––––––––
Once back at Lacey’s cabin, Frank started pacing the floor nervously. “So what do we do first” he asked with a shaky voice.
“First thing, is you need to calm down. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to, so if you’ve changed your mind or want to wait a little while all you have to do is say so.” Lacey’s voice was calm as she tried to ease the tension and fear she sensed coming from Frank.
He stopped in his tracks and looked her way as she sat on the arm of the couch, watching him. “No. I haven’t changed my mind. I just want to hurry up and get it over with.”
“Alright then” Lacey said and stood up. “Have a seat.” She pointed to the couch.
Frank sat down and repeatedly rubbed his hands over his thighs to his knees like they had suddenly become cold and he was attempting to warm them up. He looked up at Lacey as she stood in front of him. “Alright, now what.”
Lacey stepped into her bedroom and came back out with a white robe and a black silk scarf. She dropped the robe on the floor at Franks feet then leaned toward him with the scarf in her hand. “First, I’m going to blindfold your eyes because you’re not used to our ways. And I’m aware that nudity, especially mine might be an issue to you.”
Frank stayed perfectly still as Lacey tied the scarf around his head.
Lacey continued to speak as she knelt down on the floor in front of the couch. “Just take a deep breath and try not to think about anything. It will be over before you know it.”
“Just do it” Frank said as his entire body started to tremble.
Without thinking too much about what she was about to do for fear that she wouldn’t be able to go through with it, Lacey closed her eyes and quickly shifted into her wolf. She rubbed her head tenderly against Frank’s leg then she bit him just above the ankle on his left leg.
Frank flinched and grunted from the pain then yelled out, “Again! I want to make sure it works.”
Lacey stared up at him, contemplating whether or not she should bite him again. When he yelled at her again, she did as he said and bit his other ankle. Then she quickly shifted back into her human form and wrapped the robe around her nude body before removing Frank’s blindfold. “How do you feel?” she asked.
Frank bent over to inspect his wounds. “My ankles hurt like hell but other than that, I feel fine.” He looked up at Lacey. “Thank you. Thank you for doing this.”
“You might not be thanking me later. In fact, you might even want to kill me when the pain hits and your mind becomes confused.”
Frank shook his head. “I’ll never hurt you, Lacey.” He paused to really think about what she said, “But maybe Cole should be here just to make sure things don’t get out of hand.”
Lacey sat down in the chair closest to the couch and smiled. “Trust me, Dad, I can handle you on my own.” To prove her point, she used her powers to push the couch he was sitting on to the far side of the room. “I have yet to meet a wolf I can’t control. If you get out of hand, I’ll make sure you know who the boss is” she said teasingly.
“So your ability to use your powers has returned?” Frank asked as he studied his wounds that were no longer bleeding. The puncture marks from Lacey’s canines were already in the process of healing.
“Yes. My mind is still a little fuzzy when I use them but I can feel that I’m getting better.”
“What do we do now?”
“We wait” Lacey said and sat back in the chair with her eyes locked onto her father. She could already smell the difference in his scent. A scent distinct to his wolf was slowly overtaking the human scent he’d been born with.
The door to the cabin was suddenly thrown open and Cole stormed inside. His eyes shifted from Lacey to Frank before they finally settled on Lacey. “What did you do?”
Before she had a chance to respond, Frank cried out in pain and fell to the floor in front of the couch. His body twisted and contorted in pain as his body rapidly changed from human to a silver wolf. The entire process took less than ten minutes.
Cole started toward Lacey as Frank got to his wobbly feet across the room. Lacey held her hand up to stop Cole from approaching her. “I got it, Cole. I don’t need your help. Just wait outside until I get him calmed down.”
Cole lifted his upper lip in a snarl and glared at Frank. “I don’t know what the hell is going on here but if you hurt her, Frank, in any way...even a tiny nip anywhere on her body...I promise I will castrate you. And trust me, a castrated wolf is really nothing more than lapdog around here.”
The silver wolf let out a tiny yelp and stepped back with his head lowered.
“Cole!” Lacey said his name in a chastising tone.
Pleased with Frank’s submissive behavior, the serious look on Cole’s face eased and he looked at Lacey. “What? Just because your dad is an older man doesn’t mean he’s no longer interested in women. And if he wants to keep his balls, he’ll keep his distance from you until he can fully control himself. Right, Frank?” Cole said and glanced over at the silver wolf.
The wolf whimpered then plopped down on the floor with his head rested on his front paws.
Cole stayed by the door, watching Frank with a confused expression for several minutes. He wasn’t displaying any of the usual aggressive behavior that most newbies experienced. And Cole had never seen anyone go through the change so quickly. It had taken Lacey nearly half an hour to go through her first shifting and afterwards, she had been extremely aggressive for days. But Frank was so calm not even his heart beat had accelerated.
“Cole, please wait outside so that I can talk with Frank. I think he’d be more comfortable with just me in the room” Lacey said and pleaded with her eyes for him to leave.
