Grif (Tales of the Were - Redstone Clan) (9 page)

The steam began to gather in the small structure and she removed her buckskin top, reveling in the feel of the moist air against her skin. Her cougar companion moved around a bit, dropping his head to his paws, but stayed on his side of the fire, so she paid him no mind. He would bear witness to the ceremony. She took it as a good omen that her Spirit Guide would come to her in her time of greatest testing.

As the heavily laden air thickened even more, she took off the long skirt and bundled it up behind her. The air was charged with the power she was calling. It was almost time. She ducked her head to check the small bit of the sky she could see through the chimney opening and was gratified to see the moon full overhead.

It
was
time.

Breathing deeply of the heavy air inside her ceremonial chamber, she began the chant her grandfather had taught her. She called on the Great Spirit, the power without and within, and was amazed when she felt the energy gathering in a way she’d never experienced before. It was awesome. And it was more than she’d ever imagined.

The cat must have felt something too, because he perched on his front feet, his eyes alertly glowing out of the dimness. She felt more than his presence in the darkness, and she knew her chant had called forth the Great Spirit. Now she had to say what her grandfather had taught her and plead for divine intervention.

“Great Spirit, I seek your counsel, I ask for your help in righting the balance that my ancestor put wrong. I come before you now, in his place. I offer myself to your wisdom.” She began to chant again, feeling the power grow in the small sacred space. If something was going to happen, it was going to happen soon.

Suddenly, she was hit with a blinding white light as she felt the bones in her body shift and change. It was agony.

It was ecstasy.

And it was totally unexpected.

The Great Spirit had acted all right. It had turned her into a wolf!

Wait. No. Not a wolf. She could hear them howling outside her shelter, but she couldn’t understand them. Not really. But she could smell them. And she smelled their anger and their joy. They were summoned to this place to witness her transformation, she realized as the Great Spirit nudged her. The male cougar was still there too, but now she was looking at him through eyes that saw more than she had as a human. He wasn’t just any old mountain lion. He shone with the Great Spirit’s Light within his eyes as well.

He
was
a shapeshifter! She’d thought only wolves could share their souls with certain special humans, but here was proof that mountain lions could too. She could see it in the Light that shone around him.

She could smell him now in a way she couldn’t have before. He was familiar to her. She knew him as a man as well as a cat, she realized, but she didn’t have any idea whether she’d ever be able to speak again. She was in a cat’s body. A cougar, she guessed, judging from what she could see of her…paws! And fur!

What she didn’t know is if she was going to be a cat forever, or if she was also going to be some kind of shapeshifter. She had no idea how to change back—or if she even could. Right now though, she didn’t want to change. She wanted to run!

But first she had to face the wolf Pack.

She’d be lucky if they didn’t tear her limb from limb. They’d learn though—she had claws now. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

She braced herself as she prepared to leave the lodge and realized the male werecat was just behind her. He was going with her. Somehow, that gave her the courage she needed to face the wolves in her backyard.

She padded out on clumsy feet, not at all used to walking on four instead of two. It was amazing how quickly she began to feel at home in this body. She could already scent things she never would have imagined as a human and she could see in the dark.

She saw the wolf Pack ringing her, some with their teeth bared as they growled low in their throat. She also felt the male cat beside her, and his presence gave her strength as she stood in the center of the ring of wolves, waiting for their next action.

A huge, dark wolf strode forward to face her. The rest of the Pack stayed back, watching and waiting while the big male sniffed at her, circling her. The male werecat stepped back, allowing the wolf to inspect her and she had to hold back a snarl. No sense in antagonizing them until they acted, she thought with the part of her brain that was still undeniably human while the cat essence in her wanted to claw the dog that dared sniff so rudely at her.

The wolf completed his circle, then stood facing her. She felt the energies gathering and she watched in fascination as he shifted from wolf to man before her eyes. He became a very good looking, well built, very naked man.

