Dream Catcher

by M. C. Cerny

  “Oh, Warren, you’re beautiful.” My head cocked up and Kerri rushed over, hugging her arms around my neck, unafraid. Her fingers ran through my pelt and the soothing touch stirred me both humanly and in my wolf state. My heart told me she was mine to protect and care for, my companion and now part of my pack, though human. I let my head nuzzle her and lick her face affectionately. Reagan chirped, swooping down low to perch on Jase’s back as he playfully tried to nip at her. Kerri almost looked horrified but calmed down when Reagan reached a tree branch to perch on, far from Jase’s reach.

  “I never imagined a world like this outside my own. Thank you. All of you for sharing it with me.” Kerri was beaming at me and Reagan swooped down again, this time circling us protectively.

  “Not all of us feel so generous sharing...” My acute hearing nearly missed the rattle beyond our clearing in the woods. The hair on my back rose defensively and a growl stirred deep within.

  “Oh my God, the spider!” Using my head, I pushed Kerri behind me as Jase came up to my shoulder, snarling at Creighton. This guy was the worst pain in my ass. I heard Kerri scrambling backward.

  “Yessssss, I’m not a fan of sssssshhharing either.” Slithering out from the bushes, Stefano joined his eight-legged buddy. I had wondered where his sidekick had been lurking. Kerri screamed, but I should have known better bringing her there that no one was likely to hear us or find us for some time. If she was hurt, it would be my fault and undoing.

  Jase sprang into action, jumping on top of Stefano and biting the snake shifter, taking him down to the ground as they wrestled into a roll. His mouth opened wide, showing large fangs that dripped with acid-like venom as his back end rattled and wrapped around Jase’s midsection, squeezing. Reagan flew into the melee, pecking at the snake’s back. Creighton was left to me.

  “Interfering humans and soft-hearted puppies…no wonder this town is going to shit.” Creighton skittered around, his long multiple legs sporting tufts of black hair, but it was his spider fangs that worried me most. I’d had my few run-ins with those two, always taunting and causing trouble, but right then they were getting violent, attacking us.

  Raging, I lunged and parried back, trying to find a way to take the spider down as we dangerously circled each other. “You can’t even tell her run, shifted as you are…go ahead and bark, puppy.” He laughed maniacally. “They’ll just look at her like she’s crazy and commit her to the mental ward in Lexington.” In the chaos of Jase thrashing and me circling Creighton, Stefano rolled, his tail swiping my back legs out from under me, leaving me vulnerable for a second. It was just enough time for the spider to rear up and spit sticky webbing over me, trapping me to the ground.

  Struggling to dislodge the shit from my fur and legs, over my shoulder Kerri helplessly grabbed a large stick. I tried growling to tell her to run, get out of there, but the spider crawled over me. I should have warned her that I couldn’t verbally communicate when shifted. Some could but not wolves like us. Worried for her safety, I wriggled to dislodge him from my back, my legs punching out to throw him off me, but I knew he was going to bite me.

  “Get off my boyfriend, asshole.” A loud thwack permeated the struggles of the forest and the weight on my back seemed to fly off me, landing against a tree. Jase managed to subdue Stefano, tossing him in the same direction, hitting his friend and slumping down on the ground next to him.

  “Warren, are you all right?” Kerri was trying to pick the phlegm-like substance from my fur. Reagan flew down and pecked enough off me that I could get off the ground before flying to her pile of discarded clothes. She shifted back and grabbed the stick Kerri dropped, ready to strike should they come back for round two. Jase kept an eye on our knocked out villains. They roused with evil looking smirks and ran off, both limping and damaged.

  “Ugh, he’s going to need a shower, like badly.” Reagan assisted me up the rest of the way, using the stick to balance my weight as she pulled me up with Kerri’s help. “Girl, I didn’t know you could swing like that. Hello, Woodland Creek! We got one bad ass human coming through.” Praising Kerri, a hand squeezing her shoulder, Reagan handed me my shirt.

