“That doctor, the one with Search and Rescue this morning? I think she might be the One. I was really attracted to her.”
“Congratulations, man. That’s wonderful news. What does your bear think?”
“That’s just it, my bear isn’t all that jazzed about it. What do I do now? I don’t know where she’s from or anything about her. I only know her name.” Robert threw some rocks into the dark.
“When we get home, we’ll find out where she’s from. SAR will have records. We’ll find her and then you can find out for sure. Let’s get some rest.” With that, Charles got up and headed back to camp.
Chapter 11
Amy spent two whole days teaching Jackie how to shift. At first she found it to be difficult. Jackie would start to feel the change coming and get scared. She would lose her concentration and everything would stop. Finally, by the end of the first day, she was getting the hang of shifting.
Amy would shift with her. They went up to Charles’ bedroom and practiced there. They didn’t want one of the Wolf brothers to pop in unannounced and startle Jackie in mid shift. By the end of the second day, Jackie could shift with no problem at all; with or without interruption.
The third day they took a break. Jackie made a honey cake to go with the homemade ice cream. She had found an ice cream maker in the pantry and made ice cream the night before.
Amy had helped Jackie move her belongings into Charles’ room and Amy was staying in the guest room Jackie vacated. When they were done, they both shifted and went for a run. Amy wanted Jackie to know her surroundings. James and one of the brothers joined them. James didn’t want anything to happen to Jackie on his watch.
She learned how to go around the lake and where it was safe to cross over the river. It was almost dusk and Jackie saw all sorts of wildlife head for the lake to drink and then fade back into the woods around them. The four of them had been running and exploring until Jackie was worn out and ready to go home. On their way back to the house, one of the brothers, David, met them on the path by the lake.
David, the second oldest brother, took James aside and let him know someone had been snooping around the house, but he was gone now. James told him to make sure the brothers stayed alert. He didn’t say anything to Jackie. He didn’t want to frighten her and spoil her day. Jackie was so excited; she couldn’t wait to surprise Charles when he got home. No point in telling her if the person was gone. He would tell his sister when he had a moment alone with her.
When they got back to the house, Jackie invited James to dinner, but he declined. He told her he had things to do and left. Jackie and Amy fixed dinner and Amy told her to ask as many questions as she wanted to ask. She would help her whenever she could.
“Amy. Those animals we saw down by the lake, do you and your brothers hunt them for food like normal wolves?”
“Eeeww, no. We buy food at the store just like Charles and Robert. It just wouldn’t seem right to eat one of those animals. We actually try to protect them, especially during hunting season. We do patrols and make sure they all stay away from the areas the hunters are in. This area is a wildlife reserve and hunting isn’t allowed, but that doesn’t stop the poachers.” Amy got a little sad. “We lost one of my brothers a couple of years ago to a poacher.”
“Oh, Amy. I’m so sorry,”
“We learned our lesson. Since then we are careful not to let our guard down. I was to blame. I thought the area was safe and gave the all clear signal. It wasn’t all clear and he was killed because of me.” Amy wiped a tear away.
“Oh, Amy.” Jackie went to her and put her arms around her.
Amy took a deep breath. “I’m okay. It is something I should warn you about. When you shift, you must always be on your guard. To poachers, you’re just a trophy they can stuff and hang on the wall. They don’t know that you’re also human.”
They both ate quietly for a while, and then Amy’s head shot up. “Oh, Jackie.”
“What?” a bit startled.
“Do you want to have kids?”
“I would like to someday. Why?”
“When two different species get together, you being a bob cat and Charles a bear, it’s very rare to have kids.” She could see the disappointment in Jackie’s face. “But it can happen, it’s not impossible, and you could always adopt; we have a lot of orphans in the shifter world due to the hunters and poachers.”
“Wow. I never thought about that. Who thinks about the babies when they go hunting; I imagine a lot of them are killed by the poachers as well.”
Amy just nodded her head. “If you were human and got pregnant, you’d have a bear cub. Now you, on the other hand, if you and Charles were to have a baby, because it’s extremely rare, I’m not sure. I don’t know any mixed couples that have ever had a baby.
Charles’ niece is an Artic fox, well she’s not really his niece. She’s the adopted daughter of one of his best friends, but they are considered uncles in the shifter community. Her true mate turned out to be a timber wolf, neither one is dominant and both canine, so that’s okay. They had twins in the spring. The baby girl is a fox just like her mom and the boy is a wolf like his daddy. They came to visit for a couple of weeks in July. I’m sure you’ll get to meet them.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. You have helped me understand so much.” Jackie dished up some homemade ice cream.
“Do you have a mate, Amy?”
“No, I haven’t found my mate yet. I wouldn’t be here if I had. You’re lucky to have found Charles. Some of us never find our true mate.”
“Charles told me that we were destined to meet. Are you saying that if he hadn’t found me when he did, that both of us could have gone our entire lives without a mate?”
Amy nodded.
“And why did you say that if you had a mate you wouldn’t be here?”
“Once you officially mate, you bite each other; you both receive a bit of each other’s DNA. After that, you never want to be apart from each other, except to go to work. Even that can be hard sometimes, especially when you’re newly mated.”
