Ascension: Book 2 of the Summer Omega Series

by JK Cooper

“Nope,” Shelby said.

  Kale flushed, obviously seeing the unintentional conversation his words had begun. He raised his eyes to meet Grant’s and shook his head. “No, sir.”

  “Okay,” Shelby said, feeling the heat on her cheeks. She hadn’t forgotten her unintentional projecting of lustful feelings early on. “Next topic, please.” She must have been projecting her discomfort. Gennesaret put down the notebook, left her chair, and knelt next to Shelby, putting a hand on her knee.

  “A pack shares things more intimately than normal friends, and even some families, do,” Gennesaret said. “Do not fret. It is something we handle,” she looked at Grant, “maturely.”

  He swallowed and nodded. “A father is never ready to have the talk with his werewolf daughter about safe dating, or mating, is he? And now I know there’s an ancient stowaway in there, watching and judging me. No pressure.”

  Shelby felt another pang of regret for how she’d been treating him. “If it helps, she tends to side with you.”

  He started. “Well . . . yeah. It does.”

  “She called me petulant.”

  Grant’s face went defensive. “Hey, that’s my daughter you’re talking about, pup.”

  I like him, Eira growled in approval.

  Shelby smiled for both of them. You’re not forgiven yet, Dad, but we can talk again.

  Shelby Brooks tucked her yellow Converse Chucks into the mahogany drawer of the bench in the large bathroom-style stall. She folded her clothes as she took them off and placed them on top of her sneakers. She sat naked on the warm wood, noting the showerhead, drain, and several buttons embedded in the tile floor. “Of course the Copeland’s have their own wolf changing room.” This was definitely different than disrobing behind a tree in the forest before a midnight run with Kale. But . . . she wasn’t sure she preferred this more private setting, shy as she could be at times.

  “Spared no expense,” Sadie said from her own stall.

  “Did you just quote the old guy from that dinosaur movie?”

  “Condemned right! Clever girl.”

  “Stop it,” but Shelby laughed.

  “I am not running an ill-fated theme park, even though it feels like I have children running around here sometimes.” Elias growled the words at Sadie.

  Shelby stood and tested out one of the buttons with her bare foot. The stall door started to open. “Crap!” She hit it again, and it closed.

  “Did you just almost show off your nakedness before shifting?” The humor in Kale’s voice was thick.

  Shelby blushed. “Maybe.”

  Elias sighed. “Every time we have a new member. They’re clearly labeled.” His voice grew deeper on the last word.

  Her blush deepened as she saw the picture of a door through the clear plastic, along with Open/Close. “I can see that now.”

  The hiss of several doors opening came from the other stalls.

  Shelby felt sweat roll down her back as she stood next to the button. She still wasn’t completely ready for a hunt. The pack’s excitement rolled through her though. They are. I should join them. But she continued to stand and stare at the door.

  Coming? Kale’s warm voice came to her through the bond. We’re all ready.

  I’ll help you too, Eira prompted.

  Ready. Shelby shifted and pushed the button again with her paw. The door came open. She sidled up next to Kale, brushing her blue fur against his darker coat. Hi.

  Hi there, gorgeous. Ready to do this?

  She dipped her head.

  Elias led them to the back of the room in silence, except for the soft padding of their paws on cool tile. He pushed another button in the floor, and the wall slid open.

  See. We have our own cussing doggie door, Shelby! Cool SWAC, huh?

  Elias turned amber eyes on Sadie’s crimson coat, rolled them, and growled.

  You keep asking for trouble. Shelby sent it directly to Sadie and no one else.

  Sadie huffed. Nah. He loves me.

  Doesn’t seem like it.

  Elias picked his way down the path slowly. When they reached the wall protecting the compound, he pushed a brick that slid down with a click to reveal a screen and camera. Elias put a paw on the screen and stared at the camera. Another door swung open.

  Your dad is like a wolf spy, Shelby said to Kale.

  Yes, yes he is.

  Yes, yes I am. Dah nun nun nun nuuuuuhn! Elias hummed through the link, his own theme song.

