Laura's Secret Page 6

  Each spring, many male shifters went on mate quests. They would travel visiting other shifter groups in the hopes of scenting their mate. At this time their beasts would be close to the surface so they had to shift frequently. About half of those who went looking found their mates. It gave hope to the rest. A shifter’s mate kept the beast leashed, the violent tendencies muted. This allowed the human brain and intellect to stay in control.

  For those unlucky few who were unable to find their true-mate, they could do one of two things. They could fall in love with an unmated female and take her to mate. It wasn’t the same level of completeness a shifter felt with their true-mate but it was enough to save the male from going feral and becoming a monster of legend. The second option was being taken as a second mate with an already mated pair. Brothers would sometimes share a mate to keep one from going wild, to give him an anchor. If he later found his mate then the four often shared a home.

  This was more common with the wolf shifters as they tended to retain the pack mentality of their beasts. Bears and most felines, other than the lions, were more solitary. As a result, they were fewer in number. The shifter council was still working on ways to increase their numbers, but it was hard to change a shifter’s basic nature.

  Marshall stopped thinking about mates as he pulled into his driveway. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. Now that he thought about it, he should call in his local council. It would save time as there was quite a bit of material to cover. And he also wanted them to meet Laura. He needed allies if he decided to bend shifter law and keep her alive for longer than a week.

  After making Laura as comfortable as they could, Marshall had left and Mara went through Laura’s things and found the laundry hamper they had brought over from the motor home. There was a mesh bag resting on top. Paydirt! The bag held all of her used lingerie. It seems Laura had a hidden sexy streak. She put the entire mesh bag into a plastic garbage bag and carried it to the kitchen. After she found a box of baggies she cut each pair of panties into two pieces, there wasn’t enough material for more than that, and placed them each in a baggie. After she had them all bagged she went to the office and pulled a box of oversized envelopes out of the supply cabinet and took them into the kitchen, placing a baggie into each one.

  In the morning she’d have the Alpha’s assistant make up overnight shipping labels and send out the envelopes. Marshall would be able to keep Laura alive for a week, maybe a bit longer; after that, she would be mated or dead.

  Chapter Eight

  Laura was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming because she was walking. Not only that but it was a sunny day and she wasn’t in any pain. She had always had vivid dreams. She often used her dreams in her video games. She dreamed of animals that spoke, as well as trees and rivers. Elves, trolls, dryads, nyads, and other magical people as well. This time the dream was different.

  The setting was similar to many others, she was walking through an ancient forest with towering trees. What was different was the silence. There were no rustlings in the undergrowth, not even the sound of leaves fluttering in the breeze. The world around her was perfectly still, as if it was holding its breath or was stuck between two moments in time. Curious, she continued to walk down the path to see what would happen.

  When she turned a corner she saw a meadow and sitting in the meadow, complete with sidewalk and driveway, was her father’s house. She crossed the meadow and stepped up on to the sidewalk. Opening the gate she started the long walk to the house, which was set well back from the street.

  Finally she reached the front door and could see that it was standing ajar. Deciding the dream was her mind’s way of exploring her homesickness for her family, she eagerly walked inside. Right away she heard voices, one in particular caught her attention—her mother. She hadn’t had a dream with her mother in it for a long time so she rushed to the kitchen where she heard her mother singing. Her mother had always been a big Beatles fan.

  She passed her brothers and father sitting around the big dining room table. They looked worried, there were maps and computer printouts scattered all over. She didn’t stop to talk to them because she wanted to see her mother.

  Walking into the kitchen her mother was standing at the stove cooking. She looked really different from Laura’s memory but she wasn’t surprised. Her memories came from pictures and two dimensions didn’t do justice to a three dimensional, living, breathing person, even if it was a dream. The other thing that was different was her mother’s hair. She’d always worn it short, almost boyishly so. And in this dream it was long, flowing just past her hips in a blonde stream.

  “Mom!” she said as she walked across the room to give her a hug.

  Her mother turned to her, “There you are, Laura, I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “I would have dreamed about you sooner if I could have,” Laura explained.

  “Well, you’re here now. I have a lot to tell you and we don’t have much time before you wake up. Why don’t you sit at the table and we’ll talk,” her mother said. She then picked up a rack of cooling chocolate chip cookies that weren’t there a moment before and brought them over to the table. Next she brought over two glasses and a pitcher of milk without opening a cabinet or the refrigerator. Weren’t dreams great!

