Twisted Souls (Edited) 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Weariness were in the bones of every person at the cabin. Tired and bleary-eyed, dual spirits shifted, dressed, and went to bed almost immediately. All but one. She sat at her perch and stared at the road again. Inside, turmoil was raging in her heart. The shift allowed the monsters to track her, but the full moon allowed them a deeper, stronger connection. Soon, they'll be here soon.

The white wolf mate of Ian's started wagging her tail with a cheery grin, then frowned fiercely glaring at nothing. When she started beating her head against the wall, everyone was dumbfounded. Eventually, they sat and watched, chuckling. On Thursday, Betsy gave Kaya the control and Kaya moved off the porch in a swift jump, landing quietly. She lowered herself to the ground, looking at the children with a mischievous glint in her baby blues. She inched forward.

Ian had been sitting next to his mate, deep in thought. He didn't realize that she had departed until Ray sat where she usually was. "Look at that, man."

Sunlight lit up the patch of green grass that the children played in. Five young kids, varying ages, were playing some form of a tag game. Every now and then, they fell and roared with laughter only to get up and start again. Off to the side was a slowly creeping wolf. The beast was completely still. No hair moved, no irksome wag of the tail. The only thing that shifted were the shoulder blades as she moved another inch closer. By the time Kaya was a foot away from the patch of grass, the children had seen her.

The eeriness of being stalked had all their limbs freezing instantly. One even fell, landing with an 'oomph' that had every other kid staring in horror at the wolf. But the wolf smiled, lolling out her tongue and yipping. That melted the kids who, one by one, crept up on the calm and patient beast. And, one by one, they reached out and poked her, daring each other.

"You go, Tiny." A little girl whispered, lightly pushing a small brown eyed, blonde haired with adorable buck teeth boy forward. Tiny whimpered. By the other's jeers, he reached out his hand and put it on the scary wolf's nose. When Kaya pushed her nose fully into his palm, Tiny giggled and started petting her. The rest quickly followed.

Ian sat next to his cousin, smiling at the scene. Each pack child was playing with his mate. Tiny would climb onto her back to be pushed off by his sister, who was a year and a half older than him. She in turn would be tackled by one of their cousins. The game began again. The second girl, the one not sister to Tiny, suggested tag with their new friend. Ian and Ray watched.

"Your mate is sure something else, cuz." Jermoni whispered as he sat in his boyfriends' lap. "From what I heard, you didn't even know she was a dual spirit."

Ian grunted in reply, which prompted Kaya to turn around and grin at him. She nudged a kid in the back and then bounded off slow enough to give them a chance to catch her. Soon, each child's parent came out and watched as the once door ornament frolicked in the grass.

A daily ritual began. Kaya would play with the children, then doze in the sun as they ate. For a week, she gave each child a ride on her back as the other's playfully chased in their own version of duck duck wolf.

On the third week, she changed things up. After the high noon sun past its zenith, and the children had been called in for lunch and naptime, Kaya trotted up to the porch, a twinkle in her eyes. Ian was leaning against the porch railing, feet on the ground, head lolled back as he stared up at the drifting clouds. Ray and Jermoni were flirting with each other on the porch swing that had been put in the week before. Every few minutes, the two went in full-on make-out mode, causing a mother to throw something at them, saying, "Mind the kids, you two."

"Whoa!" Ian screamed in surprise when he felt a hard body crash into his. Kaya had her head on his chest, paws below that with her body supported by her hindlegs. She whined.