by Toni Goode
She shook her head again as she tried to stand but her legs shook something awful. She saw water, a puddle. She was half laying in it. She reached up to touch her face and she did a double take because she didn’t see a hand. She didn’t see a hand at all. She saw a furry red-haired paw and it freaked her out as she jumped and nearly fell over again. She looked left and then right, what was happening?
The sound of an owl caught her attention as she quickly looked up and saw it perched on a branch. How was she seeing it so well? She shook her head again as she looked at the ground. Her eyes went to the puddle of water and she backed up when she saw the reflection because it was like nothing she had ever seen before. It was a wolf looking back at her. A red-haired wolf. She stumbled backwards and fell over a branch on the ground. Was she a wolf? Holy shit she was a wolf!
She stumbled and got back on her feet as she walked over to the puddle once more and she slowly leaned over. Her eyes got wide as she looked at her face. She was definitely a wolf and her fur was dark red, her eyes were bright blue. She blinked quickly because she felt like she was dreaming. Was she dreaming? She thought to herself as she looked at her body.
You’re not dreaming. She heard Johns voice and she spun around and nearly fell down again. She saw a huge black wolf standing in front of her and she quickly backed up. It’s ok, you’re ok. You did it Briana, you’re a wolf now. She heard John say but it was in her head as she looked at the wolf.
How are you doing that? She thought in her head and then she jumped some. Can you hear me? She said with shock.
I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine. He said as he walked closer to her and she kept backing up.
This is too weird. She said as she shook her head. You’re really here?
Yeah, I’m really here. I could sense something was wrong. When I bit you it must have connected us? I’m not sure. He said with confusion.
You’re not sure? This isn’t normal? She felt scared as she stood there. What if something bad was about to happen. Fear began to race through her again and she stumbled backwards.
It’s fine. It’s just not very common. He said as he walked over to her some more.
Your huge, am I that huge? She said as she tried to look at her own body, but it was hard to move her head around to see. Woo that feels weird. She said as she went to walk but she fell forward instead. Everything began to spin, and her stomach felt sick as she blinked her eyes over and over again. The last time she opened her eyes she saw John leaning over her. He was human again and naked.
“Briana… Briana.” He called out as her eyes closed once more and then darkness took her over.
Briana could hear the sound of fire wood crackling and the scent of it brought her back to when she was a child. She remembered when her mother would put wood in the fireplace on a cold day. The smell of burning firewood was the way she woke up most mornings. Well, that was until a racoon had gotten into the house one night through the fireplace and her mother had the chimney sealed. There were no more fires in that fireplace after that, but she smelt one now and she blinked her eyes to see the crackling light in an otherwise dark room. A soft blanket covered her body and she couldn’t help but to pull it tighter against her body. It was then that she realized she was naked and not only that she had no idea where she was. She shot up on the couch as John walked over to her. He wore only a pair of jeans, no shirt or shoes. “Hey, don’t move so fast, the change is exhausting the first time.” He said as she pulled the blanket against her body even tighter. Images of a red wolf and a black one filled her head. “Here drink this, it will help.” He held out a tea cup to her.
“Where am I?” She looked around the dark room. It looked like a cabin, an old one.
“It’s a cabin on Michael’s property, mainly used as a hunting cabin.” He said as he moved closer to her. “Seriously drink this, it will help.” He held the cup out to her once more.
Briana slowly took it as she looked at him and then she sipped it. Immediately she began coughing as the alcohol mixed in the tea burned her throat. “Oh my god, that’s horrible.” She coughed as she shook her head.
“Sip it, trust me.” He said as he knelt down and looked at her and she suddenly felt very self-conscious as she held the blanket tighter against her body. Had he seen her naked? How did she get there? Her mind began to spin with thoughts. “I carried you here. You passed out from the excitement of the change, it happens to the best of us.” He said as she sipped the drink. God it was awful! She shook her head. “It may be awful, but it works.” He said, and her eyes got wide.
“How did you do that?” She said with shock. Did he just read her mind?
“Yeah, odd. I never had that happen before, I’ve heard about it from the elders.” He began as her eyes got wide.
Oh my god! Her heart began to race. “Don’t do that, don’t read my thoughts. Oh my god what’s happening.” She began to hyperventilate as she sat there, and she sipped the drink some more and coughed once more.
“I can’t really help it. It just sort of happens now. I think the change must have set something off.” He began with confusion as she looked at him and her mind immediately went to his body and how good it looked in the moonlight. She shut her eyes tight. Now she was thinking of him nonstop.
“It’s ok. Briana look at me, it’s ok.” He said as she opened her eyes some.
God he was gorgeous! “Shit!” She said as she quickly went to stand up, but she nearly fell as he reached out to stop her. Her tea sloshed over the side of the cup and fell to the ground with a splat. “Crap, sorry.” She said with a shake of her head.
