone structure.”
So we're screwed?
"No. Give me a moment. Levi's the fastest. He can get here before these guys try to make a move."
Oka-
I flinched at the loud sound that rang through my ears, my body growing stiff at the oh so familiar gunshot noise. I caught Carter's low curse, but I was left in a haze of confusion, my surroundings going from forest, snow, and Carter to an alley, police sirens, and a ton of pain that was strong enough to knock me to my knees.
Half of my senses felt my real body fall back into the snow-cloaked ground, my hand clenching the left side of my stomach as I fought for breath. My eyes dilated, and I stared up at the sky hearing Carter's voice, but it was so far away.
Out of reach.
My body was where it should be, but my mind and vision were elsewhere, the other half of my senses seeing a man with red stricken eyes pull back the gun that had been aimed in the area that I continued to add pressure too. This body fell back, a wall stopping my plank fall, and I slid to the floor, my breaths leaving my mouth quickly in small portions to avoid air from entering my covered wound.
My eyes slowly trailed up to the man, taking in the grin on his face and red short tresses that were spiked up. Absorbing his appearance not for myself, but for the others to see as well.
He opened his mouth and laughed.
"What a pity. So easy. If I knew all I needed to do was do a little digging into your background, we'd have had that blade in our hands ages ago. Won't be long now. Your royal mate and Alpha are surrounded by my top wolves, and from your teal eyes, I’d guess you have a special guest feeling exactly what you feel."
My eyes widened in fear when he took a step forward, crouching down and placing his hand over mine that put pressure on my wound. He pressed on it firmly and two sounds reached my ears: my own scream and Ian's gasp of agony.
The man chuckled and placed the gun to our head and I froze, my eyes locked onto his.
"You will do as I say. Summon the blade into your hand and you will give it to your Alpha to deliver it to my men. Before you try and argue that you don't know how to figure it out, understand that I’ll give you a solid five minutes to comply or I'll send my men to drag your body out of that forest and kill both your royal mates. This isn't a test. It's a threat I'll hold to. Rogan may have fucked up, but I'm not losing the chance to create an army of children who will do exactly as I say. Five minutes. The clock starts now."
He pulled the gun away and walked out into the alley, and my ears caught onto his words as if he was talking to someone.
"Five minutes. If you don't see a blade, pursue and kill the Alpha. Bring the girl by any means necessary. I'm off to deal with that Negro cop. Didn't think he'd be such a pain. Don't fuck this up. We won't get a second chance when Harriet arrives."
There was a long silence before he laughed.
"The boy won't live. He's dead weight. The other royal will be a problem. Aim for the girl. He'll try to take down as many as he can, but with the amount on your team, even as an Alpha, we won't last. Again, don't fuck this up."
He closed what looked like a cell phone and walked off, and I let out a breath. I lifted my hand and scanned it, taking in the sight of the crimson red that soaked it, and I felt the panic begin to rise inside me.
"Harper!"
With a blink, Carter was above me, fear lacing his now gold colored eyes. I furrowed my brows but didn't move, not like I could. It was as if I was in two places at once, and I kept switching from one reality to the other.
"Ian. Shot. The man's going after O'Neil. Ian's dying. Royal… background check the man said he's a royal mate. Carter… he's a royal mate… he's dying." My eyes blurred with tears. "Blade. They want… blade."
I was struggling to breathe, even though my real body hadn't been pierced with the bullet. I could feel Ian's pain, and it was slowly killing the both of us.
Carter pressed his hands against my cheeks, pulling my attention solely on him.
"Listen to me carefully, Harper. Remember when in the mall you tried to contact me through our bond? You're going to do the same thing, but when your hand begins to grow warm, I want you to focus on the area where Ian's bleeding from. That's all you need to do. I'll carry it from there. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes." I breathed in and bit my lip, realizing we didn't have long. I could feel the other side of reality begin to slip away, Ian's mind wavering while his eyes focused on the opposite wall of the alleyway.
"Just focus, baby. We can do this," Carter soothed, pressing a comforting kiss to my trembling lips.
