Destiny's Choice (24 page)

She blinked, trying to focus as a massive and very beautiful mahogany coloured wolf with Roan’s eyes swam into view.

“Roan?”

His big bushy tail began to wag as he gave her a wolfish grin. “How are feeling?”

“Oh. Forgot about you guys being able to talk in wolf form.” She smiled back but felt terribly odd for some strange reason.

“I think you might need to reassess that statement, sweetheart.” He chuckled, though it sounded almost like a deep bark. “Take a good look at yourself.”

Lying on her side, she expected to see the usual. She didn’t.

“Holy shit!”

Where her human body was supposed to be,
lay
the sleek form of a white wolf complete with long legs and a bushy tail. It was no wonder she felt so odd.

Slowly moving and gaining her feet, she stretched, working out the kinks and getting a feel for her new body. It was different alright. She was much lower to the ground, but everything was amplified. Hearing, scent, even sight. Which, strangely enough, was in colour. Hmm, must
be
a Lupus thing, she thought
. She also felt powerful in her new from, as if she instinctively knew she could do things no ordinary wolf could do. But she did have questions.

“Uh, not to sound weird. But why is my fur white?” She was a honey blond, shouldn’t her wolf be as well?

“Probably for the same reason your eyes are now the same colour,” Answered a wolf identical to Roan as he and a smaller red wolf with Sasha’s eyes sat next to her True
Mate
.

“Huh?”

Flynn smiled at her. “This is a guess on our parts, but near as we can figure, you were stuck.”

“Stuck?”

“Yes.” His large head moved up and down. “Being born human and Lupus, you were stuck between the two. Your eyes and unshifted state were your human side. Then, as you grew, so did the Lupus virus. Only at a much s
lower rate than what an attack victim would go through.”

Made sense in an odd sort of way. Especially the eyes. Ian had green eyes while Lillah had topaz. Rivera had one of each. “Okay. But that still doesn’t explain why my fur is white.”

“It’s not all white, sweetheart,” Roan told her. “Take a look at your tail.”

She turned, bringing the bushy length up close. He was right. Not all white. There shades of gold, honey, cream, and even a light tan mixed in.

“Pretty.” She looked back at Roan. “And my eyes?”

“I can answer that one.”

A wolf smaller than Sasha with honey gold fur and white tips on his ears and tail came up to her. He smelled of fall leaves and pears. His eyes were a beautiful golden amber. He also seemed very familiar.

“Do I know you?”

“I’m Tristan,” he said. “Tristan St. Paul.”

St. Paul. She knew she had heard the name before. It was the same as her grandparents.
But…She gazed at the small wolf with confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Tristan is your great-uncle, Rivera,” Roan told her.

“My great-uncle?” She definitely didn’t see that one coming.

“I apologize for not telling you sooner, but time was not on our side,” he said sheepishly, his ears and tail falling a bit. “Plus, you had so much to deal with already, I thought it prudent to wait until everything was done before we could talk. Unfortunately, unforseen circumstances prevented that from happening.”

“What unforseen circumstances?” Now she was really confused.

“You’ve been in a coma, sweetheart. The same Pre-Transformation coma Sasha went into before her shift,” Roan explained.

A coma? Dear lord. “How long?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“Nine days,” he replied.

Nine days. Christ, she’d missed nine days. It didn’t feel like she’d missed any time. But taking a look around the clearing as the last rays of the sun sunk behind the trees, she saw many wolves. All were in various shades and sizes. Some she could recognize as part of Roan and Sasha’s inner circle. Other’s, like the ginormous strawberry blond wolf that stood head and shoulders over everyone, she hadn’t a clue who he was. Still others, like the smaller wolves, she guessed were Omega Squad. The same as her great-uncle.
She gave him a small smile, hoping they would indeed, have a chance to talk later. But further inspection of the clearing showed two who were not wolves. A boy of twelve or
so was holding
a baby
near the treeline
. They were beside a dark red wolf. He smiled at her, his free hand beckoning her over.

“Damn,” Sasha grumbled. “Déjà vu all over again.”

Rivera had no idea what Sasha meant. But Rivera knew, somehow, that she needed to talk to this boy. It was important.

Padding softly over to
him
, she sat once she was in front of him. She was big enough to
stare
him right in the eyes.
Looking at him closer, she could see a marked resemblance to Roan and Flynn. The hair was a bit
redder
,
the eyes an emerald green, but the face was that of her True
Mate
and his brother.

“Hello, Rivera.” Dimples showed in his cheeks as he smiled. Oh, was he going to be a little heartbreaker. “I’m Dillon LeGuer and this pretty little girl is Tala LeGuer.” The babe was beautiful
,
with dark auburn curls and light blue eyes with a ring of navy. She was calmly staring at Rivera, her gaze big and bright. “I believe you have a message for us.”

Blinking with momentary confusion, it all suddenly came back to her. The deep voice in the dark. The one that helped her. Their father.

“Your father. He helped me in that dark place. Helped me find my way back.”

Gasps were heard all through the clearing as Roan quickly came to her side. The red female beside Dillon began to cry.

“Sweetheart?”

“I didn’t know who it was at first. Thought maybe I was losing it
.
”
She sniggered
.
“He
said you were waiting for me
.
That you needed me
a
nd I was your perfect match.”

