by Charlie Hart
Remedy
My blood boils as I leave the cave and storm into the woods. My arm still hurts from last night’s bear attack, but thankfully the wound wasn’t deep, and the bleeding stopped quickly.
As I push my way through the thick trees, I make sure to avoid tripping over fallen branches and exposed roots. Above me, the sky is heavy with fog, but I can make out the hint of a mountain range to my north. Beyond that, I have no freaking clue where I am. And while I stuffed trail mix, energy bars, and a half dozen water bottles into my back pack before peacing out, eventually I’ll need more water. Assuming there’s a river coming off the mountain somewhere, I head that way. Fuming as I walk.
I don’t know what hippy-dippy sex-travaganza happened last night. I must have been seriously deranged after killing Ray because I slept with not only one stranger—but three of them.
I know I’m a mess—I always have been—but then River, Callum, and East held me, and kissed me, and made me feel so fucking good. I don’t regret what happened in that cave—hell no—in fact I’m depressed over the fact that I know there won’t ever be a sexual experience in my life that will top it. But then I remember the way they spoke this morning… like they owned me. Like I was theirs—it gave me the heebie-jeebies.
I get it. We live in different worlds. I’m from the real one and they are from some vortex where men shift into wolves and run as a pack. Alice didn’t fall down this fucking hole.
And the whole “mate” thing. I mean, come on. We screw once and now I am their one true mate? It’s too much to wrap my mind around.
Besides, I’m fighting for survival here. I don’t have time to fuss over them—no matter how rock solid and chiseled their bodies were. I have my own life to worry about. If the police decide to come hunt me down, the forest behind Sadie’s house is the first place they are going to look.
I braid my hair as I walk, securing it with a black band, and try to erase the guys from my mind. Every time I try to think of something else though, my mind returns to River’s eyes on mine, to Callum’s mouth on my breasts, to East’s cock in my mouth.
“Gah,” I scream at the sky, sending a flock of birds in the air. I am just so freaking frustrated. I’m not saying my life should be easy… but I just want to catch a break. And I know last night I experienced something most women dream about—but that's not the kind of break my body and heart really craves.
I want to be able to set down my backpack without fear of a shopkeeper yelling at me for stealing a loaf of bread. I want to change my clothes in a room other than a public bathroom. I want to take off my shoes and know I am home.
Instead, I am in alone. In Alaska. In the fucking wilderness.
Finding a clearing, I sit down on a boulder and rest. Reaching for a bottle of water, I try to remain calm. Drinking half of it, I roll my shoulders back—trying to focus on the fact I’m alive and intelligent. I’ve gotten this far— I can do the next part too. Whatever that is.
Through the trees, I see a flash of fur. For a moment I think maybe the guys have shifted to wolves and have come for me. I’m preparing myself to go off on them again when the bear from last night crashes through the clearing.
Immediately, my entire body is charged. Shoulders, legs, feet, fists. There’s no way in hell this beast is going to get another chance to bite me. No way in hell.
I crouch down, ready to take her on. The fire in my belly grows and the ground seems to quake. The forest rumbles, matching the way I feel inside, the same way I felt before I lashed out against Ray. Angry and alone and threatened. I feel like the orphan girl I’ve never forgotten—me against the world. This bear is not going to win. Hell no.
Instead of retreating, I’m compelled to lunge for her. I want to attack a big ass bear. What the hell is going on with me?
I leap forward and as I do my skin begins to morph, change before my eyes, my legs begin to shake as they transform. Grey fur emerges as I whip my fists toward the bear, my fingers change too, claws come out and my face morphs, my nose suddenly keenly aware of the animals around me, and my eyes zoom in on the bear’s presence. My body… it shifts.
I am a wolf.
And I am fucking furious.
Growling with all my might at the bear, I rip at her, wanting her to feel the pain I’ve always carried. The trauma of having no one and being forgotten. For being pushed aside and left out. I lash at the bear, directing all my anger, all my rage at her.