“I am Alpha of this Pack.” He appeared to be speaking to both the wolves gathered around them and the two cats he now faced.

Make that one cat and a very huge, very naked, Grif Redstone. She knew he’d smelled familiar! Grif was her Spirit Guide. Darn it all, when and if she ever changed back to human, she’d have a few things to say to that man.

“I’ve claimed protection of this woman before, Alpha. She is still under my protection.” Well, that was news to her. No wonder she’d felt so safe with him. He really had been protecting her all this time.

“I’m aware of that, Redstone, but this is still Pack business.”

Grif stepped forward to face off with the other man. “This is
were
business, Alpha. It affects all of us.”

They seemed to be staring each other down. Finally the werewolf relented. “Judging by the look of her, you’re probably right. Did she intend to become a cat, or is that your doing?”

Grif stepped back as the wolf-man did and shook his head. “That’s the work of the Lady, Logan. She didn’t consult me. And I witnessed it all. Lindsey didn’t have any idea what this was going to do to her. Her grandfather set her on this course and even he didn’t know what the result would be.”

“Is she
were
?”

Her eyes tracked the men as they looked down at her, but she didn’t know much yet about her new body. She tried to speak, but only a hoarse whimper sounded from her throat.

“Hell if I know.” Grif looked frustrated. “You know how first timers are.”

She didn’t like the sound of that, but she trusted Grif Redstone in a way she didn’t quite understand. He’d been her protector. She somehow knew he’d be her guide in this.

The Alpha sighed. “You’d better take her on a good hard run then.”

Grif nodded. “I will. As soon as our business here is finished.” His expression hardened. “You have any more complaint with her? She’s made up for her grandfather’s interference. She was more than willing to stand in his place. She offered herself freely, and this,” he gestured to her cat form, “is what the Lady we all serve decided.”

“A shifter for a shifter.” The Alpha nodded. “It’s fitting. Though I could’ve wished for another wolf to increase the numbers of my Pack.”

Grif shook his head. “After all the history between you, would she really have been accepted in your Pack?”

The Alpha tilted his head and nodded. “You’re probably right. The Lady knows what She’s doing, after all.” He stepped back and faced her squarely. “So. One more cougar in the world. You’ll face no threat from my Pack, Lindsey Tate. Our trouble with your family is over now, for all time. The debt is repaid.” He bowed his head, though his eyes never left hers. “Welcome to the woods.”

With that, he shifted back into wolf form and bounded away, howling to his Pack. They followed him, barking as they went, disappearing into the moonlit woods.

That left her alone with Grif, who stood looking down at her, apparently completely comfortable with his nakedness. The human part of her mind appreciated his rugged masculinity and impeccable body. He was powerfully built and now she knew how he kept in such great shape. He probably ran through the woods all the time, keeping himself lithe, lean and sleekly muscular.

She felt a purr lodge in her throat and was surprised by the vocalization. He quirked a smile at her as he crouched down facing her.

“What am I going to do with you, Lindsey?” He reached out one hand hesitantly, then scratched her neck in a way that made her purr grow louder as she arched into his caress. She never could have imagined how good it felt to have someone caress your fur. “I know you want to run, baby. And we will. But I have to tell you a few things first.” He stood to pace away from her and she followed, still a little clumsy on her feet, but she was getting more comfortable by the moment.

“First…” He ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at her. “I have to apologize. You’ve got to know that I didn’t mean to deceive you. I didn’t think you would understand if I told you I was a werecat. It’s not something I go around telling people. And I have my sister to protect. I tried to stay away from you, but after the wolves gave you trouble, I knew you needed my protection, dubious as it is.”

She tried to speak, but succeeded only in creating a yowling kind of noise that didn’t sound very pretty.

“Ah hell.” He crouched down in front of her again. “I picked a hell of a time to tell you this. Especially when you can’t talk back.” A smile quirked his lips. “Maybe that’s why I’m saying it now, huh? So you can’t argue with me and tell me what a jerk I was.”

