Authors: Sarah Marie Porter
At the sight of Keva’s fangs, Miella’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. She stepped closer to Keva, who could not help cringing back from the sinister woman.
Ah, you are a fast learner, Keva. Truly, all half-lycans are. We had hoped to have at least one of you on our side.
Keva’s eyes widened in surprise.
All half-lycans? There are others like me?
The woman nodded, folding her hands in front of her.
The Council has tracked multiple rogue lycans in the vicinity of true wolves, and several pups like yourself have resulted. None were amenable to the idea of living with the lycan packs, however. You are the first, perhaps because your lifemate is a lycan. All half-lycans have this telepathic ability, thus we had hoped to convince you to join us on some special…missions.
Keva growled quietly, her ears flattening against her skull.
Cian said you took gifted lycans from their packs,
she accused the woman. The woman laughed loudly, like a cackling hen.
Yes, I did. I took Cian’s first love interest,
she explained, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Keva felt a twinge of a strange feeling twist her stomach.
His first love?
The woman clucked her tongue and shook her head sadly.
Oh child, did he not tell you? His first love was a beautiful gray who had a special gift of hearing thoughts—only hearing them, mind you—but she did not do very well on her first mission.
Keva shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Surely this woman was lying. Elder Miella was simply trying to get her to give up on Cian and leave the pack. But a hint of doubt scored her thoughts, particularly due to Cian’s strange reaction yesterday to the idea of the Council taking her away.
As Keva struggled to make sense of the elder’s words, Miella drew closer to the white wolf.
So, you see, you’d be better off with the Council than with a lycan who doesn’t tell you the whole truth. Remember this, Keva. Even if you cannot change, the Council will take you in and teach you everything you need to know. You could help us ensure the world never discovers the lycan existence and destroys us.
Her words insinuated themselves in Keva’s mind, twisting like snakes. New worries inserted themselves into her thoughts. What if the elder was right? Could Cian be lying to her, or keeping something from her?
Elder Miella smiled at Keva’s distress.
You see, Keva? You’re not as sure about Cian as you thought. I suggest that you change form soon, and join us in the Council. It’s an honored place among the lycans. Cian will understand.
With that, the tiny woman pulled up her hood and stalked past the stunned Keva right out the door. The boom of the door shutting echoed around the empty meeting hall, Keva stared at the door for a moment, still in shock. The simple problem of not being able to shift was now an even bigger problem.
Keva sat in front of the fireplace for hours, staring into the flames. When the fire finally began to die down, Kara finally found her. “Keva? I’ve been looking all over for you. Where is the elder?” Keva turned to look at Kara, a sad look in her eyes.
Kara, was Cian with another she-wolf before he met me?
Kara’s eyes widened and she looked ashamed. “I’m sorry, Keva. He told me not to mention it to you. The other
lycan,
Katya, was a low-level telepath. She and Cian dated for several weeks when she first joined the pack, but then the Council took her on a mission and she was killed.” Keva nodded.
That’s exactly what Elder Miella said. She was trying to convince me to join the Council and leave this pack.
Kara looked startled. “I didn’t realize the Council was actually recruiting telepaths. Why would they want you to leave?” Keva looked away, unwilling to reveal more about the others like her.
I’m not sure, but something is going on here that is bigger than my own problems. Kara, I have to learn to shift before this week is up, or else I’m not sure what the Council might do.
On the fifth day since Keva arrived in the camp, the sky was gray and listless, much like Keva’s mood. Despite Kara’s insistence, she refused to see Cian, who was thoroughly confused and anxious about his lifemate’s change of heart. He paced the entire cabin until Liam got up and stood in his path. “Stop,” Liam said firmly. “If you want to find out what’s going on, I suggest you meet her in the wolf dream. Kara just sent me a message saying Keva fell asleep in front of the fireplace.” Cian’s eyes widened. “That’s a perfect idea! I knew I made you Beta for a reason,” he finished. Liam shook his head and left the room. Cian quickly undressed and climbed into bed, trying to relax so he could sleep. He was too tense to relax. He growled. Liam knocked on the door, and then came in with a cup of tea. “Here,” was all he said before he slipped back out. The tea had its desired effect, and Cian was soon drowsy enough to slip into the wolf dream.