  Shelby felt her coat warm. She must have sent that through the pack link and not direct to Kale. Sorry. Still getting used to all of this sometimes. She sent that direct to Elias.

  Not to worry, I liked the comparison. Better than Sadie’s doggie one.

  Elias sniffed at the door and then raced out into the night. The pack followed, dashing through a grove of fruit trees the Copelands must have planted specifically to mask these runs into the woods.

  Shelby went last, just behind Kale. I am the Omega, after all.

  Kale managed a grin back at her as he ran, his tongue bouncing with his loping gait. She barked a laugh and ran faster to catch up.

  Chelsea shivered as she picked away at the spells surrounding her father’s study, the vanilla scent of books waiting for her just on the other side of the threshold. She could step through without harm, but her father would be informed of her intrusion, and of any book she touched.

  She followed the glowing red and orange lines that made Celtic knots in the open doorway, attached to the polished wood on either side in multiple layers. Adobe homes had thick walls and plenty of surface area, not to mention several of the elements to build the spells upon. There’s a reason Wiccans often lived in older homes that didn’t lean on synthetic building materials.

  Chelsea had studied the knots for years, always plotting to sneak a peek at the Grimoire, their family’s spellbook, passed down for generations, added to bit by bit. But she had always lost her nerve. Not tonight! I’m finding something that will work on little miss supersault, if it kills me!

  She paused. Some spells can kill me. Mental note to be careful and double check for spells once I’m through the doorway. She muttered a string of words, spun one palm against another, and pushed one hand forward.

  A floorboard creaked, and Chelsea’s heart filled with ice. She glanced behind her to find no one there. She lost her place and her spell failed. A knot flared red, warning her she was about to set off an alarm.

  Stupid. It’s an old house. It settles. Creaks happen all the time. You know that.

  She ran through the motion again, muttering the words quickly, but with perfect enunciation. That was important.

  Something clicked, not audibly, but within the spell. The red knot went green, the color spreading out in all directions. One down. Two to go. Why do we like threes so much? Witch clichés much, Daddy?

  Twenty minutes later, Chelsea walked through three shimmering sheets of green lines. The Grimoire was in the desk, which would be locked.

  She checked the desk for spells, found none, and was about to plop down in her father’s chair to get to work on the old skeleton lock when she thought better of it. She leaned down. Clever, Daddy.

  He’d placed a spell on the chair. Her weight would have set off alarms. She pushed the chair away, rather than unlock another. I have to reset them all when I leave. She formed a fist with one hand, spoke the words, and stuck a finger into the space within her fist with her other hand and turned it. The lock clicked, loud to her ears. She froze, holding her breath as she listened for the sound of feet on the stairs. None came.

  She opened the drawer a fraction of an inch. She found no spells. She opened it farther. Again none.

  Really, Daddy?

  She opened the drawer all the way. Nothing. She put both hands on the book.

  A light went on in the hallway.

  Chelsea went rigid. I am so dead!

  Sean wandered past in his boxers, scratching at his naked chest. Chelsea didn’t move as he made his way
into the kitchen. He walked past a few minutes later carrying a dish full of salsa, a bag of tortilla chips, and a glass so full of milk it spilled dribbles down the hall as he walked.

  The light clicked off.

  Chelsea closed her mouth and blinked as her eyes readjusted to the dark. I can’t believe the twerp didn’t see me.

  She still had her hands on the book. Another thought occurred to her. The chair! She knelt down and looked under the drawer. Sure enough, there was another weight-sensing spell embedded in the wood.

  She unlocked it with shaky hands. That was close. Thank you, Sean, for being a teenage boy who can’t go more than a couple hours without eating. Holy freak!

  She lifted the book slowly, checking for threads. There should be one more. Threes. Ah, yes, there you are. A simple, but effective spell stuck to the binding would let her father know the book had been opened. It could only be deactivated with the blood of the person who had created it.

  Chelsea reached into her pocket and pulled out a used Band-Aid. Yeah, disgusting, and way beneath her. She’d been planning this for a long time, and she’d known her father’s clumsy cutting of asparagus two years ago might come in handy. Digging in the bathroom trash through used tissues and thick yellow toenails had finally proven worth it.