  “What’s so important?” Laura asked, picking up a cookie and biting into it. The chocolate was still warm. This was the most real dream she’d had in a long time.

  “When you wake up in the morning you’ll be changed,” her mother explained.

  “Changed? What do you mean?” Okay, this was turning out to be the strangest dream, ever!

  “You are a changeling. The clasp on your bra that’s been irritating you all day, also scratched the shifter. A drop of shifter blood has mingled with yours, wakening your true nature, your changeling.”

  Laura was flabbergasted. That was the last thing she expected her mother to say.

  “You mean I’m an elf or troll baby, depending on the myth, and was swapped out with a human baby at birth?” she asked, deciding to go along with wherever the dream was taking her. At the very least it was interesting and might lead to a new game.

  “Not quite. There are very few changelings; they are a separate race of beings. They are the queens of the twelve realms of heaven. Though not the heaven you’re thinking of. You could look up Norse mythology and Celtic mythology and both of those would give you some clues, but the truth is something more and entirely different. I was supposed to be the changeling but I met your father and that part of me was never made real. And since I didn’t awaken to my power, my place was passed to you. And, baby, you are much stronger than me. It’s why you can’t go out in the sun. I had similar problems when I was young but not to the same extent as you. It all went away after I met and mated to your father.”

  “If I’m a changeling, then aren’t my brother’s changelings too? And what’s all this BS about being a queen of Heaven?” Laura wanted to know. She went to grab another chocolate chip cookie, but they were gone. In their place sat a plate of fresh baked banana bread so she took a slice. When she reached for her milk she saw it was a cup of chamomile tea.

  “You are descended from the joining of one of the goddess queens of the other realms. There will be three of you, chosen ones that must be awakened to their power for the coming war. The changeling is the most powerful supernatural being in the Earthly realm. Your brothers can’t be changelings because all changelings are female. The changeling is the giver of life and new life comes from the female,” she said.

  “Not alone. The father has to have some input there,” she said with a giggle. “And why couldn’t you be a changeling marrying dad?”

  “Because changelings always have a supernatural mate, and your father, as much as I love him, doesn’t have a supernatural bone in his body,” her mother explained with a smile.

  “Okay, for the sake of argument, I’ll go along with this. So I’m a changeling. What does that mean for me, Laura Solang
e Donahue?” she asked.

  “It means you will have a long life and learn a great many things. Your power will grow, slowly at first, then become stronger and stronger over the next hundred years or so.”

  “So far so good, I get to live a long time with my Alpha shifter husband. I get immense powers and my own fountain of youth. So where’s the catch, the bad news to balance all this good stuff? There’s always a dark side,” she said, she’d learned that at a very young age.

  “You are aware of the war going on in the supernatural world? Well, if The Society or the Shayatin become aware of your existence, they’ll try very hard to kill you. You need to be here, in this realm, and you’ll be surrounded by danger all of your life. I’m sorry, Laura, but I know you’re strong enough to face it.”

  “Dad and the bros won’t let anyone hurt me. And if I really have a hot shifter husband, I don’t think he will either.” Wanting another slice of banana bread, she looked down. Once again the treat had changed. Instead of banana bread, there was a dish of flan. Picking up a spoon she dug in. All of her favorite treats all at once, this was the coolest dream.

  “So tell me more about all these powers I’m going to have. And if I’m so powerful, how come I’m allergic to the sun and sitting in a wheelchair?” she asked.

  “I don’t have all the answers. Your problems with sunlight are linked to your identity. That’s all I know. I wasn’t fully transformed, so I don’t have the knowledge you need. Another will come to be your teacher. And while you will be able to heal yourself, you can’t magically create tissue and muscle. So you’ll have to do the work. It’ll be good for you,” her mother said before she faded into mist. The kitchen also faded and Laura found herself sitting in the middle of a meadow on a blanket.

  Soon after she left the dream and drifted into a deep sleep.

  *****

  It was nearly ten thirty when Mara and Marshall had put Laura to bed. In a small town outside Berlin is was eight hours later. Frieda Schieber was dozing in her rocking chair, at six thirty in the morning, as her tea steeped in the teapot. She always liked to start her day with a pot of tea.

  From one moment to the next she went from sleepy to wide awake. She was not from the Earth realm and she felt the awakening power of one of her kinswomen. She had learned a great deal in the years of her life. Ignoring her tea, she hurried around her small house gathering the items she would need for a location spell. The next changeling had come into being and she would need Frieda’s help.