The wolf dream was a perfect place for Keva to examine her thoughts and feelings. The quiet and calm soothed her anxious thoughts as she ran across fields filled with blue and white wildflowers. She ran through ancient forests where the tops of the trees were hidden by the clouds. She trotted through barren plains where the random shrub or tumbleweed crossed her path, until finally she arrived at a deep lake cut into the barren rock. Here, the soft twilight of the dream soothed her fears as she sat at the edge of the fathomless lake. Just as she had the past few nights, she gazed at her reflection. This time, despite the ripple-free, placid surface of the lake, her reflection was far too blurry to see clearly. Behind her, a deep voice spoke: “You do not know what you want, my love?” Keva flinched, and refused to look at him. In the water, his reflection showed up clearly next to her blurry form. She blinked at the strange sight, and then sighed deeply. “You loved another…before me,” she said quietly, but with an accusatory tone.
Cian’s reflection did not even flinch. “I did court another. Her name was Katya, but the Council discovered her gift and took her on a ‘mission’ that she did not survive. Keva, that was before you were even born. I never expected to meet my lifemate, but now that I have, I’ll never let you go.” Keva continued to look down at the water, where her reflection flickered, growing slightly clearer by the minute. “How can you simply forget someone you loved?” Cian shook his head. “The memories of Katya have faded over the years, but I only loved her with half of my heart. Keva, you have my heart and my soul in your paws.” With a deep breath, Keva turned to face him. A heavy weight seemed to lift from her heart as she looked into his eyes and realized he was totally sincere. “Then know that I love you, my Cian, and that I will never leave you.” He touched his nose to hers for a long moment, a deep sense of relief tugging at his heart. Finally, Keva broke the contented silence. “Cian, there is much I have to tell you about my meeting with Elder Miella.”
As soon as Keva had told him of the Council’s plans for her and the other half-lycans, Cian felt himself pulled from the wolf dream to wake in his bed. He bolted up and threw on a pair of jeans, bellowing for Liam. “Liam! Get in here!” His beta dashed into the room with alarm in his bright green eyes. “What? What is it?” He asked, his gaze darting around the room. Cian pulled on a t-shirt as he replied. “We’ve been fools, Liam. Wait until I tell you what the Council has been up to right under our noses.”
Cian, Keva, Liam and Kara held a powwow in the males’ spare room. Tension filled the air, and Keva’s firm seemed permanently stiff, raised around her neck and along her spine.
So, telepaths are being snapped up by the Council for secret ‘missions’, and if they refuse to join, they’re ‘eliminated’,
Keva summarized.
Plus, there have been more half-breeds like myself that refused to join the werewolf packs. Miella said my cooperation was probably due to meeting Cian,
she concluded, casting a loving look across the room at her mate. Kara frowned, her golden eyes glinting. “I don’t like this,” she said. “I think they’ve been trying to breed us, like cattle. Maybe they have been keeping us from each other so they can control who we mate with, in order to produce pups with strong talents.” Keva’s eyes widened as she considered the idea.
You might be right, Kara. They’ve been manipulating all of the lycan packs across the country.
Cian growled deep in his throat. “I doubt we are the only ones who have discovered their scheme. We should get word to the other packs immediately. Perhaps the time for a lycan reunion has come.” Liam nodded in agreement, green eyes flashing. “If anyone else knows, they’ve probably been blackmailed by the Council to stay quiet. I think that once we send our messenger, someone should confront our own pack’s Council member.” Cian nodded in approval. “Thank you for volunteering, Liam,” he said with a grin. Liam shook his head, a half-smile on his face. “Of course, my Alpha,” he said, with mock formality.