Maybe it’s misplaced—but she started this fight.
Now I will finish it. My claws rip at her.
Blood coats her black coat, glistening in the midday sun as I pounce. She seems to have stopped fighting back. Instead, she whimpers, not a growl. She pulls back, practically running away. And I run after her, wanting her to know exactly how I feel—but she is gone, moving faster and knowing this forest better than I.
I look around, having found myself near a river, and I dip my head into the stream of water.
And that’s when I begin to hyperventilate. For the record, when you’re a wolf and you hyperventilate, it’s displayed in a strange way. One second I’m drinking water from the river—lapping it up with my actual tongue— and the next I’m on my belly, head buried in my paws.
Yes, paws. Because I’m a wolf.
Or something.
What did those motherfuckers do to me last night?
I don’t know how to get out of this form and return to Remedy.
I lift my head, trying to slow my breathing, and from this low spot on the forest floor, I see sunlight trickling through the branches, the water burbling down the river, the birds overhead taking flight—and I feel and hear it all. Everything around me is heightened. And for a moment I wonder if maybe it’s better this way. Maybe living as a wolf is better than being Remedy, girl on the run. Maybe this shift solves all my problems. Like every single one of them. Except you know, the no longer being human part.
Alone in my thoughts, I don’t notice at first that I’m surrounded.
This time though, it isn’t the mama bear coming after me.
It’s the wolves. All three of them.
And they stare at me, and deep inside I can sense that something has changed. Something vital.
They look at me, in wolf form, and I know what I am.
Theirs.
Chapter 10
Callum
With my eyes on hers, I communicate for all of us men. If we all start talking at once it will overwhelm her.
Don’t freak out.
Are you nuts? Look at me, I’m a wolf. What did you do to me?
You can shift back. Just listen.
I didn’t ask for this. What did you do to me?
It wasn’t something we did. It was fate.
Fate had a role in this? Because from the looks of things you did this to me. Why?
Calm down, Rem. You can shift by closing your eyes and imagining yourself in human form.
It’s not working. My eyes are closed and, yet I still have a fucking tail.
Your tail’s cute, by the way.
No, no flirting, Callum. I’m not doing that.
Doing what?
I just want to be…
I step closer to her, not wanting to scare her away.
You just want to be what, Rem?
She looks into my eyes, her dark fur so beautiful, with a red streak starting between her eyes, running the length of her, down her tail. Her eyes are the same fiery dark pools as in human form. But as a wolf, she seems more vulnerable; she doesn’t know how to protect herself in animal form. As a woman, she knows what it means to survive—but as a predator in the wild, it’s an entirely different game. And she must sense the change.
We need to get her someplace safe. Now it’s more urgent than ever.
I just want to feel safe. Like I did in the cave, with you guys. Before you got here now, the bear came back. We fought, and I remembered how alone I felt in the tent last night. How I am tired of feeling like that. And I d
on’t know what’s happening, but Callum, don’t leave me alone. Don’t let me run. I need… I need…
Us.
She nods.
Close your eyes, Rem, and focus on your mates keeping you safe.
She closes her eyes, and so do the guys and I. Then, as a breeze passes overhead, we move from animal to man. Standing on our own two feet.
She collapses, tears on her cheeks. “What the fuck is happening?”
We step toward her, knowing if the other information sent her running, what we need to tell her now might scare her off completely.
“Listen,” I say, taking her hands in mine. The fact that she lets me, eases the tension building between my shoulder blades. “I know we just met. But like we told you this morning, wolves mate for life.”
“Right,” she says, looking us over warily. “And that made me turn into a wolf?”
I shake my head. “No, that didn’t.”
Her eyes cloud over with confusion and East steps forward, taking one of her hands in his own. “Human women who mate with wolf-shifters are given the power to shift themselves, when they…” he exhales, squinting, and looking at River for backup.