  “Oh my God, I’ve got to get the taste of snake out of my mouth. Retched crap.” Jase grabbed Reagan for an open-mouth kiss, presumably to get the taste out of his mouth. She struggled about a second before giving in, sinking into Jase’s arms.

  “Are you all right?” I asked her, wiping the slimy crap from my face.

  “Yeah. You?” I nodded at her and grabbed her hand in mine.

  “Thanks for saving my ass.” Sheepishly, I tried running my other hand over my head, but I realized too late I was covered in a full beard of wolf hair and spider spluge.

  Kerri’s face scrunched, looking disgusted as she carefully picked out a long, slimy web, tossing it several feet away. “I guess we’re even now, huh?” Shrugging her shoulders, I grabbed her close to me to kiss her lips. “Ewww, you’re covered in spider gunk. Off, Warren!” Struggling to get her arms between us, I scooped her up instead. I was scared to death they might hurt her and there she was kicking ass and showing us up. Pride filled me and the need to assure myself she was all right.

  “Don’t care, you’re mine and I need some reassurance you’re not going to freak out about this.” I kissed her cheek instead when she turned her head away to avoid the mess sliding off me.

  “Ugh. Down, mutt!”

  “Uh oh.” Reagan and Jase chuckled from several feet away.

  “Mutt?” Eyes locked on each other, hers dilated with desire as her body pressed intimately against mine. I was forgetful we weren’t alone in the woods as she distracted me, my lips fused to hers, silencing any other protest. We kept kissing until we were breathless and I remembered I pretty much didn’t have any clothes on and I was holding Kerri down on the dirt-covered ground.

  I tried to rein in my ragged breathing. “Where’d you learn to hit like that?”

  “A little softball growing up.” She shrugged modestly from underneath me and I hugged her to my chest, thankful nothing bad happened.

  “And you’re okay? I mean, we shifted and then we fought them.”

  “I promise not to freak out, but I’ve got my reservations trusting something that has more than two or possibly four legs from now on.”

  “I don’t blame ya, Kerri-man. I wouldn’t trust anything with more legs than me, shifted or not.” Jase roared and we all laughed, more relaxed from the excitement.

  “Can we get out of here? You boys can use our shower, but if you clog it with spider gizz you are so cleaning it up!” Reagan pulled Jase with her and headed out of the clearing.

  Standing up, I got dressed as best as I could with the goop still stuck on my skin and remaining fur. “So, you don’t change all the way back and forth?” Kerri picked at a tuft of fur that fell out when she tugged on it gently.

  “I have trouble sometimes, but since I’m a young wolf, I understand I’ll grow out of it. I was supposed to visit the apothecary to talk about it, but I’ve been a little busy with a certain human female. For now I just have to shave like crazy.” She hugged me again and relief flooded me to have her by my side despite everything she’d seen.

  “Hmm, I kind of like the rugged look.” Looking at her, I growled before kissing her again, nipping her full pillowy lips with mine.

  “Are you two coming or what? Sexy time later, shower now!” Both of us sarcastically nodded at Reagan’s shouts, gathering our stuff and heading back to Lupin Hall for that much needed shower.

  “You know, I may not have said this before but…welcome to Wood—”

  “Warren Boone, if you finish that sentence I will go back and grab that stick and hit you with it.” She wagged her finger at me, turning to walk away, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to shower this crap off and get her in my grasp.

  “Yes, ma’am.” She turned, glaring at me with a smile.

  “Barely two years, Warren, I’m hardly a cougar.”

  “Well, you
are technically older than me.” Kerri rolled her eyes and I followed behind like a puppy in love…too bad she wasn’t a real cougar.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Rudyard Kipling

  KERRI

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.” Soft kisses followed a path up my back, turning me over until I was staring into gray eyes like chips of smoky ice. We lay side by side, no longer spooning, and my fingers ran through Warren’s crazy bed hair, pulling his face to mine. I loved the dark silky strands that had the potential to turn into something more.

  “I wanna stay here all day. It’s the first day we’ve both had off together in a week.” It was hard to believe that it was Thanksgiving. I hated that our schedules for classes, teaching, and work didn’t match up better and left us with just a handful of tender moments to capitalize on when we could.

