Together By Chance (#1 The Together Series) (5 page)

    
“Well, you will change for the first time soon.  You will become a wolf.  But don’t worry it isn’t permanent.”

    
“Will it hurt?”  She didn’t want it to hurt.  She had felt enough pain for a life time both physically and emotionally.

    
“No.  The pain that you felt last night,,, it was because of the cycle.”  His words stuttered and that just verified the thoughts that she had last night.

    
“Do I have to,,,, mate?  Can’t I just fight it?”

    
“No.  You can’t.  You have to.  Don’t worry it is part of who you are.”  Now he confused her.  He spoke as if this was a perfectly normal conversation after stuttering mere seconds ago.  And now the smell that was filling the room was different than before.  This smell was attractive.  Musty but natural and yet sweet.  She shook her head as she began to picture what she wanted him to do to her.  Knowing that it would never happen she went back to what she needed to know.

    
“How long do I have?”

    
“I don’t know.  But I have made a call.  Ryan is a werewolf.  He has no mate and I have explained the situation to him and he has agreed to help if needed providing you are in agreement.  He’s on his way here.”

    
“You did what!”  She stood, the chair sliding backwards across the floor forcefully before slamming into the wall.  She couldn’t believe that he would have already called someone to come and have sex with her without discussing it first.

    
“Keira be rational.  You have to mate.  It is part of who you are.  There isn’t anything to be embarrassed about.”  He called after her as she walked towards the door.

    
She turned quickly.  “I’m not fucking embarrassed.  This is me pissed off that you would just call up your friend to have sex with me without even asking me.”

    
He closed the gap between them but she turned messing with the keypad trying to get the door to open.

    
“Keira stop it.  This is ridiculous.  I said if you were in agreement.  But even if you don’t I am still going to need his help.  This isn’t my expertise here.  I had to call someone and I trust him.”

    
“OPEN! THIS! DOOR!”  She screamed at him.

    
“No! We are going to talk about this.”

    
Keira turned gripping his neck with her hand lifting him up off the floor.  Her eyes were a bright yellow green and it was then he knew she was fighting the change that would take place any second.

    
“Ok.”  He had to force the word out of his mouth.

    
She sat him down watching him closely as he punched the numbers into the key pad.  The minute the door opened, she began to run.  Connor and Chance both ran after her.  Connor knew that if she did change there was no way he could keep up with her even if he shifted.

    
Reaching the opening of the cave, the sunlight bright, she closed her eyes.  Breathing heavy she heard the footsteps behind her.  “Go away!”

    
“I can’t do that Keira.  You know I can’t.”

    
“Damn you!”  She took off running again.  This time Connor didn’t try to keep distance as he followed her.  Her feet still bare ran faster than ever before.  She didn’t feel anything but the ground under them as she forced herself to run faster.

    
“Keira wait!”  Connor called.  She turned looking over her shoulder and was relieved that she had gained some distance between them.  Suddenly a foreign smell filled her nostrils.  She stopped.  Looking around her.  Breathing in deep. 

    
“Connor, something is out there.”

    
He stopped beside her looking around.  Then a growl roared deep in the woods.  Keira put a hand to his chest and shoved him back.  “Go, now!”  She yelled.  And then with all the power in her, her clothing began to shred, energy and strength filled her and it happened.

    
Connor stood there looking at the biggest and most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.  She was huge.  Solid white with a small brown patch on the back of her neck.  He watched as Keira looked at her paws and then around over her shoulder at him.

    
Connor couldn’t do anything but stare back into magnificent red eyes.  She sniffed the air and the growled.  Chance backed up wining.  Connor reached down putting his hand on Chance’s head then nodded at Keira.

    
He began to back up slowly.  Keira turned back looking in front of her before charging into the woods.  Connor didn’t know what she was after but whatever it was made her feel uncomfortable.  He wanted to chase after her but it was quite clear that she didn’t want him to and he wouldn’t be able to protect her while she was changed anyway.

    
Keira raced through the woods as quick as she could towards the smell that was growing stronger.  The howl that was getting louder.  It was another werewolf for sure.  She stopped quickly and turned.  The strange wolf was behind her now showing her his teeth. 

    
His was larger than her and several shades of brown.  Baring her teeth she growled back at him.  This time when the wolf growled at her she understood what it meant.  Just as if he were talking to her she understood him.

    
“Slow your roll there.  Connor sent for me and from the looks of it, you’ve already made your change.  I’m Ryan.”

    
“Then why didn’t you just walk up.  Why are you growling and carrying on?”  She growled back.  Then paused, shaking her head as she talked to a werewolf.

    
“No offense.  But when Connor called me it didn’t sound like I could just walk right up to you.  And besides I didn’t know how you would feel about me coming to begin with.”

    
“So you’re here to mate with me then.”

    
“I am.  And from the smell of it, you don’t have long.  Your close and if you don’t mate soon, you’re gonna have more than one wolf around here to worry about.”

    
“What are you talking about?”

    
“Again no offense, but have you ever noticed when a dog is in heat, there are all kinds of male dogs sniffing around.  Well same thing applies to you Sugar.”

    
Damn it.  Keira didn’t think about it.  She never thought about it being like that.  “So you’re saying others can smell me?”