Cole crossed his arms over his chest and leveled an accusatory stare at her. “We’re going to talk about this later. I’m very interested in hearing about why you decided to do something this dangerous on your own.”
“I know you’re mad” Lacey said with an apologetic tone, “but as you can see Frank isn’t a threat to me. So we can talk about it in a little while, okay.”
Instead of responding, Cole stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door shut behind him.
Lacey let out a deep breath and faced her father. She knelt down slowly in front of the silver wolf and gently laid her hand on top of his head. “Whenever you’re ready to change back into a man all you have to do is picture yourself as a man. See yourself in your mind on two legs instead of four and concentrate on making the change happen.”
The wolf nodded then stood up and walked behind the couch, out of Lacey’s view. A few seconds later, she heard his human voice grunt.
“Dad, are you alright?” Lacey called out to him.
“I’m fine. But I need some clothes.”
Lacey hurried into her bedroom and returned a minute later with some of Cole’s clothes. They were about three sizes too big but it was all she had to offer. “Here” she said and tossed them over the couch.
After a few minutes, Frank stood up, fully dressed. He stayed where he was behind the couch and looked around the room like he was seeing the inside of the cabin for the first time. “Wow. I can’t believe how clear everything is. Is this how I’m going to see from now on?”
Lacey smiled. “Your other senses will be greatly improved as well. It may take a few hours...”
“No” Frank interrupted her, “They’re already improved. My skin is extra sensitive. I can feel every single hair on by body. And I can hear everything from outside. The birds. Animals in the woods. Cole sitting on the front porch cussing me out for showing up here and monopolizing your attention.”
“I can’t believe how easy and incredibly fast this has been for you” Lacey said as she studied her dad. “I’ve never heard of anyone changing so quickly. Are you in any pain right now?”
“No. And I wasn’t in that much discomfort when I shifted either. What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know. But you should be thankful that the change happened so gracefully in you. I’ve never witnessed a person go through the change before but I’ve been told that most people have the same experience I did. What about your hunger? Do you feel the need to hunt?”
Frank thought about it. “Not really. I mean I could definitely go for a cheeseburger right about now but I don’t have any desire to chase a cow down and rip it apart or anything.” He stopped talking and lifted his arms in the air to stretch his muscles then he bent over at the waist and twisted his body around at odd angles. “Man, I feel great. My body hasn’t felt this good since I was in my twenties. My arthritis is gone. The pain in my knees, hips and back is gone. I bet I could run a marathon if I wanted to.”
“Let’s hold off on the marathon until we find out whether or not this good natured attitude of yours is just temporary or permanent. I’d hate to set you loose on unsuspecting people and have you turn into a crazed wolf hellbent on destroying everything you come into contact with” Lacey said.
Frank’s attention was suddenly averted to the cabin door. He shivered as if an unpleasant thought had crossed his mind. “Um, Lacey, it’s not that I don’t enjoy this one on one time with you, but I really think you should call Cole back inside. He’s out there threatening to disembowel me.”
Lacey tried unsuccessfully to hold her laugh in. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been listening to him sulk since I asked him to go outside.”
Frank’s brows lifted. “That’s how he sulks? Sounds more like the planning of a massacre if you ask me.”
“Yeah, well no one asked you, Frank” Cole said as he opened the door and walked inside. He crossed the floor in three long strides to where Lacey stood and wrapped his arms around her waist and moved to stand behind her. He kissed her on the side of the neck then focused his attention of Frank, “I have to say Frank, this is a bit of a surprise to me. I definitely didn’t see this coming. Not only did you manage to talk Lacey in to changing you, but you went through the change faster and with less aggression than anyone I’ve ever met. I don’t know if it’s your old age or what, but it’s a good thing you kept your cool. It would have been a shame if I had to put you down.”
Frank’s face paled as he looked from Cole to Lacey.
“He’s kidding, Dad” Lacey said and slapped Cole’s arm playfully.
“Or am I?” Cole said teasingly and spun Lacey around in his arms so that they were face to face. He claimed her lips in a heated kiss.
Frank rudely cleared his throat to get their attention.
Cole reluctantly pulled back from Lacey and glared at him. “You had your time with her. Now it’s my turn” he growled, sounding like a child fighting over a toy.
“Okay. That’s enough” Lacey said and stepped away from Cole. Their playful banter seemed harmless but she knew how quickly things could escalate when it came to jealousy between two male wolves. “I can see where this is headed and I don’t like it. So I’m going to put a stop to the drama before it even gets started.” She looked to Cole first, “You’re my mate. I love you and will be spending the rest of my life with you. There is no reason for you to be jealous of Frank.” She turned her attention to her dad, “And you are my dad. I love you and there is no reason for you to be jealous of Cole. You are both important to me, so you better learn to get along or else you’ll both be on the receiving end of my anger.”
Frank stepped toward Cole and held his hand out to him. “Friends?” he asked.
