Change (The Shape Shifter Series) (7 page)

A couple of bedrooms bordered the open area where the kitchen and the living room merged. Through a crack in the door she could see inside a huge, comfortable-looking bedroom at the back of the cabin. Marie glanced at the bedrooms, worried. Where was she supposed to sleep? And would they let Tiamhaidh sleep next to her? She glanced sideways at Tiamhaidh, who was staring in confusion at Sofia. She looked disturbed but Marie couldn't see why.

“You can choose which bedroom you like. This cabin is just for you and Tiamhaidh,” Faol said gently.

Marie turned quickly. “Where will you sleep then?”

Faol glanced out of the window and Marie blushed. “Don't worry about us. We're used to sleeping in the mountains, and we have quite a few comfortable nests hidden there.”

“But what about Mom and Dad?” Marie asked hastily.

“We'll take care of them, too,” Faol said, and Marie got a strange feeling.

She looked at Sofia, who nodded slightly. Something was wrong, Marie was sure of it. The way Mom and Tiamhaidh looked at each other and the way Faol and Baz avoided their eyes. But what choice did she have? She didn't have any proof and her grandparents hadn't done anything to awaken her suspicions. She had no choice but to trust them. “Dad?”

David nodded, too. He looked troubled. As if he, too, sensed that everything wasn't what it seemed to be.

“Well, okay then,” Marie agreed. She nodded as if to confirm to herself that it was really okay and turned to Tiamhaidh. “Where would you like to sleep?”

“In your arms, like always,” he grinned.

“That's not an answer,” she laughed and grabbed her bag from the floor. She carried it to the bigger bedroom where the windows opened straight onto the lake and offered a breathtaking view. She knew she had chosen well when she saw a small door at the back of the room. Tiamhaidh might like the opportunity to sneak into the forest at night and hunt with his friends whenever he felt like it.

Faol smiled approvingly. Marie may not be a shape shifter, but she seemed to understand their nature. Tiamhaidh was lucky to have her. She took Sofia's hand gently and led her quietly out. Baz and David followed them. Suddenly, Marie was alone with Tiamhaidh.

She swallowed and slumped onto the bed. “Come here.”

Tiamhaidh looked bothered and she got up. He actually took couple of steps back before she reached him and grabbed his hand.

“Tiamhaidh.” She smiled modestly and started to lead him to the bedroom. He gulped but had no choice but to follow her like a lamb being taken to the butcher. She climbed easily onto the bed and let her fingers slide smoothly over his arms. Her eyes were glued to his and slowly she started to unzip his hoodie.

“No way!” he cried and jumped up, panicking. “We're not going to do anything like that now!”

“Yes way,” she laughed and grabbed the nearest pillow. She threw it at Tiamhaidh and a dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. He took the pillow from the floor and dove onto the bed. Marie screamed and tried to crawl away, but every time she was about to flee from his hands, he managed to grab her and smack her gently with the pillows and the blanket.

At last, they lay on the bed, panting heavily and totally exhausted. All the tension from her muscles was gone and she felt she might like it here after all. Tiamhaidh drew himself closer to her and she put her arms around him, letting her eyes close, and before she could think of anything else she fell into a peaceful dream.

The room was pitch black when Marie woke up. Tiamhaidh was nowhere to be seen and the bed next to her felt empty and cold. She was still drowsy as she scrambled to sit up and look at the lake that was bathed in moonlight. A wolf howled somewhere and she laughed.
Of course. She should've guessed. Tiamhaidh couldn't possibly resist the call of the wolves and had joined them on their nightly hunting trip. Marie threw her blanket aside and stepped onto the cold floor. She couldn't hear any voices around, though she was sure that at least Dad had settled in the other house. Would it always be like this, she wondered? Her sleeping alone at night while Tiamhaidh was hunting? She felt a shiver of loneliness but forced it away. She had known from the start that with Tiamhaidh everything would be different. He was nothing like the boys she had known before. He was more a wolf than a man and the call of nature was so strong. Maybe even too strong. Would he really be able to settle down with a human girl and stay with her?