The group agreed, and Keva followed Kara back to their cabin. Kara was seething, her golden eyes sparking so much that Keva almost feared she would set something on fire. “I can’t believe they would do such a thing,” Kara said scornfully. “We’re not livestock. We’re sentient beings, for God’s sake! They’ve gotten too comfortable with their power. Keva, you have to shift soon, so that they won’t have another reason to take you. I think we’re going to need your special schemes to put a stop their scheme.” Keva nodded unhappily, but she felt determination rise inside her.
I know. I am going to try tonight, in the spare bedroom. I cannot wait any longer.
Kara’s eyes widened. “Great! I’ll grab one of my robes for you and bring it to you.”
Keva went to the spare room as Kara disappeared in search of a robe. The spare room was lightly furnished with only a small bed, a dresser, and a floor-length mirror next to the empty closet. Keva sat in the middle of the wooden floor and closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all thoughts. Her concentration was broken only for a moment as her pointed ears caught the sound of Kara approaching. Kara hung a fluffy white robe on a hook on the inside of the door, then left and shut the door quietly behind her, leaving Keva in peace. Outside, the sun was just beginning to set, and the clouds from the day’s rain had thinned just enough to paint a purple and gold painting in the sky. Keva imagined that the sunset was the soft twilight of the wolf dream, and pictured her human half in her mind.
Reaching deep inside her mind, she called up all the reasons for her to change form: her love for Cian, her friendship with Kara and Liam, and her desire to spend the rest of her life with her new family. She imagined having hands, and two legs and two arms, and then let her mind drift.
An excruciating pain shot up her spine and she cried out from where she lay in a trance, but she welcomed the pain. The cracking of bones and her own whimpers reached her as the transformation rearranged her skeleton and adjusted her frame. Her fur shrank into her new skin and disappeared as long, pale blonde hair sprouted from her scalp. Her face flattened and seemed to melt into the face she had seen in her wolf dream. Her tail shrank as well, disappearing. Finally, it was done.
She lay on the floor, gasping for air. Her blonde hair fell into her face, and she reflexively brushed it away with her hand and then stared at her slender fingers in wonder. “I did it,” she said quietly, still shocked. A wide smile slowly appeared on her face. She braced herself with her arms and scooted across the floor until she was on her knees in front of the floor-length mirror.
Her bright blue eyes were recognizable as her own, as was the pale blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, soft and straight. She lifted a hand and touched her cheek, her lips, and then a lock of pale hair, marveling at the sheer amount of sensations that her fingers could process. She looked at herself in the mirror, examining her new body. Her breasts were round and firm, perfectly proportioned to her lean frame. A soft tuft of curly blonde hair covered her feminine parts, and she realized for the first time what it felt like to be truly naked. A red tint rose to her golden-skinned cheeks, and she braced herself against the wall as she stood on two shaky legs. Grabbing the fluffy robe, she fumbled with it until she nearly fell. Finally, she remembered seeing Kara put a jacket on, and mimicked her movements. Forgetting to hold on to the wall, she wrapped the robe around herself as she nearly fell flat on her face. Fortunately, her quick reflexes allowed her to catch herself. Pulling the robe closed to cover herself, she began to take short steps until she felt more confident walking on two legs. She giggled with glee, startling herself with the new sound.
“This is amazing!” Reaching out with her mind, she sent a mental shout at Kara.
KARA! Come and see!
The tall brunette burst into the room, just in time to catch a stumbling Keva. “Whoa there! Keva, you’ve done it! Cian will be so happy to see you in your new, gorgeous human body. You’re beautiful!” Keva felt another blush heat her cheeks. “Really? Oh, Kara… I can
feel
so much more with these hands!” Kara chuckled, a huge grin on her face. “It’s awesome, isn’t it? Wait right here, and I’ll find you some clothes.” She dashed off to her room, and Keva found herself sitting on the bed, feeling light-headed from the strangeness of the change.