Shift (Castlerock Shifters Book 1) Page 6

  Seff bounded ahead of Quinn, clearly anxious to get to his new friend. Following behind, he again wondered at the strange intensity her scent brought on. She was human. There was nothing in her that even remotely smelled like wolf, so there was no way she could be his mate, and yet, his reactions to her could no longer be rationalized away.

  Continuing down the path, he realized Seff had gotten completely out of his sight. The moment he noticed, he caught an odd scent; barely there, but one he was afraid he knew all too well now. He searched until he found the source, just off the pathway. It was near a large spruce tree. No, not near the tree – in the tree. It was definitely the off-human scent of someone from the Ishak’s village. It was such a small area with the scent, he could only guess that the shifter had momentarily been distracted and let his guard down to leave even this little bit.

  However, there was no animal scent around the tree. He’d been sure the Ishaks could only mask their human scents. But, it seemed, they could mask both, just as Quinn’s own pack could. That was disheartening. How could they hope to find them, when they had the ability to be invisible? And what in the world had it been doing up in a tree? Had it been watching Jaisey? Frustrated, he swore silently. He needed answers, not more questions.

  He felt as though he were being taunted; like they were just throwing it in his face that they could wander about his territory undetected. And again, the elders had said nothing to warn them. This was even closer to them than the first encounter had come, and was recent. Anger ripped through him, knowing how close one of the Ishaks had come to Jaisey.

  He turned, shifted and howled, calling for Seff. He needed the boy to pick up the scent as well. If they were to protect anyone, they had to know their enemy. Seff was there in moments, bounding through the underbrush in his wolf form. He caught the scent and shifted back to his human form and Quinn followed suit.

  “What is that?” he asked.

  “Them.”

  “Here? When?” he asked, panic edging into his voice, eyes darting around.

  “Earlier today. The elders should have caught this,” he said with an angry edge to his voice. “There’s no way to even know if they’re still here,” he continued with even more menace.

  “Jaisey is down by the water by herself,” Seff said, panic filling his voice.

  “Don’t worry, the Ishak is gone.”

  Quinn shook his head and muttered a low curse.

  “What?” Seff demanded.

  “I probably scared her when I called you. I wasn’t thinking. She’ll probably head for the cabin now. I’ll circle around follow behind her and watch for signs of trouble. You take the lead up to her place. If you see, hear, or smell anything remotely out of place, you call me immediately,” Quinn turned at Seff’s nod. They both shifted again, and Quinn headed toward the water.

  Eight

  Jaisey

  Jaisey sat on her beach towel by the little stream, staring at the water and thinking about her morning. She’d gotten up early, excited for her outing with Seff and once she’d had breakfast and pulled everything together, she’d waited on the porch for him. But… he never showed.

  After waiting for almost two hours, she finally gave up and decided to just make the trip by herself. She knew there was a game path that led to the stream and swimming hole; deer and other forest animals would wander down to it to drink the water.

  On the way, she’d had an unsettling feeling as if she were being watched; something peculiar that chilled her spine. Jack had run off barking at a large bird in a tree further down the path and scared it off. Once it had flown off, the odd sensation had faded, and the feelings of anxiety had receded completely by the time she reached the swimming hole.

  It had taken about a half hour to reach the end of the trail, which opened up right into the clearing on the north side of the water. To the east was a ridge that the water flowed over, forming a waterfall. It pooled at the base of the waterfall, making a nice sized swimming hole, then streamed to the southwest and out of the clearing. It was flowing decently, though had probably been heavier early in the spring from melting snow, higher up in the mountains.

  Sitting, staring at the water, she realized it was stupid to keep dwelling on being ditched by the teenager. So, she stripped down to her suit and got into the water. It was a bit of a shock – colder than she’d expected, but also refreshing. She swam to the bottom a few times to get her bearings. If there were any new rocks or anything treacherous it would be best to know that before jumping. It was about fifteen feet deep, or so she figured. Deep enough for her jumps and dives.

  Satisfied there was nothing to hinder her, she headed up the little ridge. It took a few minutes to find footing stable enough to climb up to the top of the waterfall. She stood staring down at the water with a smile. She had become an adventurer because of her brothers and Jasmyn. Left to her own devices, she probably wouldn’t have tried half the activities she had.

  This was a decent drop into the water, maybe twenty feet in all. It was intense to watch the water rushing up to greet her as she fell. She jumped in feet first the first time, just to get the feel for the distance to the water. After that, she did some dives; jumping out into the air before falling to the water below. She felt so free. She felt… alive; more alive than she had in months.

  The magic of this place had already begun to heal those places within her that hurt and ached. She had known or at least hoped that would be the case and she had been right. She floated in the water for a long time just absorbing the sunlight and the fresh air. After a while though, her skin started getting wrinkly and pruned looking.

  She pulled herself from the water and went to her towel to stretch out and dry. She stayed like that, resting on her towel for a long time. There was such tranquility in these mountains. It was an incredible feeling. She caught herself smiling for no reason other than sheer joy.