“I missed learning so much, not having my parents around.” Jackie ate her ice cream and didn’t say anything for a long time. “Do you want kids, Amy?”
“Yes I do, but I don’t think I’ll ever find a mate here. I need to do some traveling, maybe go and visit cousins in other parts of the country someday. I know everyone here and none of them are the One.”
“Amy, Charles said his mother was human, not a shifter. Does that happen very often?”
“As a matter of fact, it does. Probably more than shifter with shifter. I guess that’s how we keep our human side. My mom was a wolf shifter, but my grandmother was human. Just like your mom was human and your dad was a shifter.” Amy told her.
“Well, dah. If that wasn’t the stupidest question I’ve ever asked. Like I forgot my mother was a normal human. Open mouth and spew stupid.” They both busted up laughing. They were laughing so much; they almost didn’t hear the knock at the door.
Amy jumped up and answered the door. It was her brother James.
“May I come in?” She opened the door further to let her brother enter.
“Hi James, is everything okay?” Jackie asked.
“Yup. I got a message from Search and Rescue. Charles and Robert found the missing hikers. They had to air lift one injured hiker and the rest are making their way back. They should be home tomorrow night.”
“Thank you for letting me know.” Jackie had a big smile. “Would you like some homemade ice cream?”
“I’d love some. Really homemade?”
Jackie nodded and went to get him a bowl of ice cream. As she headed for the refrigerator, she looked out the huge kitchen window and saw someone. “James, did your brothers shift?’
“No. Why?”
“Because I just saw a man outside by the woods.”
James jumped up and raced to the door. “Lock the door” he yelled as he flew outside, shifting in midair an
d landing as his wolf. Amy quickly locked the door.
“Jackie, get away from the window.” Amy screamed at her.
Jackie instantly dropped to the floor. “What’s going on?” She crawled on her hands and knees into the living room to be with Amy.
“I don’t know. Are all the doors locked?” Jackie nodded. “What did you see out there?”
“A man. I’ve never seen him before. He wasn’t the man that bought me from my uncle.”
Amy looked at Jackie. “Girl, you have a story to tell me.”
“I thought you knew. That’s why you’re here.”
“James just said we were to watch for strangers, that no one was welcome while Charles and Robert were gone. I figured it was because you’re new here and just became Charles mate.”
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to become mates. I wish he was here.”
Chapter 12
Charles and Robert finally made it back to their Ranger base camp by the end of the second day since they started back. He had been surprised that the hikers finally got it together and they made good time hiking out of the back country.
Normally Charles and Robert would stay at the base camp until morning and drive home the next day, but this time Charles couldn’t wait, he wanted to get home to Jackie. One good thing about Search and Rescue, he wouldn’t have to report back to work for a week. Each night counted as one day, so for four days and three nights in the back country gave him and Robert seven days off.
Charles and Robert took showers and cleaned up before leaving the camp. They would fax their report to the main office the next day. It would take several hours to drive back home and Charles wanted to get home as soon as possible.
They were both quiet and lost in thought for most of the drive home. Robert finally started to ask Charles questions.
“Charlie, how am I going to tell Dr. Stevens I’m a shifter? If she’s the one, I mean? What were you going to do before you found out Jackie was a shifter? How were you going to tell her?”
“I didn’t really have a chance to think about, she brought up that bullshit about being a freak before I had a chance to tell her. I know she saved me from having the headache you have now. You could always give Mack or Bill a call and find out how they handled it. Both their mates are human, right?”
“That’s a good idea. After I find out more about the Doctor, I’ll give Mack a call. Thanks, Charlie.”
“Glad I could help.” They both laughed. This was a new topic of discussion that they never had to deal with before. “I really hope she’s the one. You realize if she is, we’ve all found our mates.”
“Yeah, but its only taken a hundred years. I’ll have to build us a home of our own. I can’t believe I just said that, I don’t even know if she’ll have me.”
“Don’t put the cart before the horse, little brother. We have to find her first and then you have to determine if she really is the one. Then you have to tell her about your bear. That’s a pretty steep to-do list. Let’s take this one step at a time. Okay?”
“You’re right, and it’s going to be really hard not to jump to the head of the line.”
Charles was laughing as he finally pulled up to the house. He had tried to get in touch with James several times, but didn’t get an answer. He wanted to let him know they were on their way home. Something didn’t seem right as he shut off the engine. “Where are the wolves?”
Robert had been kicked back, but he was instantly upright. There were no lights on in the house and not a single wolf. “Where the fuck are the wolves?”
“Didn’t I just say that?” Charles slowly opened his door as quietly as he could.
“No. You said; where are the wolves.” Robert whispered. All he heard was a growl, Charles had already shifted.
Charles sniffed the air, his powerful nose picking up different scents. He could smell the wolves, but it was faint. That told him they were gone. He picked up Jackie’s scent mixed with the wolves, but that could have been from the other day. He slowly went around the house. He didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary until he got to the back of the house. Someone had been there. It wasn’t a smell he was familiar with. He shifted back and went to the back door. He stood motionless, listening. Not a sound.