I closed my eyes and focused, feeling the warmth that had crept through my hand in the store return once more.
I migrated my mind to enter the other side of reality, opening my heavy eyelids that I knew were not mine but Ian's. To breathe was difficult, and my body was growing colder by the second.
The only warmth I felt was from my left hand that lay on the cement floor in the accumulating pool of blood that escaped the spaces of my right hand.
Gathering enough strength to turn my left hand, I noticed the outline of the mark that Carter and I had; the only symbol that was currently visible in the crown-shaped mountain outline was the one with the shield.
"Harper. Focus." Reika's voices channeled through to me, reminding me of more important things like the wound.
I lowered my gaze to the wound, the section of the shirt drenched in blood. All my attention was aimed at that spot, and my left hand grew so hot a groan escaped Ian's lips.
I didn't get distracted by the sound, knowing if I moved my concentration for a few seconds, Ian would slip away.
Watching in growing amazement, Ian's right hand that lingered on the wound began to glow in a soft golden light. Warmth wrapped around the area, and the pain and chilled feeling began to dim.
Little by little it felt like the inside of the wound stitched itself back together. When my mind couldn't feel any more pain, I gathered the strength to tug the wet shirt up far enough to reveal where the gunshot had been.
The gold bullet fell to the floor, the sound of it hitting the pavement reaching my ears.
Staring in shock at the now-closed wound, it dawned on me that we'd survived. Ian wasn't going to die. Racing footsteps and heavy exhales reached my ears, and O'Neil showed up in a pair of shorts; his top half was drenched in scratches and blood, some of it clearly not his own as two different scents hit my nostrils.
"IAN! DOMITRICE, CALL NORTH PACK AMBULANCE!"
Ian's eyes slowly came to a close, shutting off the connection and tugging me back to my real body. I gasped, followed by struggled groans at the massive headache that immediately assaulted my senses upon my spiritual return to my body.
"Fuck," I cursed.
My eyes snapped open and I shot up, Carter retreating a few steps to avoid my dramatic movement. The shock of everything was hitting me hard, and the first thing I did was pat the left side where the bullet wound was. As if now realizing it wasn't me who got shot but Ian, I sighed.
"Shit… Carter! We did it. Ian's going to be okay," I voiced, turning my attention to him to see his relief.
"One problem down, one more to go." He breathed the words, looking out of breath. His forehead was cloaked with sweat and his shoulders were moving up and down with every inhale and exhale.
"Carter, are you okay?" I immediately asked.
He nodded just slightly. "It took way too much magic for that. I didn't want you doing it because you'd be at a higher risk. Levi's coming with backup, but if those guys move… I don't think I can do anything." He slumped over immediately, his eyes beginning to close.
"Carter!" I caught him and held his weight, noticing he was struggling to open his eyes.
"I'm fine. Just need a second."
A howl echoed through the forest, one that made Reika run to the border of the surface, protectively.
I lowered Carter to the ground and stood up, my sensitive ears picking up on the stampede of wolves in four directions.
I bit my lip hard and looked to my left hand. Outstretching it, I concentrated until the hot burning sensation returned, and words flew out of my mouth as I shouted.
"Bring me the weapon of protection I need to defeat the approaching enemies!"
A teal glow wrapped around my fingers, shooting out a stream of magic to the ground before me. I reluctantly closed my eyes, unable to stand the bright light. When I opened them back up, I blinked in bewilderment.
"Out of all the moments for me to fuck up, I do it now!" I cried out.
"Meow?" Muffin sat in the snow, her mismatched eyes looking up at me in excitement.
"Muffin! I need a weapon! The blade or something," I explained, but I froze at the sight of the first wolf to dash out of the barrier of the forest. He was huge, like Carter's size, and I gawked at him, while Muffin turned around and hissed.
The wolf howled and dashed towards me, its mouth wide to give me the last glimpse of his sharp white teeth before he ripped me to shreds.
There was no chance for me to shift fast enough to fight him back, and I closed my eyes and lifted my arms defensively.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed with power, hoping the command would be my one and only chance at survival.