  Jack had found a shallow area to jump around in and seemed as though he were intently trying to capture something.

  She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her. Her mind pulled the image of Seff. He had seemed a very easy-going kid by nature. He reminded her of her brothers a bit and while she was happy that she was able to enjoy herself so much without him, it still would have been fun to splash around with the kid.

  Jack ran up to her and shook himself off, effectively drenching her again. Then he stretched out next to her, seemingly content to just relax as well. She knew they had a few more solid hours of light, so could stay quite a bit longer without worrying that it was too late for hiking back.

  After a bit, she jumped back into the water, wishing again that Seff had not stood her up. She took a long swim and then reluctantly pulled herself from the water when she noticed she was getting hungry. She dried off and dressed, gathered her things and readied herself to head back to the cabin. She found herself thinking, or rather hoping to herself, that maybe Seff would show up tomorrow.

  “Let’s go, Jack,” she said. Her voice sounding loud in the clearing.

  As she headed across to the path back to the cabin, a howl cut through the air. It was loud and very close. She froze mid-step, another chill rushing up her spine. Jack simply sniffed the air and looked back up at her waiting on her action.

  The encounters in the past few days flooded her thoughts. It seemed in the years that they had been gone, a pack had moved in close to the cabin. What was she supposed to do now? She ran through her memories of what her mother had said about wolves.

  A number of facts came to her that didn’t help her and then she remembered.

  Communication.

  Howling was used to tell the pack where a specific member was located, or to call pups home. This one was close, hopefully telling the rest of the pack where it was. If it were a mother calling her pups home, that could be bad. Either way, she was closer to a wolf, or wolves, than she should be. She needed to move, just in case.

  Immediately the next problem surfaced. The wolf was to th
e north of her, toward the game path she had followed in; probably not on it, but close enough. But either way, it was between her and the cabin. She would have to cut a wide path around the trail and find her way back.

  Inaction was making her more nervous. She really felt like she needed to move. She forced herself to calm down and stood facing north; waiting to see if there was a wind that might help send her scent away from the wolf. There was. A light breeze was blowing to the west. It wasn’t much, but it couldn’t hurt. At least her smell wouldn’t blow right to the hunter.

  So, she headed to the west edge of the clearing. She walked carefully, trying not to make much noise, which of course made every sound that she did make seem that much louder. And then Jack pouncing around at every little thing was ridiculous. It was like he was purposely making as much noise as he could. If there were a predator within a mile of her, she was sure it knew right where they were. All she could hope was that it wasn’t a hungry predator.

  Oddly enough, she found her anxiety had subsided considerably once she had started moving. She still had a healthy fear of the wolf, or wolves, that were out there, but it wasn’t like that eerie feeling from earlier in the day. Maybe it was because she knew exactly what was out there this time. She stopped trying to examine it and kept moving.

  She walked a good way and then turned north. At some point, so long as she hadn’t gone too far to the west, she would hit the mountain road. She walked and walked with the light fading faster and faster. That worried her more than any wolf at this point. If she couldn’t see to find her way home, she could end up lost. Her sense of direction didn’t feel so sure in the growing darkness.

  In fact, her fear of the wolf had faded almost completely as she walked. There had been no further sound from the wolf or any of its family. She had worried that the wind might shift, but instead, it had just died down. She checked her watch; she had been walking for close to forty minutes. She should be coming up on the road soon.

  As if on cue, she stumbled onto a dirt-packed road. She stopped, eyeing it warily. That wasn’t right. The road to the cabin was paved all the way to the ranger station and it ended just beyond. She wasn’t aware of any dirt roads in the area.

  A mental map started forming in her head. If this road wound up to the ranger station, it could connect to the end of the paved road – though she didn’t recall ever seeing it before. She thought about following it to see where it would lead; the approaching darkness was her only concern.

  Indecision settled on her. Which way should she go? She looked around in the waning light trying to find anything that looked remotely familiar. Jack had run off, to what she thought was the east, and she could hear him barking off in the distance – no doubt at yet another critter.

  Then she heard a small, muffled sound behind her and whipped around. She stared, squinting into the forest, which was quickly getting darker but she could see nothing.

  No, there was something. Something – grey. The wolf? It wasn’t moving. Maybe it was just her imagination; it was quite shadowed in the forest with the sun so low in the sky. She kept her gaze locked on it and felt a shiver run through her. It wasn’t from fear, but excitement. She knew it was watching her, focusing on her, but it didn’t seem to want anything more than that.

  It moved slightly, almost imperceptibly and she sucked in her breath, afraid to make any movement. She honestly didn’t want the moment to end and only wished she could see it more clearly; see its eyes.

  A touch on her arm from behind made her jump and she screamed and turned. Seff stood there looking embarrassed.

  “Whoa… don’t be scared,” Seff said, “it’s just me.”

  “Geez, Seff. You nearly scared me to death!” she exclaimed, her heart thumping violently in her chest.

