arranged in the corner
and two matching armchairs. There were two older armchairs as well,
probably some remnants of her parents’ furnishings, along with the
coffee table and several other mismatched pieces. The fridge was
stuffed with food and drink: water for Astrid, soft drinks for her
companions. They’d brought in a TV, a Blu-ray player, and pile of
movies and magazines.
Astrid filled them in on the details of the
first stage of her transformation. She reclined on the couch and
wrapped herself in the blanket. “Is it too much if I ask for
privacy when I change?”
“One of us should stay with you all the
time,” Morgaine said. “You pick.”
Astrid shrugged. One of them or all of them,
what was the difference? “Oh, forget it. Enjoy the show.”
Every cell in her body hurt. The soft cotton
blanket felt heavy and prickly. She was hot and her breathing was
ragged. The physical symptoms seemed more severe than last
time.
Last time… Jack had been with her, she
thought. He’d held her; that eased the pain. Where was he now? She
closed her eyes and tried to locate him with her inner senses. She
had discovered that ability for the first time in Rosenthal, when
she had tracked Jack and Tristan in a store buying clothes.
Encouraged by Jack, she tried it from time to time, but with very
limited success. In those rare instances when her suspicious
tracking skills actually had worked, Jack had to be relatively
close by although very often even that wasn’t enough.
This time, she couldn’t see a thing. The
image in her head looked like a flickering, static TV screen.
Astrid sighed and gave up. Successful or not, mental tracking
required more energy than she could afford to spend right now.
And she could feel her wolf awakening.
“ Behave yourself ,” she ordered her
silently. “ Peyton’s here .”
“ And why exactly did you invite her? Don’t
tell me she’s your best friend now.”
“ She’s a part of this family. Our
family.”
“ Sometimes I don’t understand you at all,
Ms. Spock.”
“ Likewise. Don’t talk about Jack, do you
hear me? I know you miss him, but just don’t talk about him. Okay?
Miss him silently.”
The wolf made an angry growl. “ This is the
last time I’m doing this. Better tell him to do his part before the
next full moon! Damn it, Astrid, we must connect. It’s getting
dangerous to stay like this, in two parts. I’m not sure how long I
can handle it.”
“ You’re handling it fine. I would say
better than ever.”
“ Make sure this is the last time we’re
doing this. I’m tired of keeping both of us under control.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. The wolf had been
keeping her under control. No kidding!
“Next time,” she said weakly. “I promise. And
you promise to behave.”
“What, Astrid?” Maggie asked, concerned.
“I’ve just reminded my wolf about ‘behavior
expectations’ in the next two days. Ellida, don’t let her get
carried away.”
“ I don’t need your ‘code of conduct’, Miss
Spock.”
“ I’m sorry if I offended you. You’re the
one who carries us both through the change every time. I know
that.”
Peyton moved to the sofa and sat on the
opposite end. “I’m the smallest, I can fit here. Let me hold your
hand. That might help a bit.”
The wolf just smirked, but Astrid managed a
tiny smile. “Thank you,” she said and touched Peyton’s fingers.
Peyton winced, but didn’t move her hand.
“God, you’re burning! You sure that’s okay? Do you want some
water?”
“No, thanks. I could eat, though.”
“Maggie, let’s make supper,” Betty said. “Is
sautéed beef liver okay, Astrid?”
“With lots of bacon and onions, yes,
please.”
“Is there anything else we can do for you?”
Peyton asked, gently stroking Astrid’s hand. “It doesn’t look like
we’re much help here.”
“She’ll be fine, Peyton,” Morgaine said
reassuringly. “I had similar experiences before my spirits got
linked.”
“Tell me
and two matching armchairs. There were two older armchairs as well,
probably some remnants of her parents’ furnishings, along with the
coffee table and several other mismatched pieces. The fridge was
stuffed with food and drink: water for Astrid, soft drinks for her
companions. They’d brought in a TV, a Blu-ray player, and pile of
movies and magazines.
Astrid filled them in on the details of the
first stage of her transformation. She reclined on the couch and
wrapped herself in the blanket. “Is it too much if I ask for
privacy when I change?”
“One of us should stay with you all the
time,” Morgaine said. “You pick.”
Astrid shrugged. One of them or all of them,
what was the difference? “Oh, forget it. Enjoy the show.”
Every cell in her body hurt. The soft cotton
blanket felt heavy and prickly. She was hot and her breathing was
ragged. The physical symptoms seemed more severe than last
time.
Last time… Jack had been with her, she
thought. He’d held her; that eased the pain. Where was he now? She
closed her eyes and tried to locate him with her inner senses. She
had discovered that ability for the first time in Rosenthal, when
she had tracked Jack and Tristan in a store buying clothes.
Encouraged by Jack, she tried it from time to time, but with very
limited success. In those rare instances when her suspicious
tracking skills actually had worked, Jack had to be relatively
close by although very often even that wasn’t enough.
This time, she couldn’t see a thing. The
image in her head looked like a flickering, static TV screen.
Astrid sighed and gave up. Successful or not, mental tracking
required more energy than she could afford to spend right now.
And she could feel her wolf awakening.
“ Behave yourself ,” she ordered her
silently. “ Peyton’s here .”
“ And why exactly did you invite her? Don’t
tell me she’s your best friend now.”
“ She’s a part of this family. Our
family.”
“ Sometimes I don’t understand you at all,
Ms. Spock.”
“ Likewise. Don’t talk about Jack, do you
hear me? I know you miss him, but just don’t talk about him. Okay?
Miss him silently.”
The wolf made an angry growl. “ This is the
last time I’m doing this. Better tell him to do his part before the
next full moon! Damn it, Astrid, we must connect. It’s getting
dangerous to stay like this, in two parts. I’m not sure how long I
can handle it.”
“ You’re handling it fine. I would say
better than ever.”
“ Make sure this is the last time we’re
doing this. I’m tired of keeping both of us under control.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. The wolf had been
keeping her under control. No kidding!
“Next time,” she said weakly. “I promise. And
you promise to behave.”
“What, Astrid?” Maggie asked, concerned.
“I’ve just reminded my wolf about ‘behavior
expectations’ in the next two days. Ellida, don’t let her get
carried away.”
“ I don’t need your ‘code of conduct’, Miss
Spock.”
“ I’m sorry if I offended you. You’re the
one who carries us both through the change every time. I know
that.”
Peyton moved to the sofa and sat on the
opposite end. “I’m the smallest, I can fit here. Let me hold your
hand. That might help a bit.”
The wolf just smirked, but Astrid managed a
tiny smile. “Thank you,” she said and touched Peyton’s fingers.
Peyton winced, but didn’t move her hand.
“God, you’re burning! You sure that’s okay? Do you want some
water?”
“No, thanks. I could eat, though.”
“Maggie, let’s make supper,” Betty said. “Is
sautéed beef liver okay, Astrid?”
“With lots of bacon and onions, yes,
please.”
“Is there anything else we can do for you?”
Peyton asked, gently stroking Astrid’s hand. “It doesn’t look like
we’re much help here.”
“She’ll be fine, Peyton,” Morgaine said
reassuringly. “I had similar experiences before my spirits got
linked.”
“Tell me
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