Page 6 of Shifter's Homecoming

The decision felt like it had taken a lifetime to make, even though there had never really been a question. Trent put a hand to his head. Smokey was talkingagain, time was flowingagain, the worlds were spinning, and he could not get his shit together!

Trent growled and muscled himself under control as much as possible, again feeling like he was out of his league, like this was happening too fast for him. He was not keeping up with what was happening, which was strange to him. Trent had not been in a situation he could not handle in a long time.

The meadow they were standing in disappeared suddenly. Trent’s feet stood on nothing. Floating, he was floating again, he and Smokey, through space, back the way they had come.

The mission begins,Smokey said in Trent’s mind, urgency in his voice.What do you understand?

“Not enough,” Trent said out loud. His voice echoed, then was pulled behind them. They picked up speed, moving through space like it was water.

Not enough.

4 - The Instructions

Smokey spoke, his manner fast and urgent. They didn’t float through space, theyhurtledthrough it, moving so fast back the way they had come that Trent had to wonder if they could slam into an asteroid or a satellite or maybe the motherfucking space station.

A blue marble wobbled in front of them, a planet that Trent instinctively knew did not belong to him. It was not the Earth, it was not the Ula, his world.

Let me start at the beginning, but briefly,Smokey laid out in his head as they shot through nothing, straight into atmosphere.You have another life. This other life, this other Trent, he’s about to die. You know this Trent, you’ve been this Trent, but you haven’t remembered it for a long time, not for so many years, since you were—but that part was lost to the wind. Trent shook his head.

Smokey stared at him hard then started speaking again, quickly, like he was afraid Trent would cut him off.You are a dream traveler, like the One True Mate Dahlia is a traveler. You are heading into your other life, now. You haven’t remembered traveling since you were a pup, but you used to remember it—

Smokey’s voice strained and his words came even faster. He bit Trent on the arm as if to make sure Trent was paying attention.

You have a life and a family here. You have been in this world before. You have been in this body before. The difference now is now you are an adult, and now you are without your wolf.

“How do I get my wolf back?” Trent choked out. Their speed increased. Wind howled around his face and his ears, making him switch toruhi.How do I get my wolf back?It was the most important question he could think of, although he knew he should want to know what the mission actually was. But the loss of his wolf at the core of him was a loss he could barely stand.

Their speed increased again. The hair on Trent’s head and face whipped around by biting wind, and it seemed to rip some of Smokey’s words from his mind.Your wolf … will … when the mission … … from her…was all Trent heard.

The planet ahead looked more and more like home, the oceans were familiar, the land masses, too, but it was not home. Trent knew it. Land loomed in front of them, looking just like North America. It was night-time in this world and they were heading directly into the center of a wide, dark forest, no lights there, only trees and trees and more trees, illuminated only slightly by the moon above. To one side was an ocean lined with the electric lights of humanity, but not near as many as Trent was used to seeing in his world. Between the ocean and the forest was a large city, a metropolitan city that looked like no city Trent had ever seen. Even in the dim, night-time lighting, Trent could tell the buildings were packed together and modern, but none were higher than a few stories. Trent was looking at a big city, a sprawling city with a downtown and surrounding residential areas, but without one skyscraper. Wind stung his eyes making them water, making him squint. He recognized the coastline he was staring at. He recognized it as the East Coast of the United States, far to the north… which would make the state he was hurtling toward … New York.

Trent’s attention was captured by the sense of … someone thrashing and shouting in the forest below.

Do you hear him?Smokey snarled in his mind.That’s Trent … your other self.

Trentcouldhear him. Trent tried to wrap his mind around what was going on and could not. He could hear the cries of the male though, cries in a deep voice Trent recognized as his own.

“Rowan!” the male was shouting. “Rowan, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! Troy, tell her I take it back, tell her I was an idiot and I see that now!”

Trent could feel the male’s anguish in his own heart. Trent couldfeelthe emotion of this male, his other self. Trent could feel that the only thing this male cared about as he lay dying, was making sure Rowan knew he was sorry and that he didn’t mean… “it”.

Trent did not know what ‘it’ was, he only knew ‘it’ was important.

Trent was close, he was about to slam into this body going a million miles an hour.

Below him, the male closed his eyes and lay still. His wolf with his spirit escaped his body, rising up exactly in the manner Trent himself had done… To thezyanya, Trent thought. That Trent was who thezyanyawas for.

Smokey’s voice came to him, clear and loud and cutting a wide path through his mind.GET THE VACCINE TRENT, DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO WREST THE FULL INGREDIENT LIST AND COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FROM HER. THIS IS YOUR MISSION.

His voice faded and disappeared… Trent lost the sound of it … the wind screamed in his ears and the crash-landing beckoned… Trent curled his arms up over his head and pulled his legs into his belly, ready… ready…

One more message came through, tinny and far away, and totally unreal, but real still the same.

…you must go to the meadow each and every night, you must consort with your wolf in the meadow, or you will eventually be unable to reunite. His mission is such that you cannot be with him or he will certainly fail, and yours is such that he cannot be with you, or you will certainly fail. Go to the meadow every night. Ask the wolf guardian for admit—

SLAM. Trent hit the body hard enough to make it bounce, hard enough to bring it back to life, hard enough to spin his own self inside it. His thoughts and consciousness bounced around inside this body’s mind while fireworks of light and noise exploded again and again.

Then settled.

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