Laurie’s Wolves(30)

Neither man commented, and moments later, they all three jumped from the truck into the snow, shifting almost the second they hit the ground. The snow was too cold to stand around in bare human feet.

Laurie stopped in her tracks and stared at her mates. She’d seen Zach before, and his deep brown fur was as gorgeous as she remembered. She had not seen Corbin in wolf form yet. He was stunning. His fur was the same black as his hair, and when he blinked his eyes and nudged her with his nose, she noticed his irises were the same shade of brown as in human form—almost translucent.

“You’re beautiful.” Corbin lifted a paw and set it on hers. “Your fur is the loveliest shade of red. I would recognize you anywhere. I’ve never seen another shifter with quite that color of fur.”

She lowered her head, finding it difficult to take his compliment. “Thank you. You aren’t so bad yourself.”

“Are you two done yapping? We can run while we communicate, you know. Let’s go.” Zach nodded his head behind him and then took off through the snow.

Laurie followed Zach, and Corbin took up the rear. They ran hard, climbing the side of the mountain at a rapid pace. Laurie was breathing heavily, but invigorated when they finally came to a clearing and plopped down on their haunches to rest and admire nature. The sun had gone down, and the sky was clear enough they could stare at the stars.

So quiet.

She loved the solitude afforded to shifters. They could easily go where no man could manage and enjoy peace and quiet. A soft snow fell around them, each flake twinkling in the night air.

A star twinkled above her and then flitted out, falling across the sky in a streak of light.

Nature was an amazing being.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across her as though in direct contrast to the unbelievable view, darkening her mood before she even glanced in its direction.

“Shit. Holy fuck.” Corbin jumped to his paws and lifted his head in the direction of the same smoky substance Laurie had spotted.

Zach breathed heavier at her other side.

Laurie cautiously stood and stepped forward.

“Babe…” Corbin began.

“It won’t hurt me.” Instinctively she knew that to be true. The spirit wanted her attention. It was trying to tell her something. It was not there to harm her.

The smoke coalesced in front of her eyes, drawing together until it formed the shape of some sort of creature. It reminded her of a black bear, but that might have been because of the darkness. It floated closer.

Corbin stepped partially in front of her, setting a paw out in her path.

She ignored his overprotective stance and inched forward.

It seemed to her as though the spirit looked directly at her even though it had no discernable eyes, and she wondered if Corbin and Zach thought the same thing of themselves.

So personal.

Intimate.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

A coyote howled in the distance, and instantly the black cloud sucked in on itself and vanished, leaving not a trace of evidence it had ever been there.

For several moments, the three of them stood rooted to their spots, breathing heavily and communicating nothing.

“Well, it’s hard to deny that happened,” Zach muttered into her head.

She eased onto her haunches, needing to process what she’d seen. Definitely it was a similar apparition to the one she’d seen last week on the slopes, but that time she’d been too stunned to appreciate what was right in front of her.

This time she was more prepared. She tipped her head to the sky once more and stared at the crescent moon. Reaching out to Melinda, she called to her half-sister. “Melinda? You happen to be shifted?”

Seconds ticked by and then, “Laurie?”

“Yeah. Listen—”

“Laurie,” she interrupted. “Holy shit. Seriously? Is that you?”

“Yeah. What’s the matter?”

“I’m fucking cooking dinner. That’s what’s the matter.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt… Wait. Did you say cooking?” Laurie stiffened. In human form?

“Yes. How the hell…” Her voice trailed off in Laurie’s head.

Laurie stood upright and paced the clearing. She could sense her mates hovering around her, but ignored them. She thought they might have been trying to speak to her, in fact, but she remained focused on her sister and the unbelievable. “You aren’t shifted?”

“No. I’m standing in the kitchen, probably looking like a zombie. My mates are staring at me strangely. I think they’re trying to get my attention, but they’re blocked. I can only hear you.”

“And I you. Weird.”

“God. What happened?”

“I just saw one of those spirits. Or maybe the same one. Who could tell?”