New Territory (4 page)

Because Keva was still considered a “single female,” she stayed in Kara’s cabin, a separate cabin from Cian and Liam, who shared a cabin. Elder Garr, had a whole cabin to himself, except when the Council visited.  Cian visited Keva in Kara’s cabin often, sometimes coming as a wolf so they could run together in the woods. The third day after her arrival, he showed her his cabin.

Opening the door, he let Keva pace in, and smiled as she sniffed the air.
The whole place smells like you and Liam,
she observed.
How can you live confined this way?
Cian smiled, and pulled off his sweatshirt, accidentally pulling up his undershirt and exposing the rippled muscle of his abdominals. “It’s best when it’s raining,” he said, his voice somewhat muffled by the sweatshirt. Keva watched, fascinated, as he turned to pull his undershirt back down. He smiled at her rapt expression. “Do you like what you see?” He asked, gesturing at himself.
I’m not sure how I feel,
she admitted with a wolfish grin.
These feelings are so new to me.
He grinned at her admission, knowing she felt exactly like he did. “Kara told me that you’d be approximately seventeen or eighteen years old,” he continued. “When I first had to change, around eighteen, I used a meditation technique one of the elders taught me. Would you like to try it with me?” A slight wag of Keva’s tail confirmed her interest in the idea.
Of course. Let’s try it.

Cian brought a candle into the spare room, whose wood floor gleamed from recent polishing. The window in the room was large, facing west. The sunset slipped in through the window, giving the entire room an orange-and-yellow glow. Cian lit the candle and had Keva sit across from him. “Okay, sit there, and I’ll be right back,” he said, and he disappeared out the door. Keva waited nervously for him to return, staring at the flame of the candle, which danced back and forth in the slight breeze that came through the partially open window.  In a few minutes, Cian returned. Keva looked up to see him in his wolf form, his black fur tawny under the light of the sunset. The light of his golden eyes flickered like the candle flame. He sat across from her, and their eyes met over the flame of the candle, which seem to flutter beneath their golden and blue gazes.

Cian spoke to Keva in her mind, knowing that was easiest for her to understand.
Try to stay very relaxed,
he instructed.
Shifting, which is what we call changing form, is painful for the first time, but do not anticipate the pain. Merely let it come, and it will pass quickly. Close your eyes, and let your mind become empty.
Keva closed her eyes, and tried to empty her mind. Instead of emptiness, she found herself looking down at a placid pool of water. It was a place in her home forest that she fondly called the Mirror Pond because it always reflected her face back to her. When she thought about it, she realized that her true wolf pack had never cared much for her tendency to name things, like lakes, that were not wolves. In her mind, she stared down into the pond, but as the ripples faded, she did not see her own face, but the face of a young female human, with very pale blonde hair framing bright blue eyes. She gasped, and opened her eyes, but the image was burned into her mind: her human half’s face.

Cian watched as Keva twitched in her trance, but suddenly she gasped and opened her eyes.
I saw my other half,
she said, grinning.
I am that much closer to shifting, and becoming a true lycan,
she finished. Cian looked across the candle flame, admiring her pale fur. He reflexively licked his lips, and her ears perked up at the slight sound. Her blue eyes met his, and he watched as she paced forward to sit near him.
Are we truly lifemates?
Keva asked, her tone one of awe. He touched his nose gently to hers.
Not officially,
he replied,
but I believe we are despite the elders’ concerns. I cannot wait to see how beautiful your human form will be.

Kara was ecstatic to learn that Keva had been able to find her other half, and she spent the rest of the day gushing about one of her favorite human pastime: clothes shopping. Keva was slightly taken aback.
How many different types of clothes are there, anyway? Why can’t you just wear the same thing?
Kara’s mouth fell open, yet again. “Truly, you are not quite in touch with your human half yet. You’ll understand later, I’m sure.” Cian, who had made dinner for all four of them, looked up from his plate. “Wait, you can hear her too, Kara?” Kara’s eyes widened. “Of course I can. She’s a telepath,” she replied. Cian frowned. “I thought that only lifemates could speak telepathically,” he countered. Kara shook her head. “It’s rare, but sometimes lycans are born with the ability. I can’t answer her, but I can hear her.” Cian nodded, spearing a piece of steak and chewing it thoughtfully.
If it helps,
Keva said in both their heads,
most true wolves can speak this way. It makes the pack work better as a team,
she added.
My true-wolf pack did not use as many words as we do, but more images and signals.

