Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
*RILEY POV*
Only a few more hours until Maddix and I retreat into the forest for my first shift. I chose the meadow in the middle of the forests surrounding Ruby Meadows for two reasons. The first is that it is secluded, and the second is because it holds a special place in my heart.
The meadow and the pond were the two main places Gretchen would train me. We spent many hours there while I was studying, and I find myself wishing she was here for this next adventure there.
My mate and his sister have had me sitting in a hot bath off and on all day, and apparently before we head out, I will have to soak again. I’ve been told that it will help my muscles during the shift, but the tincture Luke made me will do the same thing. I am definitely protesting the next soak. My skin is pruned and it feels weird.
I have spent a lot of time with my kids today, and should probably be getting them ready to go stay with Marion and Paolo. I know Maddix’s aunt is beyond excited to keep them, and I know they will be in safe hands.
As I laid across our bed, someone started pounding on the bedroom door. Before I could answer, Alette rushed in. “Riley? Is Maddix here with you?” she asked. I shook my head no, and she asked if I knew where to find him. I told her he was getting a basket of food from the kitchen for our situation later, and she hugged me and rushed right back out.
“That was weird,” I whispered. Then again, Alette was getting back to the old Alette, so it truly wasn’t that weird. It did leave me rather curious about what she was up to though.
“Are they all this way?” The voice in my head asked. I felt crazy responding to it, but I did anyway. “No, well, maybe. They are all sort of high-strung in their own ways, but they mean no harm by it,” I said out loud.
I found myself wanting to ask what I presumed was my wolf, different questions. Since we were alone, I took that opportunity. “I’m sorry, but what did you say your name was again?” I started off.
“My name is Ivy,” she responded. “Ivy, that’s beautiful,” I whispered. “So, you are definitely my wolf? I’m not losing my mind?” I asked. I heard her giggle, and she replied, “Yes, Riley. I am your wolf, and I am grateful and excited to meet you later. I promise all I can to take the brunt of the pain, but I can’t promise that it will be painless. I’m sorry.”
I told her not to worry, that I understood. We carried on with our conversation until Maddix walked in, and she told me she needed to rest. She wanted to make sure she had plenty of energy to help move the shift along as quickly as she could.
I explained to Maddix what had just happened, and told him the name she had told me. He laid on the bed with me, and tried to explain his shift to me. He said that the first shift with Franz had been extremely painful because Maddix let fear take over and fought the process slightly.
He explained that for the first 5 or 6 times he shifted with Franz, he would get crippling anxiety before it happened. He said it got to the point that he would mention wanting to shift, and then Franz would just shift at a random time to keep him from becoming anxious.
He then went on to say that when he let Franz go, and received Dakota, the first shift with Dakota wasn’t so bad. He knew what to expect, and his body was used to it by then. The only thing that was different was that the shifting to Dakota happened more quickly. Dakota was slightly smaller than Franz, but still large.
When he described the size difference between the two wolves, it made me wonder how big or small Ivy would be. She hadn’t spoken to me since Maddix came in, and I didn’t want to disturb her. So, I would just have to wait and find out.
“Babe? We should probably head out. Especially if we are walking there instead of taking the ATV’s,” he said. I moaned and rolled over, but I knew he was right. It was time to get up and head to our planned destination.
He reached out his hand and when I put mine in his, he pulled me from the bed. As we made our way outside, I remembered that Alette had been looking for him.
“Did Alette find you earlier?” I asked. He said she had, and that she only wanted to make sure that we had planned on having a doctor or healer placed somewhere near where we would be. It was a ‘just in case’ precaution, so that if something was to go wrong, we would be covered.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.