by Bianca D'Arc
Grif surprised her by striding right up to the door in his cat form, reaching up and hitting the special latch with one giant paw, and opening the door for her. He padded inside and waited until she cleared the door—tail included—before he nudged it closed behind them. He walked with her into the front room. Belinda was there, watching them with wide eyes.
The little girl sniffed the air delicately as her eyes widened. “Lindsey?” Her gaze shot to her brother. “Grif, what happened? Is that Lindsey?”
Grif padded over to his sister and nuzzled her hand, nudging her toward the kitchen area. She apparently understood his silent command because she took off for the kitchen, returning with a big pan of water a moment later and put it in front of Lindsey.
Lindsey was never so grateful to see a bowl of water than at that moment. Using her new, obscenely long tongue, she lapped at the water, but she was less than graceful. Belinda laughed outright, and the young girl’s laughter was infectious. Lindsey made a sort of snorting sound that passed for laughter, she guessed, while she was in this form, and the girl laughed louder.
“Oh Lindsey, I wish you could see yourself. You’re getting more water on the floor than in you.” Lindsey was glad to hear the amusement in the girl’s voice, even if it was at her expense. A moment later, Belinda reached out slowly to stroke Lindsey’s cheek. “It’s hard when you’re new, I know. But we’ll help you.”
Lindsey stroked her tongue gently across the girl’s hand in thanks as she giggled again. All this was worth it just to put a smile on Belinda’s too-serious face.
Grif nudged his sister with his head, growling something that the girl apparently understood because she got up and went out of the room once more. Grif stood in front of Lindsey, being certain she could see him as he shifted back to human form.
He was naked again, his skin glowing with the reflection from the fireplace, making her mouth even drier. Lord, the man was built!
A worn pair of jeans sailed through the air, followed by the sound of little feet pounding up a set of stairs.
“I’ll dig up something for Lindsey to wear too,” Belinda called down from the top of the stairs as Grif tugged his jeans on, smiling a bit at his sister’s antics.
“Don’t mind the munchkin, Lindsey. She’s thrilled you’re here. And thrilled that you’re cougar now, I bet. She’s missed her sister and our mother.” His face hardened for a moment as he reached out to stroke her back. “I know you’re tired, but you have to try to change back now, sweetheart. It’ll be easier if you do it now, before you sleep off the run. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to reclaim your human half this first time.”
She licked his arm, hoping he knew that she didn’t regret a moment of this, even if she had to stay a cat for the rest of her life. She’d accomplished her goal and gotten more than she’d ever expected. The Great Spirit had been kind, letting her experience this freedom at least once in her life.
“Come on sweetheart. I know this is all new to you, but you have to try.” He lay down next to her in front of the fire and stroked her back as he encouraged her to shift. “Picture it in your mind. Imagine your human body and will yourself to change.”
She tried to do as he said, but her strength was fading fast. He moved in close to nuzzle his face into her neck and her ears twitched as he lifted up to whisper encouragement.
“I want you to change, Lindsey. I want you, Lindsey. Shift back so I can take you in my arms and show you how much.” His hands stroked her, digging into her fur and making her purr. “Do it for me, Lindsey. Do it for us.”
He continued to whisper encouragement and instructions as she gathered her energy for a last effort. It was now or never. She felt it. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life never knowing what it would feel like to be loved by this incredible man who treated her so gently, curbing his natural strength for her.
She gathered her energy and thought hard about what it had felt like to change that first time. She concentrated on her human form, willing it into existence and pushing the cougar down. It was odd, she realized, the cougar spirit was now a part of her, fighting for dominance, but she was stronger—just a fraction stronger, but it was enough.
Slowly she felt her bones begin to stretch and reform. It hurt like hell, but it was also a rapture that she couldn’t quite describe. The fur receded and her paws elongated into fingers and toes, her feet and hands reforming as she felt the bones in her legs lengthen. Her face itched, but it changed along with the rest of her, the effort leaving her drained in a way she’d never been before.
She felt more than saw Grif pull a soft throw off the couch and wrap her up in it as he lifted her in his strong arms. He carried her up the stairs and padded barefoot into a dark room. Her eyesight wasn’t as sharp as it had been as the cat, but it was definitely better than it had been before she’d changed.
She also smelled things differently, not as strongly as her senses were as a cougar, but definitely stronger than they’d been as a regular human. She scented him all over the room he took her to and she guessed it was his bedroom. He placed her gently on his bed, tucking her under the soft covers and placing a soft kiss on her lips as he straightened.
“I’m so proud of you, Lindsey. I know you’re beat. Sleep it off. I’ll be here when you wake and we can talk over everything that’s happened.” He stroked her hair back from her face as she fought the incredible lethargy that made it nearly impossible to talk. “Things will be different for you now, but don’t worry. I’ll be here to guide you through the changes, and Belinda will help too. You’re part of our Clan now, kitten. Under our protection. You don’t know what that all means yet, but you’ll understand soon, I promise. I’ll explain everything, but for now, you need to sleep. Don’t fight it.”
He crooned to her as she drifted off, but she didn’t really understand much after that. She only knew she felt safer than she’d ever felt with anyone and more tired than she’d ever been in her life.