He quietly checked the back door, it was unlocked. Robert had just come around the corner. Charles signaled for him to go around to the front door just in case there was someone in the house and they ran out that way. He gave Robert a minute to get to the front before going in the back door.
There were no sounds in the house. Charles went from room to room, looking for Jackie. He could see in the dark, so he didn’t have to turn lights on. When he went into the room she had been sleeping in, he could smell Amy, he knew her all her life and knew her scent. Having checked the first floor, Charles quietly went up the stairs. When he opened his bedroom door, his senses were filled with Jackie’s scent.
“Jackie, are you here?” he whispered. Nothing. One good thing, he couldn’t scent anyone other than Jackie and Amy in his room. After checking the other rooms including Robert’s, Charles gave the all clear signal to Robert and turned on some lights.
Robert bounded up the stairs and into Charles’ room. “Charlie, where is she? Where’s Jackie?”
“I don’t know.” He looked around his room and saw that Jackie had moved her stuff into his room. “I think Amy has been here with her, she’s been staying in the guest room. Jackie’s been sleeping up here.”
Charles ran down to the den and tried calling James. “Come on asshole, answer your damn phone.” He said to himself out loud. There was a snarl and growl behind him. Charles spun around.
“Watch who you’re calling an asshole, fuck head.” It was James.
“Where is she? Someone has been snooping around.” Charles was at the end of his rope.
“Settle down, she’s safe. You told us to move her if there was a problem and we did what you asked.” James shook his head. “When have I ever let you down?”
“Sorry. I just panicked. What happened, who was here?”
“I don’t know. There was some guy hanging around, Jackie said it wasn’t her uncle or the guy that sold her to you. That sucks big time by the way.” James had been shocked when his sister told him Jackie’s story.
“Yeah, I know. So, she’s okay? Wait a minute, he didn’t sell her to me, I didn’t buy her, I just paid the guy to go away. Is that what she thinks?” Dread filled Charles, she couldn’t believe that, could she?
“No man, she doesn’t think that, I’m messing with you. She’s with my sister, she’s fine. If you want to lock things up, we can go and join them. They’re up on the Peak. Charles and Robert grabbed their backpacks that carried their clothes, locked up the house and they all rode in the Hummer. They had to drive fire roads to get close to the base of the Peak.
*****
The Peak was the highest mountain in the Madison mountain range, it was where the wolves called home. The Wolf family had lived in the Madison range for as long as there were wolves; half way up to the top of the Peak. They had a beautiful home built into the mountain side. From the outside, it looked like a small cabin. You’d miss it if you didn’t know it was there, camouflaged by huge rocks and trees.
Amy explained to Jackie that in the beginning it started out as a regular den in a cave, but when the first human mate was introduced to the pack, things started to change. A human mate couldn’t live in a cave, so they built a cabin into the side of the mountain and incorporated it with the cave. The earthquake that created Quake Lake had caused some damage and made the cave bigger, but everything was rebuilt and modernized, except for electricity.
Jackie understood now, why Amy didn’t have milk or cream for coffee. It wasn’t so much that they didn’t have electricity or refrigeration, it was carrying everything up the mountain. They made do with bare essentials and had for generations. They used powdered milk and if something needed to be kept cold there was a natural
fissure deep inside the mountain that stayed at a constant thirty-five degrees. With such a large family, nothing lasted long enough to spoil.
Amy showed her around. There was a large kitchen with a huge wood stove, a family room and at least six bedrooms. Most of the older brothers and Amy lived in or near town now and worked for the Parks and Forest Services, but came to the Peak regularly. The younger members of the family still lived at home
Jackie was amazed. The place was so big, but from the outside you would have thought it was nothing more than a three-room cabin.
Chapter 13
Charles, Robert and James finally made it to the Forest Service substation at the base of the Peak. Most of them worked there from time to time. They could leave the Hummer there. The three of them headed for the Peak, it would take them more than an hour at a run to make it to the cabin.
Amy and Jackie had already gone to bed by the time Charles got to the cabin. James showed them to a room Charles and Robert could share for the night.
“James.” Charles whispered. “Where is she? I have to see her.”
James knew it couldn’t wait until morning. “End of the hall, last door on the right, and keep the noise down. I’m going to bed; I’ll see you both in the morning.” James left, Robert went to bed and Charles couldn’t wait to finally be with his mate. He headed down the hall to the last door on the right.
He stood outside her door trying to slow his racing heart. She was there, just a door away. “Come on Charles, do something.” He said to himself. He rested his forehead against her door. “Maybe I should wait until morning, let her sleep,” he thought. He couldn’t decide whether to knock or go to bed, when the door slowly opened. The candlelight behind her silhouetted her gorgeous curves. Charles sucked in his breath when he realized she was naked.
“Jackie.” He could barely breathe.
She reached for his hand and slowly led him into her room and closed the door. As soon as the door closed, she jumped into his arms, her arms around his neck and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She kissed him deeply.
Bearly Saved My Heart: Quake Lake Bears (Madison Range Shifters Book 1) Page 6