She
walked to the dining table and saw a note. He must've been in a hurry, as the handwriting was messy, but the message was clear: Gone hunting, love you, T. A slow smile spread over her face. She pressed the note against her chest and sighed happily. He loved her and that was all that mattered. She could get used to being alone and she shouldn’t worry about the future. These few hours in Senja had given her faith. If she felt this good this soon she could only imagine how she would feel after a couple of weeks there. And then you’ll die, her subconscious reminded her. She swallowed. She knew that she would die eventually. If it wouldn’t be her disorder killing her she would die of old age. But she also knew that there was a slight chance that she would survive.

Adam had said that she was a shape shifter, too. Sure, so far the only thing proving his claims to be right was the yellow in her eyes, and that wasn’t likely to save her. But she had to cling to hope or she would go crazy. Even the thought of the world without Tiamhaidh was unbearable, so she didn’t want to think about what her death would do to him. She glanced at the note again and smiled. She really should stop worrying. Live, she ordered herself. Live and don’t think about tomorrow. Tiamhaidh loved her and she loved him, and even if their relationship was far from the traditional dating pattern, she shouldn’t complain. He gave all of himself to her during the daytime and hunted only at night.

She sat on the lounger and closed her eyes. It was so peaceful. No sound of cars and traffic. No lights of the city. Only animals rustling outside and the quiet whistle of the wind. She nestled deeper into the lounger and leaned her head on its side. The rustling got louder and she opened her eyes lazily. Maybe it was a mouse or some night bird. An owl or something, she thought, but was too tired to take a look. She would probably be too slow anyway to see even a glimpse of it. And besides, if she was supposed to stay there longer she should get used to the nightly voices and learn to ignore them. However, the rustling got louder minute by minute and soon she was sure that something was scraping at the door. She got up and hesitated. Could it be? No. Probably not. She was just about to slump back onto the lounger when she heard a quiet howl from the door.

“Tiamhaidh!” she yelled happily and rushed to the door.

“Do not open the door!”
Mom's voice yelled in her mind. A picture of a beautiful golden-brown wolf flashed in her mind and everything about it screamed a warning. Marie took her hand away from the doorknob and swallowed. If it wasn't Tiamhaidh, who was it? Who would come to their door uninvited? Especially when Tiamhaidh was away. And why did Mom sound so panicked? The scratching noises were really clear now and started to sound more like someone was savaging the door. Marie pressed her head to it and heard a tiny, desperate whine.

“Who's there?” she asked timidly. She felt stupid. She was quite sure that it was a wolf, so whoever it was probably wouldn't answer her. The wolf howled again and this time she could hear pain in its voice. Maybe the wolf was injured and needed help. Maybe that was the reason it had come to her door. She ran to look from the window, but saw nothing. If there really was a wolf that needed help, shouldn't she open the door and at least try to help it? She went to the door again.

“Marie! Get away from that door!”
her mom howled in her head.

She stopped. What should she do? She felt better. Stronger. But she was still too weak to communicate with her mom.
She weighed the options in her mind and tried to figure out what harm it could do if she opened the door. If there was an injured wolf, it couldn't hurt her. And if there was something else, she didn't believe it could hurt her unless it was bigger than a bear. Doubt crept into her mind, but there was no one who could advise her. Tiamhaidh was who knows where and her mom couldn’t possibly know what was behind that door. She was alone. Images from an old horror movie flashed in her mind and for a moment she thought she really should get away from the door, as suddenly the whole scene felt so classic, and she could almost hear the audience whispering ‘don’t open the door, don’t open the door’. But then the rational side of her won and she stepped closer. However, she grabbed a log from near the fireplace just in case. Her fingers twisted around the doorknob and she opened the door.
Mom had gone crazy in her head but she tried to shut her voice off.             

Standing there was a small dirty-brown wolf dangling its paw and looking miserable.

Marie knelt down and took its paw carefully in her hand. “Poor little thing. Did you hurt your paw?” she babbled and put the log aside.

