Claimed and Bred By The Wolf 2: Pack Initiation (Shapeshifter Erotic Romance) (6 page)

Grant turned his attention back to Ian. "Find her. Explain to her the dire situation that this has caused and I will come to see you both tomorrow."

Ian released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding up until that point. She was safe, for now, at least from the pack. The memory of the cougar that had run in front of his Jeep several nights ago rushed to his mind and he realized his fear for her safety wasn't as far off as he'd hoped.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay, just in case," Garratt asked as they reached Adrianna's front porch.

Ian gave it a moment worth of thought and then shook his head. "Nah, I think we'll be fine. Maybe just give the area one more sweep before you leave, if you don't mind."

"Of course. If you need me..."

"Thanks brother." Ian gave his older brother a quick hug and a final nod good-bye before opening the front door and stepping cautiously into the house. He assumed

Adrianna was back to human form, but just in case, he kept himself on guard. The last thing he wanted was to be attacked by Adriana. Being scared and not knowing how to control herself in shifted form, she may not be able to stop herself from seeing him as a threat and attacking. He'd never be able to turn fast enough to defend himself from her powerful cougar form.

"Addy," he called out as he closed the living room door behind him and fully entered the room. He stood in the center of the living room and listened closely. There was silence for the span of several beats and then he heard her sniffling, followed by soft sobs, coming from upstairs.

He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time and rushed into the bedroom.

"Addy!" He stopped dead in his tracks when he found her naked, curled up in a ball on the floor beside the bed, blood splattered down her mouth, neck and chest.

"Oh-my-God, what happened?" Running to her side, he dropped to his knees beside her and quickly checked her body for any wounds. "If any of them hurt you... I swear to God Addy, if they-"

Her body shivered, and she recoiled at his touch.

"God Abby, I'm so sorry."

Ian immediately pulled away from her and ran into the bathroom. Grabbing a towel

from the linen cabinet he soaked it with warm water and then carried the wet towel along with a dry one with him back into the bedroom.

"I'm going to get you cleaned up and we'll talk okay? I'll explain as much as I can, I promise."

She allowed him to clean the blood which was partially dried on her skin. He

wondered if she even knew where the blood came from. As he wiped her skin clean, he was relieved to find that none of the blood was hers which led him to believe that she must have come across a wild rabbit or other small animal that she decided to track and hunt down.

Once he was done, he lifted her body which stiffened in his arms and carried her to the bed. It pained him to see her cringing at his touch, but knew she must be in shock. Some people took their first turning harder than others. Evidently, she was on the hard end of the spectrum. Shifters were normally coached and knew what to expect when they came of age to turn.

Ian had no idea she'd shift, she was well past the age shifters begin to shift; usually it happens around the time of puberty. Maybe with cougar shifters it happened later?

Maybe since she was half human she needed a trigger? It was all guesswork on his part.

Ian carefully lowered her onto the bed, and after stripping off his clothing he slipped in beside her. With caution he pulled her into his arms. She resisted at first, but within a couple of minutes she started to snuggle up to him like she normally did.

"What happened to me?" she whispered after close to an hour of silence lying next to him.

"You shifted honey."

"It hurt... so bad." She sniffed and he felt her tears dropping onto his shoulder.

"I know." He pulled her tighter, and kissed her temple. "There's a reason why I've put off practicing turning all these years. I'd prefer fight it off then endure it. But it does get easier, I promise."

Ian briefly recalled his first turning. He'd been fourteen. Even though his father had prepared him for it, he hadn't fully comprehended how excruciating the pain would be until he experienced it for the first time.

"So tired..." she murmured, her green eyes closing and her body fully relaxing against him for the first time since he'd gotten there.

"Then sleep honey. We'll talk in the morning." He'd barely gotten the words out of his mouth when his ears were greeted with the sound of her soft snores.

*****

"How are you feeling?"