Cian’s eyes lit up at the new information. “Of course! That makes sense, and it explains why true wolves never deign to speak with us. Most of us don’t have the gift of telepathy.” Keva gave him a wolfish grin.
It appears that I am more special than I first thought,
she replied.
Do you think the Council knows about my gift?
Kara shook her head quickly. “The Council is very possessive of gifted
lycans
like you... They would not have threatened to make you leave if they knew. I wouldn’t tell them yet, either.” Cian’s face grew suddenly dark. “They take gifted
lycans
away from their packs for special missions,” he said with a growl. Kara looked askance at her brother. “Don’t worry, Cian. We won’t let them take Keva too.” Cian only nodded. Keva glanced at Kara.
What do you mean, “too?”
Kara shook her head slightly, so Keva resolved to ask her later about Cian’s strange reaction.

That night, Cian met Keva in the wolf dream yet again. The perpetual soft twilight made his golden eye sparkle as he walked up to her where she was sitting by a placid lake, staring into the water at her reflection.  He looked down at the water, and was surprised to see her human face looking back at them. “I can see my human face,” she said sadly, “but I cannot change form.” Cian licked her cheek reassuringly, trying to comfort her. “It will take time,” he said. “The wolf dream is showing you what you want to be.” Keva looked up from the dark water and met Cian’s deep gaze. A shiver went through her, followed by a familiar warm, giddy feeling. She sighed deeply, and licked his cheek gently. “I feel so strange,” she said quietly. He waited for her to elaborate. She was silent for a moment, but then said, “I think the humans call this feeling love. I saw love between my sister and her mate, but I never realized that love was so… powerful.” Cian’s heart leaped in his chest at her confession. “Love is powerful,” he agreed. “I think it’s powerful enough to help you change form…God knows I would follow you to the ends of the earth, even if my elders cast you out of this pack. We would start our own pack, go wherever we wished.” Keva sighed happily at the thought, and laid her head on her paws. “I feel the same way, Cian.” He gave her a wolfish grin, then moved closer and laid his head on hers protectively. The warmth of his fur and the comfort of his closeness quickly sent her off into a deeper sleep, and when she woke in the early morning, she was in Kara’s cabin yet again.

Unlike Kara, the rest of the pack did not warm up to Keva very quickly. Elder Garr was particularly tight-lipped. Keva took it in stride, knowing the pack was still unsure if she really was a
lycan
. Elder Garr stayed in his cabin for the most part, so she rarely saw him except at meals. Even at meals, he did not even deign to greet her. He watched her, though. His yellowish eyes followed her every move, particularly when she was with Kara. When Kara burst out laughing at seemingly nothing while eating with the silent white wolf, his eyes narrowed.

It rained on Keva’s fourth day in the werewolves’
camp. Rather than having to seek shelter as she would in the forest, she discovered just how useful it was to have a roof over her head and a warm fireplace to enjoy. She and Kara spent the day talking and discussing the
lycan
lifestyle. Soon, the topic of lifemates came up, since Keva was extraordinarily curious about her unusual attachment to Cian. “Werewolf lore says that most lifemates never meet,” Kara explained. “And for Cian to have randomly found the only
lycan
living among the wolves who was also his lifemate, is really strange. The Council tries to keep packs spread out over the country so that we don’t fight amongst ourselves. God knows the males posture and squabble enough as it is.” Kara chuckled to herself as she added, “Some of the males are worse than others.”