Light against her eyelids woke her the next morning. That, and a warm feeling at her back that was intense and enveloping. She moved experimentally and discovered that the warmth was a hard, muscular, bare male chest. Grif was in bed with her. And they were both naked.
Well.
She tried to remember what happened the night before and it came rushing back to her. She was a shapeshifter! She could hardly believe it.
She was lying in Grif’s bed, naked, and she distinctly remembered him tucking her in after he’d helped her through her first change. He’d been so good to her last night, she remembered. He was really one in a million.
“About time you woke up.”
The sexy male growl in her ear made her stiffen. She wasn’t a virgin, but she also wasn’t used to sharing a bed with a naked man all that often, and certainly not anytime recently. She shivered though she was plenty warm under the blankets with Grif as he rubbed his open palm over her bare breast.
“You’re beautiful, Lindsey.” He nuzzled her neck as he pulled her closer in his arms, running his hands over her body. She realized he was hard as a rock behind her, his erection finding its way between her butt cheeks as if seeking her warmth.
“Grif…” She knew she meant to say something important but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was when his hand skimmed down to tease between her legs.
“Mmm. I like the way you say my name, sweetheart. I’ve waited weeks to hear that tone from you.”
“Weeks?” she squeaked as he stroked her clit.
He nodded behind her, rasping his stubbled cheek against the soft skin of her nape. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you in the diner.”
“Hey, you two!” Belinda’s sweet voice piped from behind the closed door. “Are you going to sleep all day?”
He growled as Lindsey stiffened and tried to pull away. “Saved by the munchkin,” he mused as he let her go. “All right, we have things to talk about. But later, you’re mine.” His eyes held the
light of promise as she tugged the sheet with her, wrapping it toga-style around her.
“We’ll see about that, Grif.”
He towered over her as he stood, naked and hard, and oh-so-delicious.
“Yes, we will.”
Belinda was ecstatic about the change in Lindsey. The little girl was more animated than she’d ever seen her when they joined her in the state of the art kitchen. As Lindsey saw the array of cereals littered about the table, she suddenly realized she was ravenous.
“I can make some eggs or pancakes if you’ll show me where the frying pan is.”
Belinda’s eyes lit up. “Can you do sunny side up eggs? Grif always breaks the yolks.”
Lindsey smiled. “I won’t break the yolks if you don’t want me to, okay?”
“Can you show me how?”
“You bet.” She looked over at the silent man who stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “If your brother doesn’t mind.”
Grif’s smile was intense. “Make yourself at home, Lindsey.”
He padded over to the refrigerator and took out the things she’d need while Belinda showed her where the frying pan was. Together, the three of them made a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and more, laughing often as they collided in the small space around the stove.
Though Grif was doing it deliberately, she well knew. He crowded her, ‘showing’ her how to flip the pancakes just right by moving behind her and taking her hand in his over the handle of the pan. She giggled like Belinda when he tickled both their tummies, but the swipe of his hand across her butt where Belinda couldn’t see, made her shiver.
She was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of old sweatpants that had a drawstring keeping the baggy things up around her waist. She looked like a ragamuffin, but she felt surprisingly good after the ordeal of the night before.
“One of the benefits of being a shifter is increased metabolism,” Grif explained as they sat at the table, consuming huge piles of food. “We use a lot of energy to shift and of course, all the physical activity we get into when we roam.”
“So you’re saying I can actually have desert and not have it go straight to my hips?” Lindsey chuckled. “I think I’m gonna like this.”
Grif put down his fork and just watched her. “You really had no idea this was going to happen, did you?”
Lindsey paused and met his gaze. “I thought I was ready for anything when I started the ceremony last night, but I hadn’t contemplated this result. Grandpa told me that the balance had to be restored, but I guessed that in the worst case scenario, I’d have to give my life in exchange.”
“You thought you would die and you still did it anyway?” Grif sounded upset, but she didn’t quite understand why.
“It was a matter of honor. I’d made a promise to my grandfather. And yes, if that’s what was necessary, I was ready to leave this world, but was hoping there’d be some other way to satisfy the Great Spirit. I just never counted on this.”
Grif started eating again, growling under his breath, but her hearing was so improved, she heard the low sounds, if not the actual words. Her nose was more sensitive too, as were her eyes, and it was an amazing experience.
“Grif’s teaching me stalking skills now that I’m getting bigger,” Belinda said cheerfully. “But you’re already full grown. You should know this stuff already. Will you teach her, Grif?” Her questioning eyes turned to her big brother.
“Stalking?” Lindsey found it hard to accept, but something wild and new in her roared in the back of her mind. It felt right, somehow, if totally alien. She knew it was something she was going to have to get used to now that she’d been changed.
“She’s part of our Clan now, munchkin. I’ll teach her what she needs to know, and we’ll look out for her like we do each other.”
Lindsey helped clean up the remains of their huge breakfast, then joined Grif and his sister in the beautiful living room she’d seen only through her cat’s eyes the night before. The room was fabulous, with large windows that let in lots of light. In fact, the whole house was lovely, and far more sumptuous than she would have believed a handyman could afford.