  Still, better to have Amanda do that kind of work next time.

  She pressed it against the spell. It flashed green, knots writhing over one another like drowsy snakes. Yes!

  The book opened with the soft creaking of old leather. She smiled wickedly. “Oh, Shelby Brooks, you are so in trouble now.”

  Shelby dashed through the brush of the forest, her paws prancing over saplings, downed trees, and jagged stumps. Ten feet to her right, Kale ran parallel to her as they corralled their prey. A large white tail buck darted from them, having caught their scent from a slight shifting breeze in the Texas humidity. That had set the game afoot.

  She could feel the rest of the pack out there. Several had broken off to pursue their own game. A bunny raced away from the two remaining triplets. Dakota and Chenoa flanked those two, helping keep the bunny from darting off to the side.

  Four Lycans to one bunny? Really?

  Maybe it’s a werebunny, Kale thought back to her through their bond.

  Shelby started. Are werebunnies—

  So gullible, Brooks.

  Several others of the pack helped corral the buck she and Kale pursued.

  Rachel wandered off on her own, following a fox’s scent. Shelby sent her a sense of unity, of belonging. Rachel veered back toward the group, though slowly. Hesitantly.

  Spending her evening hunting a helpless animal on a night when she had plenty of homework and a gymnastics meet fast approaching didn't exactly thrill Shelby, but she needed to learn to do this. To hunt. To kill. But I do know how to kill, don’t I?

  The taste of Lucas’s foul blood still lingered too recently in memory, especially when in wolf form. Yes, I’m a predator, but I still need to learn to hunt. Or rather, she needed Eira to remember how to hunt. Her Immortal Wolf had been waiting for centuries to awaken, for Shelby to be reborn, for her to be ready to accept her reality. She needs this more than I do. The pack needs it too. I sacrifice my wants for them.

  It is who you are, Thyra. Eira took a moment from the hunt to speak to her. Shelby could feel her wolf’s excitement and anticipation.

  I still have a lot of questions, Eira. But both she and Skotha were conspicuously reticent to share more information. Shelby didn't press Eira, but part of her knew she could extract the information if she wanted to. It would be an intrusion though. And it was probably best not to piss off the wolf that lived inside of her.

  Later, Eira promised. Now we hunt!

  The buck scampered to the left as it passed a large oak. Kale snarled as he closed in. She felt him through their bond, even as fuzzy as it had felt lately. I need more control and practice there. She felt his anticipation, and Skotha’s within him, as they drew closer to their prey.

  Skotha was large, with a black coat that seemed to shimmer as he sprinted. But his eyes were the most striking. In his human form, Kale had the most piercing hazel eyes. In his wolf, they turned amber, but kept a hazel ring near their center, remaining as piercing as ever, perhaps amplified by their stark contrast with his black coat.

  The scent of fear in the air made Shelby salivate, something that surprised her. Though she had not grown up on Disney princess movies, she did have a soft spot for Bambi. But this is Bambi's dad, not Bambi. So, it’s all good, right? They sell tags to hunt Bambi’s dad. Though if Kale thinks he’s hanging a stuffed deer head on the wall, or antlers from a chandelier, he has another think coming.

  She laughed at herself. Yeah, she was already thinking about what her house decorations would look like when they were married. She supposed that was natural since Kale was her mate, and their human forms had been married in a previous life. She sighed. Fairy tale love is so gross. But then she remembered their first kiss at that bonfire just a couple weeks back, and how she had sensed that they used to be more to each other somehow, or even the same spirit. Two halves of the same whole.

  She growled, surprising herself out of her thoughts. Actually, that was Eira. She was hungry, and Shelby felt her hunger pains as well as her predatory instincts.

  Okay, kill now, reminisce later.

  I’d appreciate that, Eira said in Shelby’s mind. You’re driving me a little crazy with your mental ADD.

  You know what ADD is? Shelby asked.

  And Eira sighed within her. Shelby felt the sigh.

  Of course. You’re letting Bambi’s dad get away, Eira scolded.