Cole cut his eyes over to Lacey to see if she was watching him before he grabbed Franks hand and shook it. “Family is more like it. Welcome to the pack. All kidding aside, I’m glad you’re back in Lacey’s life. And I am really pleased the change was so unusually easy and aggression free for you. Unlike your friend.”
“How is Lee?” Frank asked as Cole walked past him to sit on the couch.
Lacey went to her room to change out of her robe.
In response to Franks question, Cole said, “According to Jeremiah, Lee went through his first shifting soon after we walked out of the room.” He paused and shook his head, “I don’t know maybe it’s the advanced age of you two that caused the change to happen so quickly. The oldest person I ever changed was maybe in their twenties. Anyway, Jeremiah and Scotty ended up beating the hell out of Lee twice before he finally calmed his ass down.” He paused and looked up at Frank, “For your friend’s sake, I hope we don’t have any more problems out of him. He’s already made one huge mistake.”
“What was that?”
“He went after Jeremiah” Cole said with raised brows. “My cousin is not someone Lee should piss off. Other than your daughter and myself, no one else has ever tried their luck with him. Jeremiah is actually one of the calmest wolves on this mountain...until you make him mad. Lee is lucky that Jeremiah didn’t kill him.”
Frank sat down in the chair across from Cole with respect in his eyes. “You said Lacey went up against him? What happened?”
A huge grin stretched across Cole’s face as he thought back to the day that Lacey tried to rip Jeremiah to pieces after he kicked in the door of their cabin looking for a fight. “Let’s just say that the cool, calm and collective Lacey that you’ve seen since arriving here isn’t the only side of her. She can take on and defeat damn near every wolf here...except for me” he said cockily.
“Oh really” Lacey’s voice sounded from the doorway of her room.
Cole looked her way as she finished buttoning the blue and pink striped flannel shirt she was wearing.
“I think I can take you in a fair fight” Lacey teased.
Cole laughed out loud. “That’s the thing...with you, there’s no such thing as a fair fight. All you have to do is use your powers to throw my ass against a tree...or a brick wall” he said in reference to her time in Carol Springs.
Lacey walked over to the couch and sat down on Cole’s lap. She puckered her lips mockingly and said, “I’m sorry. Does the fact that I have powers and you don’t hurt your feelings?”
“Hell no! It hurts my head and my ass every time I get tossed across a room when you get pissed” Cole replied.
Frank laughed out loud at the scene Cole described. “So I take it you two have some epic fights?” he asked.
Lacey and Cole both looked his way. “Not really” Lacey said. “It’s been a while since I’ve lost control of my powers. Almost four years actually. Once I learned I was pregnant with the twins, I focused a lot on controlling myself. And now, it’s safe to say I have complete control of my powers.”
“That’s good to hear” Frank said. “And from what little I saw of Claire’s powers, she seems to have pretty good control as well.”
“She does” Lacey agreed. “Cole has been working with her for quite some time in controlling her powers.”
“And Cody?” Frank asked. “Does he have telekinesis too?”
“No. He’s like us” Cole said. “Well, let me clarify that...Cody is like me...an alpha. He may still be very young but we knew the moment he was born that he’s stronger and more aggressive than other wolves. He’s the only wolf I’ve ever heard of who began shifting at birth.”
Franks eyes widened in disbelief. “So Cody is a wolf and Claire isn’t? How is that possible?”
“We don’t know that for sure” Lacey said. “Claire has all of the heightened senses of a wolf and Cole thinks that she will eventually shift just like Cody. The change is just taking longer to happen in her. But even if it never happens, we love both of our children the same.”
“Of course you do.” Frank smiled.
Just then, the door of the cabin was forced open and Scotty rushed inside. Everyone in the room jumped to their feet. “What’s wrong?” Cole asked as Scotty hurried over to him.
“One of the scouts you sent to the city to watch out for Branson sent word that over two dozen black SUV’s were spotted about thirty-five miles from here” Scotty said and passed a worried look over to Lacey.
“Has Mira left with the women and children yet?” Cole asked.
“No.” Scotty shook his head. “She’s gathering everyone in the village now and waiting for Lacey to see the twins before they leave.”
“Wait. What?” Lacey glared at Cole. “Is this the trip Claire mentioned earlier?”
He noticed the tense look on her face and immediately attempted to explain. “It’s safer for the kids if they’re not here when Branson shows up. Mira, Tonya and Kindal are going to escort all the women and children off the mountain to a safehouse an hour away.”
Lacey shook her head quickly from side to side then glared angrily at Cole. “No. My children are not leaving this mountain.” She turned her narrowed eyes on Scotty, “Bring Claire and Cody to me now!” she ordered.
Scotty hesitated, his gaze shifted between Lacey and Cole, unsure of who he should obey. Then he felt Lacey’s powers rising inside her.
“I said now!” she yelled and used her powers to throw him out of the cabin.
Scotty landed outside in the yard. He quickly got to his feet and darted into the woods to retrieve the twins.