A loud cry rang through the air, and my eyes snapped open to see a girl standing before me.
She had short black hair and was wearing a simple black dress. My eyes migrated to the scorching flames that were rising further into the sky as it burned the charred the wolf that tried to attack me.
Holy fucking wolf… who in the name is this girl?
The girl twirled around, and the familiar gold and teal eyes met mine. "Mommy! I did it!"
"M-Mommy?!"
The girl skipped over to hug me, her small frame reaching just below my breast. I looked down to see her happiness, and I knew without a doubt who this was.
"Muffin?"
"Mommy! You finally learned how to use me! What's wrong with Carter? Is he taking a nap?" she asked innocently, releasing me from the tight hug to walk a step to Carter's side. She kicked him slightly and I groaned.
"Muffin. Don't kick him. He's actually hurt," I whined.
"Oh. He'll be fine. He's magically exhausted. Like a dead battery!" Muffin cheered. A howl caught our attention, followed by a bunch of them and I cursed, moving to stand in front of Muffin and Carter protectively.
"There's more," I declared.
"Um… but Mommy? I can't do any more fire," Muffin admitted.
"Can you take Carter away?" I asked.
"Yes, but only one person."
"Do it."
"Mommy?! What about you?"
"I'll be fine, Muffin. Just take Carter."
"You're lying! No," Muffin argued, but we were cut off when the next three wolves shot out of the forest, darting straight to me.
I growled and clenched my fist, ready to take them on, even in my damn human form.
A blurry image came out of nowhere and sent the three wolves flying to my left, their falls loud enough for me to hear the cracking of bones.
A loud roar escaped the humongous wolf before me, his white fur having hints of gold, turquoise, and black. I gawked at the beast and felt Muffin hug my left leg in fear.
"Scary wolfie," she whimpered.
"He's good, Muffin," I whispered, and a wave of relief hit me when his eyes met mine.
Carter's dad.
"HARPER!"
Looking to my right, I saw Levi and Damien in the distance.
"Guys," I whispered and smiled weakly. "Ian-"
"Is already stable and on his way to North Sanctuary thanks to O'Neil and the twins. I'd love to explain more, but we need to go. We're only going to get in Carter's dad's way," Levi explained, giving me a quick hug.
Damien came to a stop and he lowered his gaze to Muffin who still clung to my leg.
"Who's the girl?"
"Muffin," I announced.
"Come again?" Damien asked.
"Let's go! Chit chat later. Damien, help me with Carter. Harper, can you run?" Levi asked.
"I'll manage. Let's go," I voiced and looked down to Muffin. "Muffin, can you change back to your kitten from? It'll be easier to pick you up."
"Okay, Mommy!" she replied, releasing my leg and raising her hands up. In a poof of turquoise smoke, she was back to her kitten form.
"Meow."
"Good girl." I praised her as I picked her up.
Levi and Damien were already on the move, carrying Carter's unconscious body as quickly as they could. I took a final glance at the large wolf who'd moved closer to us while he faced a row of wolves. He flicked another wolf out of the way before he looked over and met my gaze.
"Thank you," I whispered, and he nodded his head in response, returning to face the remaining thirty wolves trying to get past him.
Turning around with Muffin in my hands, I raced after the others, moving forward in the direction I knew in my soul would take us to the North Cardinal Pack.
Another close call, but we were saved. Thank you to the favourable odds of the Moon.
"Aww. Look at you two. All bonding and shit," I squealed, trying the lighten the mood between the two grumpy shifters.
"Bonding my ass! Why the fuck do I have to be next to his hospital bed? What sin did we commit? You know he snores at night?!" Carter roared, looking unamused.
"I think you're mistaking YOUR snoring and trying to put that burden on me. You're so damn loud, and you talk in your fucking sleep. I swear you were having a wet dream last night, all about Harper, you selfish ass."
"Harper's my royal mate. If I want to have wet dreams about her, I fucking can."
"No the fuck you can't. Have your damn wet dreams at home and not in the fucking medical room!" Ian countered.