River nods, and with a raised brow tell Remedy the truth. “When they get pregnant.”
Remedy snorts. “Pregnant?” She raises her hands in defense, clearly in flight mode. “Not possible. We had sex less than twenty-four hours ago. It’s too early.”
I speak up, “Maybe it’s too early for a human child but, Rem, you aren’t carrying a human baby. And since you slept with all of us last night, your child is one part of all of us.”
She shakes her head, pressing her hands to her flat stomach. Tears in her eyes. “Not possible. I can’t… I’m not…”
I rest a hand on her shoulder. “Rem, it’s the only way you could have shifted. Your body knows much earlier than a test could.”
“I didn’t have a choice in this,” she says. “I didn’t ask to be… I know we should have used condoms and that was idiotic but––”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Those don’t work with shifters anyways.”
“Oh, so you have super sperm, too?”
“Yeah,” I say, knowing my tone is cockier than I intend. “Call it super sperm if you want but Rem, we knew where to find you, knew you were––”
She pushes away. “I get it, okay? I was your special prize, you knew where to stalk me, you knew everything,” she snaps. “But what if I say no?”
“You want to raise a wolf shifter in the real world?” I roll my eyes. “Listen, Rem, we know it’s a lot, and hell, we didn’t expect to knock you up the first time we were together—but that’s what has happened. And besides, you’re going to shift at inopportune times, from here on out. If you're in heat, you’ll shift. If you are feeling protective, you’ll shift. You can’t just live in the real world anymore. That reality is off the table.”
She clenches her fists, looks at the sky and screams. Her voice echoes through the trees and bounces off the mountain. Her anger courses through the ground beneath my feet and reminds me that she is one hell of a woman.
“This is so not how I wanted my life to go. You get, that, right?” she asks, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
“What did you want your life to be?” East asks. “Because we will do whatever we can to give you what you want.”
She looks at him as if he has no clue. “You can’t give me what I want.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re freaking wolves. You live in a cave … you … you’re animals.”
“We’re men, too. Or did you forget last night? Look at me, Rem,” I say stepping in front of her. “I know this is all crazy fast, I know it’s confusing, but can we try?”
She presses a hand to her forehead. She looks exhausted and all I want right now is to pull her into my arms and take away her worry. I’m not usually the consoling type—I give that to River and East—but looking at Rem right now, I want to take care of her. Protect her. Forever.
“So, what, we just go back to the cave and pee in the woods and eat nuts and berries? That’s my life now?”
I furrow my brows. “What?”
“The cave, isn’t that where you live?”
I shake my head, realizing our mate really has no idea what she’s gotten herself into.
“No, baby,” I say. “We have a home. It’s where we plan on taking you.”
“Like, a house?”
“Uh, yeah. A house.” East grins. “With electricity and everything.” He doesn’t ask permission, he just pulls Rem to himself and kisses the top of her head. “Did our mate think she was going to be roughing it for the rest of her life?”
“Does this house have a shower? Because it’s been weeks since I bathed beyond a sink and a washcloth.”
“What do you mean?”
For a moment it’s like she’s realizing her admission says more than she wants. But then, she shrugs, and her eyes glaze over with defiance. Suddenly, there’s a wall up she doesn’t want us to break through. “Well, uh, I’ve been living on the streets for a while.”
I look at River and East, the three of us surprised at this detail.
“And before then?” I ask. “Where were you? Where’s your family, Rem?”
She smirks like we have no clue. And maybe we don’t. “I’ve always been on my own,” she says. “Told you I was a loner. You might say, until now, I was a lone wolf.”
Chapter 11
Remedy
I’d say the guys were crazy… except I feel a sliver of something within me.
In my womb.
Which—I know. It’s crazy-town talk.
And maybe I am crazy. But I also know I shifted into wolf form today and their explanation of it makes sense. Not to mention the fact I do feel something inside me. Maybe a wolf-shifter baby is more powerful than a regular human baby? It’s the only thing that makes any sense at all.