The wolf howled wretchedly and stared at her with its blue eyes.

Marie pressed the paw gently and searched it thoroughly. It looked like nothing was broken, but obviously the paw hurt a lot, as the wolf wouldn’t put it down. Marie petted the paw sagging in her hand. That's it, she decided and stood up. She held the door open to the wolf. “Can you walk, sweetie?” The wolf got up and stood wobbling on three legs. Marie smiled. “Good! That's it. Come in and I'll help you.” She stood at the door invitingly, but the wolf refused to come in. It looked at her miserably and turned. It was a sad sight as it limped to the woods on three legs. “No! Wait! You can't go there! You're hurt!” Marie yelled, but it didn't seem to understand.

It kept going, slowly, without glancing back. Damn
, swore Marie silently. The forest looked scary and way too dark, but she couldn't let the wolf just disappear. Not when it was hurt. What if something happened to it? And what if the others blamed her? The wolf had come to her door, so it was her responsibility to help it. She wasn't exactly popular there, so what would they do if they discovered she hadn't even tried to help? Even Tiamhaidh couldn't protect her from the angry pack. She sighed deeply and turned to close the door.

The moment she turned her back to the wolf, its eyes flashed dangerously and it put the injured paw to the ground. The hair stood up on its neck and it let out a low growl. Marie turned slowly. She looked at the wolf in horror. It was crouching, ready to attack. Oh my God, she thought. Why hadn’t she listened to her mom? The wolf had obviously been pretending and its only reason to be there was to attack her. Maybe it had rabies or maybe it was just crazy. She had heard about animals that had gone mad and started to bite people. And if she remembered right, a crazy animal could do a lot worse than bite. It could also maul or even kill.

Marie glanced around wildly. Where could she run? The door behind her was closed and the wolf was way too close for her to get by it. This is it, she thought. She had always thought that her disorder would kill her, but maybe this was a better way. Quicker at least. A weird calmness filled her. She met the wolf's eyes, which were blinded by rage, and prepared to die.

The wolf slowly stepped closer and Marie saw the drool dripping between its teeth. When it revealed its canines she automatically covered her face with her hands. The wolf lowered its body and attacked.

“Marie!”
her mom’s voice screamed inside her head.

“
Mom!”
she cried back and an image of a wolf running as fast as it could flashed into her mind. She felt the weight of the attacking wolf as it landed on her. Its sharp claws on her skin. But there was nothing she could do to protect herself. Her heart hammered like thunder and she tried to scream, but her throat was as dry as sandpaper and no sound came out. She tried to crawl to the door but managed to move only a few inches. “No,” she whispered and forced herself to look at the wolf. It had revealed its canines and its eyes held a deadly gleam.
“Tiamhaidh!”
Marie tried to reach his mind but bumped into a wall. No one would come. They were too far away and wouldn’t get there in time.

Her eyes were huge as she stared into the beast’s maw. She could feel its warm breath on her face and smell the bloodlust in it, but she refused to close her eyes again. If I’m going to die, I want to look into its eyes when it kills me, she thought. The wolf lowered its head. She gasped.

But just before its teeth touched her face, a huge dark-brown wolf jumped from the woods and pushed the other wolf away. The dirty-brown wolf howled, frustrated, but surrendered surprisingly easily. The bigger wolf growled dangerously. It had revealed its sharp canine teeth, which looked huge, its eyes were narrow, and the hair on its back was up. Marie could see how it struggled and tried to control itself, but it wasn't easy. It was in the mood to fight and waited for the smaller wolf to move. To stand up and try something, anything that would give it a reason to attack. The look in its eyes was lethal, but the other wolf had completely surrendered and stayed down. The bigger wolf howled fiercely and pushed the other wolf roughly with its snout. And then it shifted into a human.

“Tiamhaidh,” Marie sighed
with relief, and rushed into his arms.

The smaller wolf turned into a human as well and stared at Marie with her beautiful baby-blue eyes. She smiled contemptuously and stood up gracefully.