  “Sorry. Are you okay?” he finally asked, his voice full of concern. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I’m fine… just got a little turned around,” she admitted. She whipped her head back to the forest but could see nothing. The splash of grey was gone.

  “What is it?” he asked, following her glance back.

  “Nothing,” she said wistfully. “And make some noise next time, would you?”

  He nodded and grinned, taking her by the hand. He began walking, pulling her along with him. A few seconds later, Jack came charging in.

  “Well you’re a little late to save me,” she growled at him.

  Then her dumb dog went right to Seff for a quick scratch behind the ear and then bounded back off the way he’d come from. In less than ten minutes, they broke through the clearing to the west of the cabin. She heaved a huge sigh of relief. She had been on the right track after all. If she had continued north, she would have hit the paved road. Her mental map was working just fine, she thought with satisfaction.

  Once she got into the house, she felt an even bigger emotional release.

  “Are you okay?” he asked quietly watching her reaction.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

  He smiled lightly as she dropped onto the couch and relaxed. Her whole body must have been tensed hiking back because now she was aching.

  “How exactly did you find me? Where on earth did you come from?” she asked, eyeing Seff curiously.

  “Well, I was coming to tell you I was sorry for skipping out on you today and suddenly there you were,” he explained taking a seat.

  It seemed like a thin explanation to her, but she let it go. He could keep his little secrets. She could wait until he was ready to share with her… if he ever was. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands.

  “So… what did happen to you today?” she asked, wondering if he would even tell her. She wasn’t upset with him, but she was curious. Feeling completely flustered from everything that had happened in the forest, she just needed to focus on something else.

  “Some stupid family stuff came up, so I couldn’t get away. I’m really sorry,” he said, apologizing yet again. It was obvious by his tone he would have preferred to have spent the day with her at the swimming hole. That made her feel a bit better about being stood up.

  She had calmed considerably and felt her emotions falling back into place, though the grey wolf was still stalking her thoughts. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was out in the forest near her cabin. The curiosity was almost strong enough to make her want to go out and look for him.

  What an odd compulsion, she thought. I must be losing my mind.

  She knew it was a dangerous animal, but something in her wanted to see it again. She shook off the crazy thought and refocused on Seff. The kid looked miserable – she needed to fix that.

  “Well, now that you’re here, how about some dinner? I’m starving,” she said, adding a smile to show she wasn’t upset with him.

  He smiled broadly and nodded.

  She rose and he followed her to the small kitchen. He sat on one of the barstools on the opposite side of the counter while she hunted up something to make. She decided on pizza when, after giving him several choices, his eyes had lit up at the mention of it. She made the dough and began working it while the oven warmed. She worked in comfortable silence with Seff watching. She got the pizza in the oven and made a pitcher of iced tea. After pouring them each a glass, she joined him at the counter, sitting on the other barstool.

  “So, do you think you might want to go again tomorrow?” he hedged. It was clear he thought she was upset with him for ditching her.

  “Tell me this, is there a wolf problem on the mountain?” she asked.

  She had trouble deciphering the expression he shot back at her - shocked and then maybe amused.

  “No, there isn’t a wolf… problem,” he said with a grin, though it didn’t reach his eyes quite the way it normally did. “Why do you ask?”

  “It’s just that I never saw a wolf on this mountain before and in the few days I have been here I have seen and heard several,” she explained.

  “You’v
e seen wolves?” Seff asked as his eyebrow arched a bit.

  “Yeah, the other night when I was driving up, I almost ran over a little wolf in the road. I swerved to miss it but ended up skidding into the embankment. I ended up cutting my head,” she pulled her hair back showing him the yellowing bruise and the cut that was still healing.

  “I’d gotten out of Yellow Jeep to make sure I didn’t hit the cute little thing,” to this Seff chuckled, but she continued, “and then there was a bigger wolf in the forest. Then yesterday on my hike back from the ranger station, I came across a black one and then this huge grey one chased him off,” she finished in a rush.

  Seff didn’t respond. He just stared at her blankly.

  “I’m not crazy Seff. It happened,” she said, defending her strange sounding story.

  “I don’t think you’re crazy,” he said with a grin. “Of course, there are wolves on the mountain, but you don’t need to worry. They’d be more afraid of you than you are of them.”

  “Doubtful,” she replied. “Anyway, when I was getting ready to head back from the swimming hole today, I heard one howl. It was on my path back or very close to it, so I had to come back a different way. And right before you showed up, I could’ve sworn I saw that grey wolf again.”

  The oven buzzer went off, so she didn’t get a reply from him. She finished getting dinner ready and they took the meal out to the porch to eat.

  Seff tore into the pizza, eating over half. She laughed when he went for the last piece – looking up at her questioningly, making sure she didn’t want it. It reminded her of her brothers and their never-ending appetites.

  After dinner, Seff apologized yet again for not making it and reluctantly said he had to go.

  “So tomorrow?” he raised his eyebrows in question, his expression hopeful.

  She nodded in agreement, smiling. He leapt down off the porch, not bothering with the stairs and turned with a huge smile.