Just as Kara was saying something else insightful about the male ego, Cian walked in. He grinned at their current topic of conversation and Kara’s suddenly red face. “Sister dear,” he said jokingly, “I’m offended that you would lump all males into one category.” Kara laughed loudly. “Oh, be quiet, Cian. You know you’re one of the worst.” Cian held up his hands and shrugged. “Hey, I’m an alpha. I was born with an inflated ego,” he said with a wink. Kara shook her head in exasperation, and Keva snorted. Cian turned to stare at the white wolf. “Was that a wolf laugh that I just head?” Keva shook her head in denial and grinned at him. He chuckled and shook his head. “Kara, the reason I barged in is because of the Council women has come to see if Keva can change her form yet. She’s waiting in the meeting hall right now. Kara’s face went pale. “What if Keva can’t shift yet? Will they take her away?” Cian shook his head firmly. “No,” he said vehemently. “Nothing like that. Not yet. She still has three more days according to their decree. This particular elder said she had difficulty with her own transformation, and that she wanted to offer Keva some guidance.”

Kara’s eyes filled with relief, but she still seemed a bit worried. “Well, that’s good. I hope she can help. I’m tired of Keva’s having to talk in my head,” she said with a wink. Keva grinned at the lean brunette.
Just because I’m in human form, won’t mean I can’t still talk in your head!
Kara laughed aloud. “Well, you’ve been talking in my head so much lately, it would probably feel empty if you stopped,” she conceded. Cian chuckled. “Kara, your head is already empty,” he teased, rapping his knuckles on her head to make a hollow-sounding tap. “Ow!” Kara yelled. “Stop that, you big bully. I am ten times smarted than you, and you know it!” Cian laughed and just shook his head. Keva grinned at this display of sibling rivalry, until Cian gestured for her to follow him. “Let’s go, Keva. The elder is waiting for you.”  

The rain poured down on them as Cian and Keva hurried across the complex to the meeting hall. Keva thank the Creator once again for the humans’ ability to build these amazing, waterproof dens, as she shook off water from her white coat just inside the meeting hall. A hooded figure sat at the back of the hall, in front of the huge fireplace. As the door to the hall boomed shut behind Cian, the figure stood and turned towards them, removing her hood to reveal pale white hair; thick, wavy, and tied back with a black ribbon. Her eyes were a light blue almost exactly the shade of Keva’s eyes, and she was very short and thin. She nodded to Cian in respect then turned her sharp gaze on Keva.
I’ve been made aware that, like myself, you are a telepath, miss Keva.
Keva’s eyes grew wide, but she responded quickly.
I am a telepath. I learned the skill when I grew up with my true wolf pack. Who told you?
The woman smiled widely, but instead of answering Keva, she waved her hand at Cian. “Go on, Alpha, leave the females to chat.” Cian looked reluctant, but he only hesitated a moment before slipping out of the meeting hall. Keva swallowed the fear in her throat and focused on the elder.
I am Elder Miella,
said the woman.
You have a lot to learn, child. Most telepaths are found at birth by one of the Council, but the strange circumstances of your parentage kept us unaware of your talent. There is much more that you can do with your gift than simply speaking in another’s mind. I could teach you to sense lies, secrets, and relive another’s memories. But I cannot teach you any of this unless you can shift.
Keva absorbed her words with shock. She had no idea her skill could be applied in other ways.

As she listened to Miella, she sensed a sinister undertone.
What if I cannot change?
Keva asked, her eyes narrowing. Elder Miella tilted her head slightly to the right.
Then you must not be allowed to live with this pack, as the Council said. We will not teach you if you are not fully lycan.
Focusing on each word, Keva caught a whisper of an unspoken thought.
You would force me to leave?
She asked, trying to catch a hint of the elder’s true thoughts. The small woman frowned thoughtfully at Keva’s question.
You would be a threat to the secrecy of the lycan pack, so you would need to leave.
Keva lips lifted, revealing the points of her fangs just slightly. She had caught the thought beneath the elder’s words. The Council planned to eliminate her unless she could change her form successfully.