"You have wet dreams of Harper every damn night! Stop acting innocent," Carter screamed.
"Fuck you!" Ian cursed.
I pouted my lips and placed my hands on Muffin's ears, and she looked up at me with her wide teal eyes with gold stars. "Mommy, what are wet dreams?"
"Um… it’s when you pee your bed," I replied.
Carter and Ian looked my way. "No its not!"
I shrugged. "Remember the fact that Muffin's completely clueless about this. Maybe you two should set your wet dream differences behind and try to recover faster?" I suggested with an amused grin.
They both groaned but settled back in their beds; Carter crossed his arms over his chest with his moping pissed off expression, while Ian ran his hands through his long hair.
Muffin stepped forward, and my hands slipped from her ears as she turned around to face me.
"Mommy! You're going to meet my Mom-mom!" she announced. I blinked and tilted my head in confusion, noticing Carter's and Ian's attention moved to Muffin.
"Mom-mom?" Carter and Ian said in unison.
"What's a Mom-Mom?" Reika asked, sounding just as curious as I felt.
"Muffin. What do you mean by 'Mom-Mom'?" I asked for clarification. Muffin looked more intrigued with the pompoms of my sweater, shuffling back to stand in front of me and began tapping it playfully.
I patted her on the head and she looked up at me once more. "Oh! Mom-Mom. My birth mommy!"
"Wait," I stated. "Your mom is alive?"
"Yes, meow!" Muffin said and raised her hands up in excitement. "Mommy is a familiar too! She gave birth to me and my asshole brother! He's my twin."
"What?!" Ian, Carter, and I said together.
"But… I thought you were a stray because you were in that horrible man's house," I voiced.
She shivered at the mention and shook her head. "I was trapped! Harper Mommy saved me. That wolf wanted to use me to make him an ancient sword or something, but he needed someone with strong magic. That's why he offered to adopt you. You would have been able to use me to help him do whatever he had in mind," Muffin explained.
"Damn..." I trailed off.
"I figured there was something different about Muffin, but I didn't think you were a full-fledged witch familiar," Carter noted.
Muffin grinned, turning around to skip over to Carter's bed. She launched off the ground and basically body slammed him, causing him to curse and cough.
"Fuck, Muffin! You're fucking heavy!"
"I'm cooler than you," she announced and began poking his cheeks. Ian and I just stared at her before we looked at one another and sighed.
"This is confusing," Ian mumbled.
"Right," I replied. "Any other surprises, Muffin?"
"Hmm. I don't know. Mommy's Mistress is here!" Muffin declared, moving off Carter to race past me and out the door.
"What happened when I passed out and Ian was dying?" Carter asked, adding extra emphasis on Ian's close death.
"You make it sound like I just wanted to die intentionally." Ian sighed, looking like he was losing his will to argue.
"It's uh…a long story and I wouldn't mind a nap once the witch gets here, which I'm assuming is now," I noted, catching the sound of approaching footsteps. Two individuals appeared at the doorway, and at first glance of the male, I knew right away it was Carter's dad.
He walked in first, looking as young as I recalled from my flashback.
He stood at 6’9”, which made him look like a damn giant, with a chiseled body that would put smug guys at the gym to shame.
His hair was a bit longer than Carter's and was gelled back to keep every strand in place. And though there were a few lines that gave you a glimpse of his age, the overall appearance of his skin was smooth.
He wore a simple short-sleeved black shirt and jeans, and both arms were plastered in tattoos. I noticed the gold ring on his left hand that had a bright turquoise jewel in the middle, reminding me that Carter had mentioned he'd remarried.
"It’s been a very long time, Harper," Carter’s dad said. He looked at Carter, who was apparently continuing to mope.
"Dad. You're horrible," Carter grumbled.
His dad arched an eyebrow at him. "Why is that?"
"You made me look like a weakling in front of Harper! Couldn't you have come like five minutes earlier?"
I snickered, unable to hold back my laughter, and Ian sighed. "Pathetic."
"Hey! I'm dead serious." Carter huffed out a breath.
