She nodded. “Not sure why anyone would be shifted at this time of day in order to get their attention, but I’ll try.”
“True. But you never know. And it’s the only way we’ll be able to reach anyone tonight. Eventually they’ll realize we’re missing and shift intentionally to try to make contact.” He stepped around her, careful not to touch her again.
She almost grinned at his intent. “Too bad we can’t at least reach close family members without shifting.”
“Yeah. But that won’t be for long.” He grinned.
He was right. As soon as they mated, the two of them and whoever else was destined to mate with them would be able to communicate telepathically even in human form. It was the way of mates. It didn’t extend to parents or siblings. Those close family members were created by some higher being to communicate by mind only when both parties were shifted. It made perfect sense—usually. But today it was a pain in the ass.
Zach stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.
With a deep breath, Laurie released her towel and draped it over the back of a chair. She arranged her clothes to dry over the chairs also. And then she closed her eyes and let the change wash through her. Seconds later she stood on all fours in wolf form, immediately feeling livelier than she had in her exhausted human state.
Being a shifter had its perks. Any injury would heal at a far quicker pace in wolf form. And even exhaustion and muscle pains from skiing all morning would ease after a few hours in her lupine form.
Laurie padded across the floor and lay on a small rug next to the bed. She was surprised to instantly have the attention of her sister Melinda.
“Laurie? You okay?”
“Hey. I just shifted to attempt to reach you. Surprised to find you in wolf form though.”
“I had a feeling…”
Laurie chuckled into Melinda’s head. “How shocking. What sort of feeling?”
“More like an intuition that you needed me.”
“And right you are, though nothing dire.”
“What’s going on?”
“A crazy storm came out of nowhere in the mountains. It’s snowing very hard and accumulating fast. I managed to go flailing off the path into the woods and lost my skis. Zach and I are holed up in a cabin on the mountain.”
“Jeez. I’m sorry. But at least you’re safe.”
“Yes. Can you have Trace call his parents and tell him where we are?”
“I can do one better. Trace is home this afternoon. I’ll have him shift and talk to Zach.”
“That’d be great. Give Zach a few minutes to finish in the shower, and then I’ll have him shift.”
There was a pause in their communication, and then Melinda added, “He’s your mate, isn’t he?”
Laurie wasn’t surprised. Melinda was intuitive. And even from a distance she would pick up on this development. Not to mention how extremely not surprising this situation was. “Yeah.”
Melinda giggled into her head. “And the other man?”
“No idea yet.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. That’s my thought. It’s gonna be a long night.”
“Well, it is unusual, but there’s no rule that says you can’t enjoy yourselves while you wait. On the flip side, there’s no evidence to suggest what domino effect that might cause.”
“Yeah, like shutting out the other person by consummating the mating without him. I’ve thought of that. What do you think?”
“I think Fate will create the perfect storm for whatever She intends. If you aren’t meant to have sex until your third is located, then you won’t be able to. Life will get in the way and thwart all attempts.”
“Don’t tell Cooper and Sawyer yet. If you do, they’ll run from Rebecca’s house and never come back to town. They intended to stay through the end of the week.” Laurie knew her brothers—Melinda and Miles’s other half siblings—had no desire to mate yet. If they caught wind of this third claiming that involved yet another member of the Masters family and the Bartel-Hamilton family, they would bolt.
Melinda laughed again. “I’m sure you’re right. I’ll enjoy them for a few more days before I let them go. What about you? You knew this would happen on some level, didn’t you? Had you already planned to stay?”
“Yeah. I sensed it.”
“Is that why you went to the resort today? Because you wanted to test your theory with Zach?”
“Sort of. I did want to learn to ski too.” Laurie hesitated and then addressed another pressing issue with her sister. “Melinda, I didn’t careen off the slope for no reason. I saw something.”