    
“Oh yeah.”  If Keira didn’t know any better his wolf mouth had just smiled.

    
Great I’m a bitch in heat and apparently Ryan here is the leader of the pack. Why else would Conner call him?

    
“I can’t just do that with anyone.  He shouldn’t have called you.”  This time her growl was even less friendlier. 

    
“I need to see something.  Don’t do anything, I won’t touch you.  I promise.  I have to see how much time you have.  Connor trusts me, can you?”

    
“Don’t come near me!”  She warned with a low growl that got her point across.

    
“Hold on there, you can either do this the easy way or the hard way.  Unless you want more than one wolf sniffing you, you better just trust me for two damn seconds while I check something.”

    
“Fine! But watch where you are putting that nose!”  She watched as he walked up to her sniffing her, then walking around her again he shook his head. 

    
“Let’s head back to the cave.  You have bigger problems than me.”

    
“What do you mean?”

    
“You already found your mate and it isn’t gonna be me.”  He turned running off. 

    
“Great, I’ve met my mate and I don’t even know who it is.” Quickly she took off for the cave, overtaking Ryan without even working up a sweat.  The inner Keira couldn’t help but smile at the new power she had.  The feeling of speed and how free she felt running.

    
What did he mean that I have found my mate?  That can’t be.  Ryan is the first wolf I have met so how could I have found my mate. How does this happen?  Do I mate as a human or …..a wolf?  Oh my God the only four –legged animal I know besides Ryan is Chance. He’s not a werewolf he’s a dog. No way!

    
She would refuse.  She definitely didn’t have any feelings of that sort with Chance. But as a human, that was another story she was sure of her attraction to Connor .  And that was a problem because Connor wasn’t interested.  When she started to feel the tears sting her eyes she picked up her pace and arrived at the cave with time to get her breathing back to normal before Ryan arrived.

    
“Nice run.” Ryan called as he continued to walk back to the cave.  Keira noticed the sound of his steps had changed and instead of four feet there were one two making the noise as he walked.

    
Wondering what he was up to she walked casually around the side of the cave. Her eyes grew as she was surprised at who she saw there.

    
Connor stood there laughing and talking to whom she had to assume was Ryan.  He stood there now dressed but she couldn’t help but to wonder how in the hell she was supposed to change back to her human form and then how would she get to her clothing without them seeing her naked.

    
“Do you feel any better at all?”  Connor asked.  He turned looking at his friend and wondered why in the hell he was laughing.

    
“Hate to break it to you, but she won’t feel better until she mates.”

    
The thought of Ryan and Keira mating pissed Connor off.  Ryan sensed it and stopped laughing, looking at his friend and then back to the wolf.  Keira growled catching Ryan’s attention.  Connor watched as he looked at her and then again began laughing.

    
“You need to get her some clothes.  It’s easy.  All you have to do is want to change back and it will happen.  Pull the magic and energy from yourself and it happens.”  It was then that Connor knew what the dilemma was.

    
He quickly ran through the cave and came back with her clothing.  He sat them down at the end of the cave opening and then walked out.   “I sat you some clothes inside.  We’ll stay out here while you get dressed.”

    
He nodded her head before walking past them noticing how large she now was in comparison to their human body’s.  It gave her a feeling of strength that she had never known before.

    
Taking in a few breaths she felt her body begin to change and just as Ryan had said it was easy.  She had only just thought it and instantly she changed right back.  Quickly she grabbed the clothing and dressed.  She walked closer to the opening of the cave and stopped when she heard them talking.

    
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.  Just spit it out.”  Connor sounded irritated.

    
“Dude, it has to be you.  The wolf inside her has already claimed you as hers.  There isn’t anything she can do about it.  It wasn’t her human form that chose you.  If anyone even tries to mate with her she will tear them apart.”

    
“How can that be?  I’m not a wolf.  I’m a conduit and shifter.  I can look like one but that doesn’t mean that I am one.”

    
“You don’t have to be a wolf friend.  You just have to mate with her.  If you don’t the fever will set in and she will die.”

    
The words she had just heard were too much.  She gasped in horror.  Both men turned looking back at her.  Tears raided her eyes.  She couldn’t stop it.  It was too late.  This was it she was going to die because the man she wanted to mate with did not want her in that way.

    
“Keira no you won’t.  We don’t know that.”

    
She looked down seeing Chancing being brushed by Connor’s hand then turned her stare at Ryan.  “Is it like that with every wolf or am I just the lucky one?”

    
“I hate to say it, but yes.  It doesn’t happen often though.  As a matter of fact, it has been over a century since it has.”

    
She nodded her head.  “Okay, so what is it that I have to do then?”

    
“You and Connor here are going to have to mate.”  She looked over at Connor staring at Ryan as if the thought alone was making him ill.

    
“That’s not what I meant.  Connor you said that I needed to train to do something.  What is it that I need to do?”

    
“We have to find a way to destroy the entity that was after you.”

    
“How?”  She asked.  If she didn’t have long before the fever set in and she was going to die, she didn’t have a fear at trying to kill something harmful to the world any longer.

    
“I don’t know yet.  But we need to start your training.”

    
“Let’s go.”

    
“You have to learn how to fight first.  You won’t just be fighting it.  There will be other things along the way that you will have to fight.”