His father walked over to the right side of Carter's bed, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
"You’re an Alpha and you used a bit of magic and were knocked out for hours. Don't go whining about me not coming earlier. Your stepmom was the one who told me to check on you."
Carter groaned. "Dad, you're making me look uncool in front of Harper and that ass over there."
"Ian is my name! Not that ass," Ian corrected.
"You two will never get along." I sighed and shook my head.
Looking at Carter's dad, I smiled and bowed my head.
"Thank you, King Moonshine, for interfering. Without you, Muffin, Carter, and I would have been goners."
"See, son? Respect. Not you and your ungrateful ass," King Moonshine replied, ruffling Carter's hair even more.
"Ugh! Dad. You're going to be the reason I have bald spots. I'll tell Mom on you!" Carter growled, but I could tell from the wide smile on his lips that he was genuinely happy that his dad was there.
It was intriguing to witness, especially when Carter mentioned they don’t see each other often nowadays. I looked back at the woman who finally entered the room, previously looking like she was occupied with reading a book in her hands.
We all turned our attention to her, and her image tugged at my memory. I knew her, or at least someone who looked similar to her, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it.
The woman was 6'7”, but with the witch hat she wore and thick heeled boots, she looked to be about the same height as King Moonshine. She had pale white skin and long green like hair that had silver strands.
She wore a white outfit outlined in black and teal, and her knee high boots were the same greenish color of her hair. She wore a black witch hat with teal and white magic symbols on it, and the white magic book in her hand had a similar theme but was gold and teal.
The silver chain of her necklace was attached to a black jewel, and what caught my attention were her silver eyes, her irises were rimmed with an ocean blue color. I glanced her left hand that held the now closed book, and there was a gold ring that was slimmer but with multiple turquoise, silver, and teal jewels, appearing to be the wedding ring created to match King Moonshine’s.
The air tingled with her magic, and the familiarity of it left me stumped. King Moonshine looked from me to Ian.
"This is my wife, Mrs. Moonshine. She's going to be the witch who will aid Harper in unlocking her magical abilities or anyone who wants to learn more about magic in your pack."
"Hey, Mom," Carter said casually, but it seemed the woman's attention was solely on Ian. Looking over at Ian, I saw that his eyes were as wide as saucers. He stared at the woman like she was some type of ghost.
"Um… is their magic like going at it or something?" I asked, unsure as to why they were currently having some staring contest. Carter frowned and exchanged a look with his father before looking back at Ian who still hadn't moved.
"Ian. What's wrong?" Carter asked.
"It seems I'm going to be having some explaining to do," Mrs. Moonshine announced, her eyes growing glossy.
"What is there to explain?" I asked, my gaze darting between the two, but I was answered by a flashback that made everything make sense.
It was a quick scene: younger Carter and me standing in front of a little boy with familiar silver eyes. I quickly glanced at the woman behind him; her beauty reminded me of Mother but in a different way. The same silver necklace with a black jewel rested on her chest, and her long green hair was in curls, accenting the silver highlights.
Returning my gaze to the boy before me, I outstretched my hand.
"My name is Harper Blessed Lake. I'm a princess. This is Carter Moonshine, he's a prince. What's your name?"
"Ian Chestwood! I'm the Prince of Shield Lock Pack. Mother said I have the same mark as you guys."
I beamed at his words, shooting out my left fist to show my royal bond mark. "This one?!"
Carter raised his right closed fist. "Ya, do you have this one?"
Ian nodded swiftly, lifting his left fist to display the exact same mark. "Look! I do."
I squealed happily and looked between the two of them.
"You two are my royal mates! I found both of you!" I cheered in triumph.
Blinking out of the memory, I whispered. "You’re Ian's mother… and he's my other royal mate?"
The woman smiled, and slowly nodded her head.
"That is only the beginning of what needs to be revealed. My name was Amelia Chestwood, and I am the previous Queen of Shield Lock Pack. It's a pleasure to meet you again, Harper. Where do I even begin?"
TO BE CONTINUED.