RANKS

Chapter Twenty Four

Stormy speaks in bold to her wolf, her wolf speaks in italics to her.

***

I lie down on the floor exhausted from the shift. Closing my eyes I focus on the voice, my wolf.

I shouldn't be able to hear you, I think.

There are reasons for everything, just be grateful you have me at all.

Are you Rayne? Or are you a different wolf?

I am a new soul, your old wolf is gone. She died six months ago and I replaced her the moment she died. This was the final piece in letting us have a true connection.

I'm going to give you a name; Rayne had a name.

Do what you wish, I am you and you are me. We are one, and in this form I am dominate.

My new wolf has an air of elegance and a light voice to match. I think back to the different names I considered for Rayen. Aurelia, sounds light and airy, perfect for her personality.

OR ree lee ya? I ask waiting for confirmation.

That sounds lovely. Something to remember Stormy, I can only speak to you when I am the dominate one.

I open my eyes to ask Mateo if this is something out of the ordinary, only to find him speaking quickly and quietly to a pale faced Jaxon. A series of yips and barks leave my muzzle and I remember I'm still in wolf form, not even Mateo will be able to understand what I was trying to say. Both of their eyes turn to me and Jaxon turn sheet white.

"I still don't believe it," he says out loud, but the message seems to be more for himself.

"Jax I need you to do something very important for me okay!" Mateo sternly announces holding Jaxon by both shoulders.

"Wha-What is it?"

"I need to go back to the house to grab some things, and I need you to stay right here and don't let Stormy run off."

"I can do that," he nods viciously.

Nervously, Jaxon walks around me in circles before sitting on the ground a few feet away. Shifting to console him would only make matters worse, not to mention my clothes are torn at the seams thanks to my shift.

He is on his way back, Aurelia softly probes.

This doesn't surprise me,  werewolves are fast even in human form. Plus the clearing isn't that far from the house. Moments later he comes into the clearing with a thick quilt in his arms.

"Jaxon, I need to know if you'll be strong enough to walk after Storm turns back into a human. She'll be too weak to walk on her own, and I can't carry both of you if you faint." Mateo explain carefully covering my entire body with the quilt.

"I'll be fine, don't worry man." Jaxon waves off Mateo. He is taking this rather well, but his voice still cracks and his eyes dart from me to Mateo constantly.

Shifting back is an easy process that feels more relaxing than painful, but it still requires a lot of energy. Under the weight of the blanket the world around me is shut out and slightly muffled. This leaves my mind even clearer for the transition.

Bye bye Aurelia, I'll talk to you soon! I promise as my bones reshape and resize.

As I already knew it would, the shift leaves me drained. I wiggle around under the blanket until it's wrapped around my naked form and my head is just poking out from the top. Still lying down I see Mateo help Jaxon to his feet, his legs wobble and he still looks like a ghost, but the important thing is he's still conscious and didn't call the authorities.

"Up you go baby," Mateo lifts me up into his strong arms keeping the blanket securely around me.

I fall limp in his embrace, too tired to be anything but a cooked noodle. We walk at a slow pace, so Mateo can make sure that Jaxon won't kneel over at any moment. Even keeping my head up takes too much energy, my eyes droop by the minute and I have a hard time keeping them open.

"It's okay if you fall asleep, I promise I won't let anything happen to you." He gives me permission to rest my head against his shirt.

The soft cotton feels nice against my cheek; I can feel Mateo's warmth and hear his heartbeat as it steadily lulls me to sleep.

***

I wake up to a scene I've been in before, a sense of familiarity overtakes me. I lie in bed while Mateo sleeps in an awkward position that can't be comfortable. My body doesn't ache, and my muscles aren't weak like I thought they would be. It's strange to think I'm fully supernatural now, even though the shifting was just the final piece in the gradual change from human to wolf.

I walk over to Mateo, ready to wake him up so he can answer the abundance of questions that litter my mind.

"Wakey wakey," I lightly push and pull on his shoulder.

He groans something incomprehensible and slides further back into the chair.

"Mateo!" I sharply say poking my finger into his cheek.

That one slight touch of skin to skin changed everything. Tiny little flickers of something dance along the pad of my index finger where I touched his cheek. I touch it, trying to see if I can transfer the feeling to other places. When that doesn't work I stand over Mateo's sleeping form.

He sleeps with his mouth slightly ajar while his chest rises and falls rhythmically to his deep breaths. I want to brush my palm along his forehead, to smooth face the hair that's resting on his skin. Only I hesitate, the original touch could only be my imagination, something I wanted so badly that I created a placebo effect that mimicked a mate's touch. I settle for something in between. My fingers shake a bit as I use the tips of them to brush his hair aside. I close my eyes to relish the feeling of the sparks, no the breeze as my mother describes it, that slowly move up my hand and into my heart making my entire body glow with warmth and happiness.

My eyes are still shut as I get bolder and run the back of my hand against his cheek; his slightly stubbly face feels rough against my skin, but I don't care. Finally I just hold him, my hand supporting his head, loving the feeling of his skin having this effect on me.

I jump when I feel his warm hand hold mine in place against his cheek. I open my eyes to find him staring back at me with deep emotion. My thoughts drift back to the week past, when he could feel a connection that I didn't even know was possible.

"I feel it too," I whisper.

***

Yes this is pretty short, probably a double update today. Could come in two hours, could come in six. Point is I wanted this up here before my rank drops any lower. I moved down to #465, so PLEASE vote, comment, remove this from your library and add it again. I'm going through a list of loyal fans at the moment, and I'm starting the dedications after I clean the kitchen.

xx Michele