FATED MATES

SHIFTER

JJ

The downside to having found our mate, but not having the mating ceremony, is that we can feel her emotions, but can't do anything about it. It is taking all the control I have to keep my wolf in check right now. We can feel her terror, and are helpless to do anything about it. We don't know her, and don't know where she lives or works. We only saw her for a few seconds, but our wolves knew immediately she was ours. The urge to drag her back home with us was strong. It's a miracle we were able to keep from shifting and our wolves doing it for us. Pretty sure that would have scared her away for good.

Glancing over at my brother, he is very much in the same boat as I am. The two of us are very rare among our kind. We shared a womb, not so rare, but the magic that creates shifters, created us equals. We share the alpha duties of our pack. One of us could never best the other. We are equal in every single way. The only other wolf in our pack who comes anywhere close to our power, is our cousin Nev. I look at him now, and his wolf is staring at my through his eyes. I send a wave of power through our pack bond to make his wolf submit and withdraw, his eyes turning back to their normal brown color. His hands fist at his sides as another wave of panic rips through our bond.

We have the ability to send calming vibrations through our mate, but without the mating ceremony, we are useless to help her. I make a decision. Our wolves know what she smells like and can track her. I allow the shift. My wolf emerges with a howl of exultation. I drop to all fours and see that my pack mates have also shifted, taking their cue from me. We have what is essentially a dog door just for situations like this. I bolt to the outside, the other two hot on my heels. I go to the forest. I'm darting around trees and hurtling fallen logs. My wolf finally smells her. He also senses that she has calmed somewhat.

We make our way to where we smell her. We approach a ramshackle gas station in the middle of nowhere. Is this the new female we've been hearing about? My wolf growled at the thought of other men anywhere near our mate. I skidded to a stop at the edge of the woods. There was a police car sitting there, the lights flashing, blue and red bouncing off the trees. My wolf stops and smells the air. It's Officer Frank. My wolf settles slightly, knowing we can trust one of our own pack. The three of us are pacing back and forth at the tree line, waiting to see what happens. We can feel her more settled with the arrival of police, so we sit on our haunches and wait.

And wait some more.

Eventually, she comes out, followed by Officer Frank. We hear him tell her that he will follow her home to make sure she's safe, which my wolf appreciates. We watch as she gets in her car and lock the doors. She starts her car, and takes off. We stay just behind the tree line as we follow her and the patrol car. In a short while she pulls up to a small apartment.The patrol car stays long enough to watch her go inside. He flashes his lights and takes off down the street.

"Stay here and watch over her." I tell Nev through our mental bond. "Jamie and I are going to go talk to Frank about what happened." A short and quiet woof is my answer as Jamie and I take off for the patrol station. I send Frank a mental image of the station, telling him to meet me there.

We make it to the station, and shift back to our human forms. Undeterred by our nudity, we walk through the back door of the building and straight to Frank's office. He glances at us from behind his desk and waves his hand toward a cabinet against the wall. Nudity is a non-issue with shifters as our clothes don't magically disappear and reappear when we shift, so those in the know tend to have spare clothes for us after our shifts. Jamie and I walk over and each slip on a pair of sweatpants. We sit in the chairs across from Frank.

"So what happened tonight at the gas station?"

"No offense, Alpha, but why are you interested?" My wolf growls at the affront. "Sorry, Alpha, I was just curious." He clears his throat. "I got a call from the alarm company that the alarm had been trigger. When I pulled up, there was only one car there, hers. I walked toward the door of the building and saw her huddled on the floor, leaning against the door." He goes on to tell me everything that happened after he made contact with her. When I hear that Zeke Dalton was the cause of her terror, my wolf jumps to the forefront. It took all of my self-control to stave off the shift. My wolf is ready to tear him limb from limb for even entertaining the idea that he has any right to touch what's ours. Easy. We'll get him in good time. I reassure my wolf.

"I've got a couple of my guys rounding him up right now. She'll be safe from him. I need to check with Bill to see if he has any surveillance set up inside."

"What's her name?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Her name. What's her name?" I really needed to know what to call her.

"Skye." He tells me simply, with a smile on his face. "Why the interest, Alpha? You've never met her."

"She's our mate." The smile drops off his face.

"The Mate?" I nod my head.

"The one fated to help our pack. We have to protect her at all costs. She is precious to us already."

Now I just have to figure out how to meet her and get her mated to us for real. We can better protect her if she is fully mated to us.