Adrianna sighed and slowly opened her eyes, to see Ian lying next to her, his blue eyes filled with concern. "It hurts."

"I know. It'll get better." He pushed her hair from her eyes and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "I'll help you through it."

She frowned. "What am I Ian? Why does the pack hate me now?" She couldn't remember much of anything about the previous night aside from the pain. The pain was vivid in her mind and the hostility of the wolves towards her. Everything else, how she got home and what she did before she got home, and why she was covered in blood were all a blur. It felt like a nightmare that she knew she
should
remember, but it was growing foggier with each passing moment.

"You're not a wolf shifter Adrianna."

"But, my father..."

"Wasn't the member of the pack we assumed he was."

"Well, if he wasn't who we assumed he was, then who?" Adrianna's head was spinning. Her already barely stable existence was becoming shakier. Who was her father?

What was he? Where has he been all these years? None of it made any sense now, it barely made sense before.

"Well, in regards to who you are. You're a cougar shifter."

Adrianna's brow furrowed. "What's the difference?"

Ian frowned. “It goes back to the origins of our kinds. As I mentioned before the origins of shifters is debatable. There are two primary beliefs. Either we're a mutation of humans or were created side by side with humans, djinns, vampires..."

Vampires!
"Holy shit, there's such thing as a vampire! Why didn't you ever tell me!"

Ian grinned. "There's a lot in this world that humans are ignorant to. Vampires and other supernatural beings are just the beginning of it all. It's a general consensus within the supernatural community that humans should remain in the dark about us."

"Wow." She had no other word to describe what she was feeling.

"So, to get back to the shifters. The general agreement within the shifter communities is that all races of shifters come from shifters who can not only transform from animal to human, but can also morph their human appearance."

"That's for real? I've seen it in movies, but..."

Ian nodded. "Human morphing shifters are considered the royalty of all shifters. Like humans have races, shifters do as well. Wolf, Cougar, Eagle... There are dozens of races."

"But they can only change from human to animal?"

"Right."

"Why?"

Ian shrugged. "The community is so small, we're all so spread apart, and it's been like this for so many centuries - millennia even. There's not more I can tell you about the history than that."

"So what about the cougars? Why do the wolves hate them..." As soon as she said them she realized something. It wasn't them... It was her. "I mean... my race? We're essentially all the same... right?"

"Politics sweetie. Plain and simple. The rivalry has gone on for so long that the hatred between the races is ingrained into our psyche. That's why the pack began to shift, when they realized
what
you
really
were."

"So what now?" Adrianna chewed at her lower lip, scared of the worst. Of losing the pack she'd grown up with. They'd protected her and her now deceased mother all of her life. Could they possibly turn their backs on her now? Could she handle losing them to so soon after losing her mother? And Ian?

Adrianna snuggled closer to Ian and grimaced, being reminded of the pain in every inch of her body.

"Roll over to your stomach." Ian ordered sitting up beside her.

"Huh?"

"Roll over to your stomach. I can't stand seeing you cringe any longer. I'll work your muscles. It'll help."

He wiggled his fingers at her as he winked. "Magic fingers."

Giggling despite her dower mood, Adrianna did as told. She rolled to her stomach and placed her chin on top of her crossed arms. "Can't argue with that." There was nothing better than an Ian Groves massage - well, maybe there was a few things better.

Ian straddled her hips, but didn't place any weight on her, as he began to work the tired and sore muscles in her shoulders and neck. Closing her eyes Adrianna groaned softly.

"So what now?" She asked.

Ian's hands paused on her shoulders. "It'll be fine. Grant is discussing it with the pack."

Thoughts of the cougar that had nearly killed her when she was a child flashed into her mind. "So do you think the cougar..." She attempted to flip over to her back to look at Ian, but his hands held her firmly in place as he began to work the muscles in her muscles again, lowering his hands to her upper back.

"I think it may not have been a coincidence, which can cause problems for the pack. A normal cougar is a solitary predator, but in the case of shifters they form prides. That's one of the best ways to tell you're dealing with cougar shifters. You see a group of them."