“Just sit ok, I don’t need you falling down.” He said as she sat down quick and he walked out of the room. He could hear her? What the hell, talk about a nightmare! She sipped the rest of her tea and then she heard him in her head.
Trust me this is weird for the both of us. John came back in the room with a towel in his hand. She pulled her feet up on the couch as she held the blanket around herself. He leaned down and wiped the floor as she watched. Her mind got distracted as she watched his arm and back muscles flex. She felt herself flushing as she sat there and then he looked up at her.
“This is horrible. I don’t know why I am thinking that. I’m just nervous, confused. Please don’t look at me like that.” She shook her head quickly.
“It’s fine, really.” He began, and she rolled her eyes.
“How come I can’t hear you?” She said quickly.
“I guess I’m just not really thinking about anything.” He shrugged his shoulders.
Yeah right, freaking liar! Briana said as John laughed a little and shook his head. “That’s just great.” She huffed. “As if my life wasn’t screwed up to begin with.” She said sarcastically.
“You transformed Briana, that’s a big deal.” He began.
Not as big as running off and getting engaged! She thought and then she covered her mouth as she shook her head. “Yep, this is a nightmare.” She shook her head again. The room got uncomfortably quiet as Briana sat there and John stood across from her. “Just say something, this is unbearable!” Briana said honestly. “Actually, why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be at home or something?” She said quickly as he shrugged his shoulders.
“I felt like a run and well then I heard you.” He began. “It was weird, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was hearing at first. It was really muffled.”
You went on a run on your engagement day? She hated that she couldn’t stop talking about it. “Just ignore me please, at least until I figure out how to not think anymore.” She shook her head.
I thought you would still be with Steele, maybe I wanted to see for myself. He looked at her as her mind got filled with his thoughts and she swallowed hard. “See, you can hear my thoughts too.” He ran a hand through his long hair and then he walked over to the fire place. “I wasn’t expecting to find you like that. Was it really painful?” He kept looking at the fireplace as he forced to keep his min
d clear.
“It was horrible. Does it feel like that every time?” She said as he turned and faced her as fear raced through her. If she had to feel that every time she wasn’t sure she could take the pain again!
“No, the first is always the worst. It’s been a long time since I first changed.” He began as she sipped the remaining tea.
“How old were you?” She asked as he took a seat on the other side of the couch from her.
“I was ten, but I had seen my friends change the year prior. I was a late bloomer I suppose.” He smirked some.
“Ten? I couldn’t even imagine. Were you scared?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“I was more excited then anything. I just wanted to get it over and done with.” He said honestly.
“Steele told me he was 65 years old, are you really old too?” She asked, and John rolled his eyes.
Was that all that Steele told you? I can smell his scent on you. The thoughts escaped his mind before he could stop them, and he stood up quick as he ran a hand through his hair. “Wow, this is going to be tricky.” He said sarcastically as he shook his head, but Briana couldn’t help but smile.
“At least now were even.” She smirked some as he looked at her now and rolled his eyes.
“And yes, I suppose I am old.” He began as he turned and faced her. “I will be a hundred next year.” He said as her eyes got wide.
“What? Oh my god, 100!” She said in shock.
“Yeah yeah, I’m old-ish” He added with a smirk.
“No, you are like old old, like great grandpa old!” She laughed some.
“Actually, I think I could be old enough to be your great great grandpa!” He said sarcastically.
One hot grandpa then! The thoughts escaped, and she covered her mouth as she began to laugh nervously. He laughed a bit too. “I will not be held responsible for my thoughts just, so you know. I’m still recouping from the change.” She said quickly.
“Absolutely I wouldn’t think anything of it.” He smiled softly.
“Is there a bathroom? I mean I hope there is.” She began with a nervous laugh.
“Yeah right down the hall.” He said as she stood up now and kept the blanket against her body.
She turned to walk down the hallway. “No listening ok.” She said without turning around as she got to the bathroom and went inside.
Briana got to the bathroom and turned the light on as she closed the door. She tried to keep her mind clear but when she turned and looked in the mirror she let out a huge gasp because her face and hair had what looked like dirt and mud caked on it. Oh my god, what the hell!
“Briana are you ok?” John could be heard as he came down the hallway.
“Oh um, yeah. Um. Don’t listen ok. I said don’t listen!” She huffed as she quickly began to wipe her face. She looked unbelievably bad. Like shockingly bad. He had been looking at her and she had dirt all over her face! She wanted to crawl under a rock and die.
“It’s fine you know. It’s just dirt.” He said from outside the door and she huffed.
God you don’t listen at all! Please walk away from the door. She yelled the thoughts in her head and then she heard him walking away. She let the blanket drop and she gasped again at the sight of her body. More dirt and mud.
It’s really not that bad Briana. His words filled her head and she sighed heavily.
“I’m putting up a do not disturb sign in my head, ok!” She huffed as she shook her head and stared at her dirty and very bruised body. She did a quick inventory of the bruises and cuts. It actually wasn’t bad considering what she had been through. She looked at the shower and then quickly put it on as she waited for the water to get hot.