  “Hey, we better get up if we’re going to get to dinner on time.” Distracted by the mesmerizing texture of Warren’s hair, he removed my hands to raise them up over my head, holding me still. He kissed me at a leisurely pace that started a smoldering flame of heat between my legs and arced up my body. I let my legs fall open and curled up around his waist, pulling him flush against me, heat on heat, ready to show him how being late might have its advantages.

  “I don’t think anything between the hours of one and four in the afternoon is really considered dinner.” Warren tugged on my hair gently, getting my full attention.

  “Mom’s got this thing for eating at two o’clock every year. They can’t wait to meet you. I get the feeling you’re stalling, Miss Harper.”

  “Maybe I could persuade you to miss dinner and skip ahead to the dessert?” I was nervous to meet his parents for the first time and now I regretted putting it off until I was ready. I was pretty sure one could never be ready to meet the parents, and there we were, on the cusp of a majorly observed holiday.

  Warren’s head dipped down into my shoulder with a growl of frustration. “We won’t get any of my mom’s pumpkin cheesecake today.” Of course I wouldn’t make Warren late to his own parents’ dinner, but a teeny tiny part of me still worried that humans might be on the menu. I learned very quickly since the day in the woods that not all shifters looked favorably on humans.

  “Dude! I’m gonna eat all of it!” Jase shouted from the living room and we laughed, our bodies rubbing against each other deliciously with joy.

  “He wouldn’t dare, would he?” I asked Warren, who grumbled sitting up in bed, taking the warm sheets with him to entice me to get up as well.

  “Oh, I think my jackass cousin would dare just about anything, dear heart.” Warren shuffled to the door, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips and showing the indentations of his back muscles as they roped down over trim hips and muscular abs in his front. I thought I’d save my calories for Warren later and skip dessert. There was pumpkin and then there was pumpkin.

  Warren opened the door to his bedroom and we found Jase doing a handstand against the wall. “What?” I’d only stayed over at the house a few times, but I’d never seen anything like that.

  “Yoga shit,” Warren muttered and pushed Jase’s legs as we walked into the kitchen, knocking him down. Jase laughed as he crumpled to the floor in a heap of limbs.

  “Coffee, anyone?” Reagan was sitting on the counter, drinking coffee and paging through a Black Friday sale circular for the one big box store in town. When I thought about it, Woodland Creek was a strange place altogether, and yet there we were, doing something as mundane as having coffee and waffles before going to Thanksgiving dinner with Warren’s family.

  * * * * *

  “Stop thinking so loudly.” Warren nudged me at the dinner table and I peered over at him, a nauseous feeling hitting my stomach.

  “You can’t do that too, can you?” He laughed and reverently tucked a loose lock of hair from my bun behind my ear.

  “No, Kerri, I can’t. There are some of us who can but not me. Even if I could I wouldn’t want to break your trust in doing so. Your thoughts are your own and I like that you keep me guessing.” Caught up in our smiles, we didn’t see Jase stand up at the table, nor did we hear him cling his drinking glass right away.

  “Here, here, I’d like to make a toast.” Jase looked strange dressed up in a button-down shirt and dress slacks as required by Warren’s mom.

  “Toast, you mean talk about something you’re grateful for?” Mrs. Boone clarified her nephew’s statement, smiling gently in my direction.

  “Sure. I’m grateful that Kerri Harper decided to dump her douchy ex-boyfriend and move to Woodland Creek so she could save Warren’s pathetic ass from the eight-legged freak.”

  Eden swatted Jase and pulled him to sit back down at the table. “Idiot.” She glared at Jase and stood up with her glass raised. “I will admit I had my hesitations when the boys first brought Kerri into the clinic that night, but watching my cousin stay with her and watch over her the way he did…well, I knew there was something special back then even if I didn’t like it or understand it. Maybe Warren can convince you to join our women’s softball league in the spring.”