She licked his hand, hoping he’d understand. He turned his hand to caress her neck again and she thought maybe he did. He got to his feet slowly.

“Now, watch and feel the energies as I shift. Most of our young have years to watch the members of their Clans change and learn, but you have only tonight. Watch closely, Lindsey. You’ll have to change back before morning, or you might be locked in cougar form for the rest of your life.”

She perked up, worried now, but he shook his head.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you that. I know it’s harsh, but it’s the truth. The first time you shift is the most important. You need to know so you’ll work hard at regaining your human form when the time comes. I’ll be there with you, but you have to do it on your own. I can’t do it for you.”

She nodded her head up and down though the motion felt jerky and somewhat drunken in her cat form. He seemed to understand, nodding before he started to shift. She felt the energies gather, watching the way he started shifting—from his toes to the top of his head. She imagined he was doing it extra slow for her, so she could see every moment, but still it went by awfully fast.

She was a little shocked when he stopped after he’d changed almost all the way and reversed the process. She watched avidly, trying to store away her impressions of the process for when it came time for her to do it. He stood before her, human, huge and naked, and smiled.

“I almost forgot.” He moved toward the opening to the sweat lodge and ducked in, dousing the fire as she watched. “We won’t be coming back here until tomorrow at the earliest,” he said as he came back out. “Anything in your house I need to do before we go?”

She shook her big head negatively, and he smiled. “Good. Now watch. Shifting takes up a lot of energy. I’ve been doing it for quite a long time, so I can shift back and forth several times a day with no strain, but when you first start out, shifting just once will tax you. That’s why you have to get your first one right.”

With that, he shifted form again and she watched, fascinated as the bones compressed and fur sprouted. His ears elongated and his hands and feet reformed into huge paws. He was bigger than any wild mountain lion, and so much more beautiful, he nearly stole her breath.

When he was completely changed, he vocalized something that sounded to her like
let’s go
. He nudged her with his chin and she began to move toward the woods, watching the way he moved and trying to copy him. He went slow at first, letting her get a feel for her new legs and paws, but she was getting more and more comfortable the farther they went.

When they reached a moonlit clearing, he opened up with the speed and she followed behind, only a little bit slower. She exhilarated in the freedom and the speed she had in this form, running happily after him. He looped back and snapped at her heels playfully a time or two, making her laugh inside while her new vocal chords made some odd sounds that she couldn’t quite control as yet. Her spirit was free in a way it had never been before.

Chapter Six

Grif watched her run and knew she was experiencing the euphoria of her first change. It was something he remembered well from his own first time. It was a special time, but it was also a very dangerous time. If she couldn’t change back before the sun rose, she could lose her human side forever.

And he would lose the human half of his mate.

For that’s what he now knew she was beyond the shadow of a doubt. She was his. He’d known it from the moment he’d seen her in that diner and now the Lady had put the seal on her fate. She was
were
now. There was nothing standing in his way now that she was like him. He could claim her, mate her, and truly make her part of his Clan.

And he would.

If only she could change back to her human form and prove that she really was strong enough to not lose her human side. He’d bet good money that if anyone had the strength to survive this harsh change from human to shifter, it was Lindsey. More than just her own future was riding on it.
His
future was tangled up with this small woman, and she essentially held both their lives in her hands.

As she began to tire, he nudged her toward his cabin. He wanted her there tonight, where he could watch her. He thought Belinda just might be of some help too. Belinda liked Lindsey already. His little sister would want to help.

Lindsey was exhilarated, but tired when she first scented the wood fire burning in the distance. The smell of horses came to her on the wind and she realized they were nearing a human dwelling with a barn. Judging by the direction and distance they’d traveled, she guessed he was gently directing her toward his cabin.

She’d be glad to rest, and maybe get a drink of water. She was thirsty after all the exertion. She was a fit woman, but their run across the meadow and through the woods had exercised muscles she’d never known before.