Page 67 of Shifter's Dream

41 – Fierce

“The next thing I remember is being back with my mother, and then we moved.” Reed said, shrugging. “The nightmares didn’t start right away, but there were a few years when I was going to a counselor once a week, they messed with me that badly.” She’d explained it all to Ella, Heather, Harlan and Eventine, the nightmares, the dream when she’d first slept in Troy’s arms that had made the nightmare clear for the first time, and all the things her mother had said since then. “My mom won’t talk about it.” Leilani and Jaggar played with Treena and Track on the floor, Jaggar with an ear cocked their way, Leilani seeming to not listen at all.

Ella nodded. “I don’t think my mom did well with it, either, and she never breathed a word to me. I found my pendant in the attic after she died.”

Heather grimaced. “My mother definitely had a hard time with it, and she still won’t talk about it.”

Harlan shook his head, a bit of old-world cynicism showing on his face. “An angel comes to earth and impregnates human women for his own gain, and it messes them up psychologically. Who could have seen that coming?”

He cocked his head, then nodded at Ella. “Boss man is here,” but Ella already knew. She grabbed Reed’s elbow. “Come on, I’ll take you up.”

When they reached the door, Track shifted into a wolf puppy and ran for his mother. Ella caught him in mid-air, then checked on Treena. Treena didn’t care she was leaving. “I’ll be right back,” Ella called to Leilani, then she ducked out the door, Track in her arms. Reed followed.

Ella was fast, already halfway down the tunnel. Reed slowed, falling behind. Reed wanted some time to think but knew she wouldn’t get any, Ella was practically running to get her up to Trevor. Trevor had said he needed her in the forest behind her house, because Troy was trapped in some trees, and thought that Reed could get him out.

Reedhopedshe could. When that news had come, she’d made Ella confirm three times, that Troy was ok and talking. She wished she could hear that telepathic stuff, it would come in handy.

Ella’s hair shifted off her neck as she leaned forward, trying to keep ahold of Track, who was wriggling fiercely. Reed saw a… a mark on the back of her left shoulder, similar to the one Reed now had. She ran forward and touched Ella on the elbow.

“You have one, too. On your shoulder. Do they always bite?” She still didn’t know how she felt about that damn bite. Couldn’t he have told herbeforehe did it?

Ella gave her a slow smile, her hand wrapped around Track’s muzzle to keep him from biting her fingers. “It’s a wolf’s nature to bite.”

“To bite women?”

“Only his mate. There is not one other woman on the planet he would have bitten.”

That stopped Reed in her tracks. She wasn’t one in a million or one in a billion. To Troy, she was one in all of humanity. Which explained a few things.

She noticed Ella’s simple wedding band. “They give rings?”

Ella nodded. “They get married, too, just like humans.”

“Really?” Reed let herself imagine it. Married and mated to Troy. Forever. It would be an adventure, she knew that much. Would she need a job? The remembered loss of her jobs made her sad for a moment, before the craziness of reality dislodged the feeling. The logistics of what would happen to her in the future were too much to think about. For now, she had to be content with just getting Troy out of the trees.

Ella reached a door at the very end of the tunnel and it opened for them, dumping them in a sterile police department hallway, that took them to a large open room that held dozens of desks. An ancient-looking police radio sat in the back, a steady drone of officer/dispatcher discussions streaming out of it. Most of the desks were empty, only a six men in uniforms typing on computers or bent over paperwork. One at a time, each of them looked up at, then stared at the two females heading through the big room at a fast pace.

Reed leaned into Ella. “Are they staring at you, or at me?”

“Both,” Ella said, to her quietly, pulling her to the edge of the room and stopping, then waving. “Hi everyone.”

A few of the males called a greeting. The rest raised their hand or nodded to her.

“This is Reed,” Ella said. “Troy’s mate. She’s new.”

Almost all of the men smiled. A few called out to her. “All right,” one said. “Troy got a mate, good for him. I’m happy for him.” He high-fived the officer next to him. Reed didn’t know how to feel about it. On the one hand, these men seemed to genuinely like and respect Troy, which made Reed like them, but on the other hand, they were talking about her like she wasn’t even there, and like she had no choice in the matter. She’d never even considered the matter ofchoicein this mess before, but she’d only heard the word mate for the first time the night before.

“Nice to meet you, Reed,” one of them said. Another came up and shook her hand, giving her a genuine smile. All of them acknowledged her directly. They were a polite bunch, she would give them that.

“She’s heading out to the scene with Trevor,” Ella said, waving. “Later.”

The males responded with a chorus of ‘be safe,’ ‘watch your back,’ and the like.

Reed waved to them, again touched at the sentiments, then followed Ella out the door into the parking lot. A large police truck was running at the curb, a muscular man with a rigid expression behind the wheel. As soon as he saw Ella and Track, his face softened, telling Reed this was Trevor, Ella’s mate and husband, and Troy’s big brother.

Trevor hugged and kissed Ella, then took Track from her. Track, still a little black puppy wearing a diaper and a onesie, started gnawing on Trevor’s hand right away. Trevor let him chew it up.

Reed met Trevor’s eyes and tried to smile, nerves hitting her and she wasn’t sure why. He faced her and smiled warmly at her. “Reed, it’s so good to meet you.”

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