Adrianna attempted to flip to her back again, but he pushed her back down.

"Keep still till I'm done, woman."

Adrianna grinned. "Sorry. So do you think that cougar you saw a few days ago, and maybe the one that tried to kill me all those years ago..." She shuttered at the thought that someone could intentionally hunt down a small child.

"I don't know honey." He leaned over her and kissed her softly on the neck. His cock jerked against her bare bottom and she wiggled under him. As much as she was aching, her need for him was a strong as ever.

"Mmmmm. Now
that
is very nice."

"Maybe when we finish talking to Grant this afternoon,
if
you're feeling better."

"Grant's coming here?"

"Yes Ma'am."

A part of her had been hoping for a lazy day in bed with Ian, but a chat with Grant to find out where she stood with the pack was much more important. As much as she was disappointed that she wasn't like Ian, even if it had only been a part of her, she was anxious to learn more. Maybe she still had family out there - somewhere. Maybe...

"I'll get it, just stay put."

"I'm fine, Ian," Adrianna insisted rolling her eyes at Ian as he leapt from his spot on the sofa next to her and dashed across the living room to answer the front door.

Ian ignored her protest. He could still remember his first turn in vivid detail, despite it being well over a decade ago, and knew the aches that came with it. Pulling the door open he was confronted with the pack leader Grant, accompanied by his brother Garratt.

He opened the door wider and ushered the two men in.

"Ian." Grant gave Ian a nod and his eyes focused on Adrianna. "Addy."

She gave Grant a timid smile and nodded. "Hey Grant. Garratt."

Garratt and Grant took chairs on either side of the sofa as Ian sat next to her, taking her hand in his and squeezing it reassuringly. Even though he'd assured her everything would be fine with the pack, he still had his doubts. It wasn't until he heard the words of reassurance from the mouth of Grant that he would be able to feel at ease.

"I won't keep you two, so I'll get to the point." He turned his dark gaze to Addy and Ian felt her stiffen beside him. Ian gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. Regardless of Grant's decision she was his and would continue to be his, even if it meant he turn his back on the pack. Ian shifted his gaze to Garratt and they shared a look of understanding.

No matter what Garratt would back up his decision.

"There are two issues we need to resolve, the first a little easier than the second."

"Okay." Adrianna nodded. Ian could sense her eagerness to please, to do whatever it took to make things right.

"The first is the pack." Grants mood softened and he gave Adrianna a rare smile.

"Honey, I know all this is new to you so you need to understand that there has been animosity between your kind and ours for a long, long time; for generations, long before mine. It isn't a well known fact, but this land was once run by a pride of cougar shifters.

Our ancestors took it from them, which is why we are so insistent on keeping cougars out of the area."

Ian watched her expression and fought the urge to pull her into his arms. The look of worry in her eyes was heart-wrenching.

"So, when we realized you were a cougar shifter, the primal instincts to protect the land we've claimed as ours came out. I apologize for that. All I can say is that it wasn't personal."

Ian's blood began to boil, how dare Grant tell her trying to kill her was nothing personal? "The pack could have killed her! And she was performing a ritual that the pack demanded of her."

"Ian..." Garratt's warning to simmer down prompted him to take a deep breath in and slowly release it. Garratt was right; it didn’t make sense to pick a fight with Grant until he knew what Grant had to say.

Grant ignored Ian's outburst and continued. "By the way Adrianna, you did a number on Jeff. He's back at the cabin licking his wounds and pride as we speak."

"Did that fucker attack her! When I get my hands on that son-of-a-bitch!" Ian had never been a fan of the overzealous and hot-headed Jeff; this only intensified his distaste for the man. He made a mental note to have words with Jeff when he next saw him.

Chuckling Grant held a hand up, dismissing Ian's outburst. "Forget about it Ian, Adrianna did enough damage to him."