“You okay?” East asks, his face warm and it puts me at ease. The guys say we’re only a mile from their house and the walk has been pretty painless. I’m not scared of the bear as long as they are with me. We even find my backpack where I’d left it during my bear-fight.
“I’m just trying to process everything. It’s a lot.” Exhaling, I reach for East’s hand.
“Any questions?” he asks.
“Do you guys, like, have jobs?”
East smiles. “Everyone in our old pack—about one hundred males right now, work for the pack leader’s company, Forest Trek. They take tourists on hikes and expeditions and stuff.”
“But not you?”
“East lifts an eyebrow, looking at me in a way that tells me he has a story. “It’s not that simple. We refused to take the mates Malik, our leader, had chosen for us and it put us on the outs with the pack.”
“You mentioned that last night.”
“Right, well, he can’t technically kick us out, but he assigned us the grunt jobs.”
“So, what’s a wolf shifter job that is grunt labor?”
“We patrol the territory. Mostly it’s a lot of walking in circles. Not very glamorous.”
“Why not get a job in town?”
“If we quit Forest Trek entirely, we lose our pack.. There aren’t any other shifter wolf packs in Alaska. It’s not something we we’re prepared to do. And now that you’re pregnant, I’m glad we never did.”
“You think it’s real, this pregnancy?”
“I hope it is,” he says, squeezing my hand.
My eyes are still on his face, his thick beard, and the warm hand holding mine. “Why? I’m a stranger.”
He just shakes his head. “No, Remedy, you’re family.” He points up ahead, and my eyes land on a house.
Not just a house. A storybook cottage ripped from the pages of Snow White or Goldilocks.
“Welcome home,” East says. “I hope you like it.”
He has no idea what those words mean to me. What this place means to me.
But I plan on explaining everything, right after I take a nice long bath.
* * *
I run my hand along the butcher-block counter, over the river rock fireplace. I open a linen closet and find it stuffed to the gills with down pillows and hand-stitched quilts.
“This is not a bachelor pad,” I say, but it’s not really a question. “What gives?”
“It was my aunt’s place, Callum says. “She wasn’t a shifter, and she died a few years ago. I inherited it. We moved in after we left the compound.”
I nod, taking in the rugs on the hardwood floor, the narrow staircase leading to the bedrooms upstairs. “Sorry about your aunt.”
“It’s alright. It’s been a few years, and we weren’t very close.”
“East told me about some of the stuff that went down with the pack. So, the rest of the pack lives on a compound?”
Cal nods. “Yeah, and we still have every right to live there, we just wanted some space. And… this place is pretty nice.”
“More than nice,” I say, taking in the drapes and the plush couches, the bookshelves lined with books, the purposefully placed artwork on the wall. “That bay window reading nook is just a little too perfect.”
Cal shrugs. “You like it? It seems a little old-fashioned.”
“It’s cozy. I love it.”
We walk upstairs. East and River have left to get groceries, and Cal’s job is to make sure I get settled in.
He shows me the three bedrooms—iron bed frames and steamer trunks and small identifying markers of each of the men. Cal helps me figure out which room is whose. River’s room has a ton of journals on the desk. Cal has the hunting knives, and East has the Frisbees.
“Why do you like old-fashioned things. most women I’ve met wants things modern and new. They wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of moving into a dead woman’s house.”
We head to the bathroom at the end of the hall—with a claw foot tub, in all its perfect enamel glory. Cal turns on the shower, and I sit on the toilet while it heats up.
“I may look like a girl from the other side of the tracks, but I think every girl, somewhere deep inside, dreams of a space that is inviting, nestled deep in the woods, safe from the storms of the world.” Twisting the ends of my hair, I avoid his eyes. “Or maybe that’s just me. A girl who remembers packing every worldly possession in a black plastic garbage bag before being dropped off at yet another foster home. Like I was nothing but trash.”