It was incredibly hard not to think while she was in the shower. She had so many things happening at once it was hard to keep her mind clear. She had not only turned into a wolf but now John could hear her thoughts. As if she didn’t have enough crap going on in her life. She wanted to cry but she pushed the tears back. She was going to suck it up. So, what if she had lost her family, her friends and her lively hood all in the matter of a week. The hardest part for her was knowing that her family wouldn’t have real closure. She wanted to be able to say goodbye to them. She knew her mother would be lost without her and she hated to think about how Emma was handling things. She was glad that she did not have any siblings because that would have added to the huge amount of guilt that she had already.
Then she thought about people like her boss at the bar. Who would make sure that he took his blood pressure medicine and ate a decent meal. He was a widower and Briana had taken care of him for so long. It just came as a routine, she didn’t even think of it as work. He was extended family for all she cared. There was just something so final about changing into a god damn wolf that she felt like she was really losing everything. The tears came hard and fast. She gave up trying to force them away, it would be pointless. The thing that made this all worse was knowing that she would live so long that she would watch her own family die and what was a life without family? Could she ever make a family with someone here? She doubted, hell she would probably be single until she was a hundred and then the day before she died she would meet someone. The thought actually made her laugh some as she cried. That would be her luck! I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m just having a breakdown, a much-deserved breakdown. She said in her head. She couldn’t even have a meltdown in peace anymore!
John could hear her having a meltdown, but he was too busy trying to look up the background to being able to hear another wolf’s thoughts. He remembered a long time ago his father had told him of one of the elders who had the gift, because that is what it was called, a gift. But to have two wolves having it and one of them was recently a human and not a pureblood. He was sure it was incredibly rare or possibly unheard of. He scrolled through different internet links, ones that normal folk would look over, but he knew that some of the folk lore had truth to it.
He was pretty sure that they needed to keep this quiet until he learned more. The things that could be done if this got into the wrong hands. His phone went off again and it was another text from Kate asking where he was. He knew he would have to deal with her. Hell, he had taken off on their so-called wedding night. He ignored her messages and continued searching through the internet. He stopped when he came upon something that spoke of being ‘soul bonded,’ but that was incredibly rare. If two souls became bonded by blood, then they could not only hear each other but feel pain that the other one is in and if death happened to one it would simultaneously happen to the other one. He heard the bathroom door open and he quickly shoved his phone into his pocket.
He could hear her singing in her head. Apparently, she was using it as a way to keep herself from thinking. He heard one of the bedroom doors open and then close. He was going to have to look more into what he found later. He looked at his watch and sighed. It was nearly 6 am now. He sent his brother a quick text to let him know that he had gotten held up and that he needed Kate to stay away for a few days. He knew that Michael hated getting in the middle of things but right now he had no choice. Suddenly everything was quiet, too quiet. Eerily quiet and he found himself heading down the hall. He got to the door and he knocked softly. “Briana?” He said quietly as he stood outside the door, but he got no response. He turned the handle of the door and opened it. The sound of her sleeping filled the room as she laid under the covers.
John took the opportunity to text the word soul bound? to one of his witch contacts. The only one he trusted anything with, a lot of the witches could be bought, and their loyalty was fake but one. Clara, he had met her years ago when one of the rogue vampires killed her husband. He had brought her justice and she would repay the debt. He knew that if anyone knew of anything about soul bound wolves then it would be her.
Within seconds she responded back to his message with her own. Soul bound? Are you sure? She texted back to him.
He quickly wrote. 100%. Tell me what you
know.
She wrote back quickly. Meet me at the place where the dead find peace and when the sun is the highest in the sky.
He rolled his eyes as he wrote her back. Ok. Witches were always so secretive and spoke in rhymes often to make sure who they were dealing with and that someone wasn’t trying to lure them out. They were a paranoid bunch but thankfully he knew exactly what she meant. Bring her. She added and now he blinked a bit in shock. He was about to write her back and she wrote once more. Don’t question me John, just do it. Bring her.
John sighed and shook his head as he put his phone back in his pocket. He was trying to keep Briana out of this until he knew what exactly he was dealing with but if Clara said to bring her then he would. He needed answers.
Chapter Eleven
Briana felt nervous and anxious as she sat in the car with John. He said he had someone for them to see and he was being secretive. He had no thoughts going on in his head at all. She felt like something was up, but he wouldn’t tell her anything even when she repeated things over and over in her head. He said that once he had more information then they would discuss things.
“I don’t know why you just don’t tell me now, I mean if we are going to see someone then I’m about to find out anyways.” She said honestly as he looked at her but before he could answer her, his phone went off again and he just glanced at it and then put it to silent. “You know you should probably talk to your fiancée, I’m sure she is pissed.” Briana began as he kept driving. Ana had called at least twenty times in the last thirty minutes.