  We all laughed and Warren hugged me at the table, his arms anchored around me safely. Eden’s approval definitely gave me the warm fuzzies. Thank whatever higher power, deity, and belief system out there because frankly I was more shaken up than I wanted to let on. The softball team was a nice thought, but I had visions of cheetahs chasing squirrels around the baseball diamond and lions living as vegans on the team with me. Needless to say, I was kind of tapped out for surprises.

  Over dessert of promised pumpkin cheesecake, Jase filled in the family on how I saved Warren’s ass from the crawling goop spewing spawn of Satan. Everyone had a good chuckle over that and formally welcomed me to the family.

  I’d been thinking about my own back in Ann Arbor. I’d barely been in Woodland Creek three months and at times the memories of my relationship with Dillon and my parents who found fault with me left a painful reminder that at one time I hadn’t been enough. No one wanted me then…except Warren. Sweet Warren with his shaggy hair and soulful eyes, more wolf than man. Everything had changed, for I saw myself as deserving much more and being capable of doing more with my life.

  That Thanksgiving was the first holiday I didn’t feel alone in a crowded house and I kind of liked it. It definitely took some getting used to, like seeing my students Colin, Levi, and Gage smile at me when they walked into class, keeping our secret. Vider’s Pub definitely had a secretly strong homemade beer that I wouldn’t recommend drinking if you were new to town. Someday I planned to return to the cliffs to see the aura that only came out under a full moon. Its beauty was stunning and worth the trip. It was a lot to take in knowing your boyfriend was a wolf who had trouble shifting. We visited the apothecary, who searched out for Warren in an old looking book, that he was probably just a horny late bloomer. Jase loved learning this and took every opportunity he could to tease him. The more time I spent in the town the more I fell a little deeper in love with its inhabitants and all the rituals that came with them. There were a number of secrets in Woodland Creek, beautiful ones, dark ones, and dangerous ones, though the best kept secret for me was finding love.

  THE END

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella from

  Woodland Creek!

  All reviews are appreciated.

  If you would like to read more from the Woodland Creek series, please click on the link below:

  Woodland Creek Website

  Acknowledgements

  Holy moly! What an unbelievable project and what an incredible group of authors to collaborate with. So many wonderful stories set here in Woodland Creek. There’s a part of me that will deeply miss this town and its inhabitants…imagine walking the campus of Hastings Albrecht University and going to Vider’s pub on a Friday night to hang out with the crew. Not sure I’ll look at tea the same way again or at
wolves and bears either. I’ve always found them a little mysterious for my liking…

  Scarlett Dawn – thank you for a wonderful opportunity to pop my shifter cherry jumping into this project.

  Brandy Ribeira – for reminding me that I can do whatever the *bleep* I want in a shifter story and to just let the *bleep* go.

  Jennifer Stevens – you know exactly when to spank me.

  Emily Walker – I will take “Flat Emily” wherever I go from now on. Thank you for including me in your adventures.

  Jenni Moen – when I need to get in touch with my feely side, I know exactly which book to pick up. *waah*

  Emily A. Lawrence – Editor Extraordinaire! Really amazing, thank you for taking me on short notice and deciphering my hot mess!

  Michele McMullen – for giving me the names of my three little bears: Colin, Levi, and Gage.

  Jennifer Munswami – for designing a stunning cover that blows me away every time I look at it.

  Angie – for keeping me on track to make these insane deadlines. Just so you know, I bought an organizer for 2016. We’ve got a lot to do between now and 2018…

  Timmy – because I know this isn’t your “usual” reading material, the other smut…stuff comes out later. Be patient!

  Nichole Brunt – for reading, reviewing and all you do at OKbookhoarder.

  About the Author

  M.C. Cerny first fell in love with books after experiencing her first real ugly cry reading Where The Red Fern Grows. Her debut romantic suspense novel, Flashpoint, was written in a series of post-it-note ramblings that would likely make her idol Tom Clancy and her mother blush. She is a post graduate of NYU, and calls rural NJ home with her menagerie of human and feline fur-babies. When M.C. is not writing, you’ll find her lurking in Starbucks, running stupid marathons, singing Disney show tunes, and searching out the perfect shade of pink nail polish.