  Isn’t it you that’s letting him get away?

  My body, mostly your control, Eira said. It is the price we paid for the union.

  Your sovereignty, Shelby thought, remembering again the vision Skotha had shown her. Viersin . . . what happened to Mareus and Viersin?

  Shelby leaped over a downed moss-covered tree, and her paws sprayed moist soil into the air as she propelled herself forward, gaining on the buck.

  Five rivers, can we just focus on the food for a second? Eira asked, impatient.

  Five rivers? Is that an Alsvoiran curse?

  Shelby could feel Eira’s shame at the curse, fueled by way more than using something she felt sacred in such a way. Yes. Focus.

  The buck stumbled. Shelby did not. She sprang into the air, fangs bared, and slammed into the buck. Kale hit it a second later, his large maw clamping down on the back of the deer’s neck. It thrashed its antlers wildly at Kale, jerking its head backward, but Kale avoided being impaled. The buck fell. Another wolf tore into a haunch. Several more came to their side, ecstasy rolling off them at their packmates’ success. Shelby sank her teeth into its soft underside as Kale snapped its neck.

  Warm, salty blood washed over her tongue as she tore the flesh. She forgot about everything else as a different type of drive took over, the drive of an apex predator. She then felt Elias near and began to back away from her kill.

  No, it is yours, he said. I will feed last.

  She went back, all thoughts of Bambi gone. The pack joined her, devouring the deer in eager bites.

  Her hunger sated, Shelby felt lighter on her paws as she stretched and yawned next to Kale as Elias finally took a bite of their kill. There was pride in her at being the one to bring it down, but also a protective drive to keep an eye out for other predators and scavengers as Elias got his fill. She took to a hillside, Kale at her heels.

  Contentment rolled through her, coming from Eira and the pack. The bunny had also been caught, serving as an appetizer for a few wolves. Rachel had given up on finding the fox but had not eaten much of the deer. She’s still hurting.

  Elias had finished and taken to the hill beside her. I will keep an eye out. Go run through the woods with the others. He almost seemed to be smiling. Let your wolf experience the freedom.

  Eira shivered with delight at the prospect. Shelby hear
d the rush of a small stream nearby.

  My thoughts exactly, Kale said through the link, sensing her feelings through their bond. Venison always makes me thirsty.

  At the stream, Shelby drank greedily. She washed the blood from her snout. The stream moved swiftly, but the water smoothed when she lifted her head. In the reflection, she saw her blue coat and golden eyes, flecked with silver. Around her snout, the blue of her fur lightened to a bluish-gray that made her features appear more feminine, though no less fierce.

  You’re beautiful, she told Eira.

  As are you, Thyra, in a pink, wriggling, hairless way.

  Ha, thanks.

  Shelby jumped in surprise as a splash of water rained on her. Looking up, she saw Kale standing in the stream, his wolf ears twitching with playfulness. She rushed into the shallow water, dipping her head like a plow in the water to splash him back, only she was downstream. Her counterattack failed. Water splattered down in fat droplets a foot short.

  Sad, Kale said. Just sad.

  Shelby jumped into him, and they rolled in the water, playfully snapping and growling at each other. Shelby couldn’t believe how joyful this felt, to frolic and play like this. Eira’s joy was palpable within her as ages of pent up stress and waiting released.

  I feel . . . free, Eira whispered with an air of amazement and relief.

  So do I, Shelby answered as she gnawed at one of Kale’s paws, playfully pulling it from under him. Kale stumbled, snout-planted into the stream, then went limp on his side. Shelby stopped.

  Kale?

  The gentle current washed over his coat as he lay there motionless. His coat moved with the pull of the stream, the left side of his body protruding from the water’s surface like a dark river rock.

  So, she said through the pack link direct to him, you can play dead? A little cliché, though. Your dad would not approve.

  Kale did not move, his snout still completely submerged.

  Ok, not funny anymore. She pawed his side. Seriously, stop. I don’t like it.

  He was so still, unnaturally so. She leaned down closer to his head. His eyes were narrow slits, mouth slightly agape. Almost like . . .