“In every way.” He nuzzled her neck with affection.

“He also
said that he was proud of his
son’s and daughter and glad that all of you
had finally found happiness.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Roan’s voice was
thick,
and
unshed tears
shone
in his eyes.

“Your welcome.” She licked his muzzle, then turned to Dillon. “He
also said that even though you’re
young, you too have a perfect match.”

Emerald eyes widened with surprise. “Well, didn’t see that one coming.” He chuckled.

She was a little embarrassed to tell them what he said next.

“That wasn’t all, was it?” Dillon’s smile was too knowing.

She let out a breath. “He said to name our first born after him.”

That caused everyone to laugh.

“That man always had to have the last word,” the red female said with a watery laugh as she came up to Rivera. “I too thank you. And welcome to the family. I’m Charlaine LeGuer, mother to these three. You can call me Charlie for now. Mom when you feel more comfortable.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Charlie.” She gazed back up at Dillon. “How did you know?”

“I’m to be the Pack seer.” He shrugged his unencumbered shoulder nonchalantly. “My power comes and goes. Won’t have full control until after I go through the First Transformation.”

“Oh. That must be difficult.”
And quite a burden for one so young.

“You have no idea.” His eyes rolled then the baby yawned, laying her head down on Dillon’s shoulder. “Sasha, I’m taking Tala back to the house.”

Sasha and Flynn ran up to Dillon, showering the babe with licks and canine love. Their daughter ate it up, her chubby little hands petting both wolves and giggling happily.

As dark as it was getting, it had to be near the babe’s bedtime.

With a last pat and lick, Dillon went to turn but stopped, those green eyes showing an old soul and shrewd intelligence for one so young
. “My father’s name was Zander. Though in your case, you and Roan might want to find another name to go with that one.” He giggled as he walked away with Tala into the trees.

“Find a…” She felt distinctly lightheaded. “He seriously can’t mean…”

“I’m afraid so,” Sasha told her. “He predicted Tala’s birth and gender. So if he say’s twin boys, you can bet your ass your gonna have twin boys.” 

“Good grief.”

“Oh! More grandbabies to spoil,” Charlie said with glee.

“Granny heaven.” Flynn chuckled.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Roan’s tone was full of concern.

“Uh, yeah. Just kind of overwhelmed.” She shook her head, feeling her ears move. Really overwhelmed. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“I know.” He rubbed his head against hers. “But we have time.”

“Yeah?” She so didn’t want to start having babies now. Hell,
she
and Roan hadn’t even made love yet.

“Absolutely.” His tail wagged. “In fact, why don’t we go for a Pack run
?
It’ll clear your head and put everything in perspective.”

“A run sounds good.” She jumped to her feet, glad to have her mind on something else. “I’d really like to see what this new body can do.”
S
he loved to run. It was one of her favourite things.

“That’s the spirit.” Roan walked to the edge of the clearing where the trees were the thickest. “We’ll stop when we need to everyone.”

Then they were off. Roan in the lead with Sasha, Flynn, herself
, and the others following, racing
through the forest
. A full moon had risen,
it shone
through the trees.
The
silvery light sent dappled rays down on them. Rivera revelled in the freedom she was feeling. Never had she felt more alive. The sounds, the scents, the feel of her Pack with her as they all enjoyed the power of the night. It was as if she had waited for this moment her whole life. Like she had finally come home.

After running for several miles, they stopped near a clear stream. A small flower strewn glade beside it was the perfect place to take a rest.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

She yipped, her tail wagging like a banner in a breeze. “Fantastic.”

He laughed. “I’m glad. Come, let’s take a breather before we head back.”

They had taken only a few steps when two large timber wolves stepped out of the forest. They were no where near Lupus size, but still bigger than
the average dog.

“
Alpha
Mate
happy. Alpha
Mate
run with Pack. Is good.
”

Searching the small glade, Rivera had no idea where the voice was coming from. It was male, but odd sounding.

“
Alpha
Mate
make Alpha man very happy.
”

Another voice. This one female.

“Uh, Roan. Who’s that talking to me?” She continued to search the glade, but none of the others were close enough to carry on a conversation.

“You can hear them?” His eyes were wide with surprise.

“Hear who?” She looked at her Pack
Mate
s, but they were all getting something to drink or lazing about. The only ones near her were Roan, Sasha, and Flynn. And she knew their voices, even in wolf form.

“The wolves.”

She turned to him. “The wolves?” Now she really was confused.

“I think I can shed a little light on this, Roan,” Tristan said as he calmly padded up to them.

“
Yes. Omega help. Omega tell Alpha
Mate
,
” the male voice said.

Tristan chuckled. “Not to worry, she’ll understand in a moment.”

“What’
s going on,
Roan?” She felt a bit out of her element as she looked between her True
Mate
and great-uncle.
And the night had been going so well.

“I’d like the answer to that myself.” He didn’t sound upset, just deeply curious.

“Sorry, Roan, Rivera.” Tristan gave them a sheepish expression. “I really didn’t think she’d have the gift. It skips generations and usually only the males have it.”

“What gift is that?” She was a little apprehensive. With all the revelations dropped in her lap since shifting, her mind was getting a little too full too fast.

“The same one I have, of course. Communicating with animals.

“I can what?”

“She can what?”

Roan and Rivera spoke at the same time.