“Your house is gorgeous, Grif.”
“You’re probably wondering how a down-on-his-luck drifter could afford to build something like this, huh?” Grif chuckled as she reddened with a becoming blush of embarrassment. “This is our retreat, Lindsey. We came here to get back to nature and let our cats run. But this isn’t the only place we live.” He handed her a cup of coffee he’d brought in from the kitchen for her. “Right now our brothers are holding down the fort at the homestead and running the family business.”
“Family business? What business are you in?” There was no hiding her curiosity.
Grif sat on the couch next to her, sipping from his own cup of steaming hot coffee. “We do construction.”
Lindsey’s eyes widened in shock. “Redstone Construction? That’s you?”
Grif smiled widely. “Me and my younger brothers. Even Belinda will be joining the firm once she gets old enough, won’t you, munchkin?”
The little girl bounded into an overstuffed chair near them, smiling. “I’m gonna run one of the crews, once I’m old enough.”
He laughed, leaned over and tousled her hair. Lindsey was happy to see the affection between this brother and sister, so far apart in age, yet so close. She’d loved her parents, though they had died when she was still quite young. She’d missed having siblings, but after her parents died, she’d moved in with her grandfather and had a good relationship with him.
“There’s a lot you have to learn, Lindsey, now that you’re part of our world. There are rules among the were Tribes, Clans and Packs. We’re in wolf territory here and we abide by the local Pack’s rules while we roam their lands.” He focused his attention on her. “You met Logan, the Pack’s Alpha male last night. He said you were free and clear of any obligation to the Pack, but you might still have some trouble with them—unofficially. Not that they’d come right out and attack you, but they could make your life difficult in little ways.”
“Believe me, I’ll do my best to steer clear of them.”
“Now that you’re werecat, you’re going to learn that you have to roam. It’s not something you can deny. And when you roam, you will undoubtedly come across some of the wolf Pack. Which is why I don’t want you roaming alone, Lindsey.” He took her hand in his, claiming possession with his tight grip. “We’re going to shift and go over to your house today. Then we’re driving your car back here. I want you to stay with us for the time being.”
“But I have to work tomorrow.”
“Which is why we’re getting your car today. You could take my truck, but you need your clothes and personal stuff and we can’t drag all that back here in our teeth.”
Belinda giggled and Lindsey had to smile. Things were moving a little too fast for her, but she knew he was protecting her. Still protecting her, as he had from the first. She was confused by all the changes and the startling revelation he’d been watching over her in cougar form for the past days.
“Why are you doing all this for me?”
He cupped her cheek in his palm, looking deep into her eyes. “I have to believe the Lady had a plan when She made you cat and not wolf. You belong with us now, Lindsey, and you’ll never roam alone again.”
How he wanted to kiss her, take her down to the floor and sink into her body. But there was much to do and his little sister was watching them. Belinda was taking Lindsey’s change better than he’d expected, but she was still very dependent on him and he didn’t want to do or say anything that might make Belinda feel threatened. He knew that Lindsey would be part of their lives now on a long term basis, so he had time to acclimate his females to each other without tugging anyone’s tail—figuratively or literally.
He stood and began removing his shirt in preparation for shifting and Belinda followed suit, kicking off her clothes without embarrassment and shifting into the juvenile body
of a young mountain lion. He saw Lindsey’s cheeks flush and her eyes widen and noted that she hadn’t moved a muscle from her seat on the couch. His hand went to the button on his jeans and he saw her start, looking from him to his little sister and back again.
“Munchkin, I think Lindsey is probably still a little shy about shifting. We’ll be out in a minute, okay? Wait for us by the barn. And not one step farther kitten, you hear me?”
A little growl was his answer as he opened the door for Belinda who was still too small to reach the handle in her cat form. She padded out, wiggling her tail and he closed the door after her.
“Nakedness among werefolk is not the big deal it is among humans,” he began, scratching his head as he approached her wearing nothing but his unbuttoned jeans. “It’s one of the many things you’re going to have to get used to, Lindsey. But you don’t have to shift in front of others if you don’t want to.”
“Good, then you go ahead and I’ll meet you outside.” A spark of defiance lit her pretty eyes as he watched her.
He shook his head, smiling. “Do you honestly think you can shift yet without a little coaching? Remember, the first time you woke in your fur the change was done to you. You haven’t done it yourself yet. It takes practice to learn how to do it efficiently and quickly. We don’t let our young learn to shift alone. They are supervised closely, sometimes for years, before the adults will let them shift on their own.”
“Dammit.” She stood angrily, turned her back to him and began removing her clothes.
When she was naked, he came up behind her, grasping her shoulders and rubbing soft circles on her skin. She crossed her arms over her breasts and he had to smile at her stubbornness.
“Now focus on the center of your being, right below your belly button. That’s where the change will start. Feel the pulse of your blood as it pushes through your veins. Follow the beat and listen to the rhythm. Think of the change, call on the beast that lives within you now.” He stroked his hands down her arms, gratified when he felt a little bit of silk fur starting to ripple out from her soft skin. He started his own change, keeping pace with hers as his hands began to form into paws, the palms becoming pads that rubbed over her fur.