  Frieda was a sprightly old woman with long white hair she wore in braids wound about her head. As small and thin as she was, she could still be mistaken for a child until you saw her up close. Then the spiderweb of wrinkles in her soft skin and the faint age spots on her hands were evident. She flitted back and forth, opening cupboards and drawers a whirlwind of activity when only moments ago she was rocking in her chair.

  Chapter Nine

  Laura sucked in a breath and in those seconds her dream flashed through her mind as she woke up on Wednesday morning. The last thing she remembered was going into the living room for coffee. The dream couldn’t be real! They must have drugged me? I didn’t drink any coffee though.

  “Maggie?” she said.

  “Good morning, Laura. I have informed your guests that you have awakened. Is there something you require?” the voice of her house asked her.

  “First off, which one of my guests is still in the house? And who took off my clothes!” she shouted, realizing she was naked.

  “The only guest remaining is guest, Mara. Guest, Mara, and guest, Marshall, removed your clothing and placed you in the bed. The other two guests, Ben and Tom, left early this morning. I do not detect any distress. Per security protocol you must remove the alert status or remain silent and I will contact the police and rescue.”

  “Stand down from security alert using my voice recognition. I’ll be down in the office within four hours to revise the security protocol,” Laura said, pushing the blanket away and preparing to hoist herself into her chair.

  It was close to an hour later when Laura wheeled her way into the kitchen. Mara took two plates out of the warmer and brought them to the table. She was speaking into the cell phone propped under her chin. Holding up the coffee carafe, she lifted an eyebrow at Laura. At Laura’s nod, she pulled down a mug from the rack on the wall and filled it for her. Then after filling her own mug, she put cream and sugar on the table. She finished her call just as she sat down.

  “Thank you for cooking breakfast,” Laura said.

  “You’re welcome, dig in. I feel a need to feed you, you’re too thin,” she answered, taking a bite of her mound of eggs. Laura found that she was hungrier than normal for her and wondered if it was connected to whatever was happening with her body. She felt different this morning. The bizarre dream she’d had the night before, all the things her mother had told her, it was weird but she was wondering if there was some truth there…

  “I meant to ask you. The bathroom I used this morning was well stocked and arranged, it seems too much for a woman who just moved in yesterday. Who are you planning to have stay with you?” Mara asked.

  “I have my dad and six brothers remember? I told the designer to do the guest suites with them in mind. There’s also additional guest rooms if need be for other visitors. We actually didn’t get to that part of the story last night,” she said, finishing the eggs and digging in to the sausage. Laura gave a passing thought to Lola, her designer. She had offered Lola the position of housekeeper when Lola had enquired. Oh well, maybe she hadn’t been as ready to settle down as she’d said. The room was quiet while they both ate their meals.

  “So, did the Alpha decide what he’s going to do about me?” she asked. Laura couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. She knew humans weren’t supposed to know about shifters.

  Mara knew this was going to be an important conversation, she couldn’t blow it. “Only humans mated to weres or other supernatural beings can be allowed to know about us. Last night, I went through your laundry and bagged up strips of your clothing.” She pointed to the pile of envelopes on the counter.

  “We’re sending those all over the country. We want to see if you have a true mate amongst the shifters. Chances are good because fate generally plays a part in these things. If you’re meant to be here you’ll have a shifter mate,” Mara explained.

  Laura didn’t know what to say. Without even trying, she’d eaten all the food on her plate, which was unusual for her. Taking a deep breath, she sat back in her chair and picked up her coffee.

  “Huh…that’s strange. I had a really bizarre dream last night. I dreamed of my mom, and I haven’t dreamed about her in a long time. She said I would have an Alpha mate and he was a bear. I have to say I’m feeling a little confused. I’m a planner and ever since last night, it’s like I got on some wild ride at an amusement park. I don’t know which way is up anymore. You say you’re sending out my clothing? What does that mean exactly? Is having a mate like in all the paranormal romances? Or something else?”

  Maggie interrupted before Mara could try to answer that.

  “Four vehicles have stopped at the garage and twelve visitors are heading up the path, including guest, Marshall. Estimated time of arrival of visitors is five point two minutes. What are your orders? Visual coming up on wall monitor now. Do I need to repel or welcome visitors?” she asked as the artwork hanging on the wall by the table changed to a view screen. Mara and Laura could clearly see a group of men and women climbing the walkway from the road up to the house.

  “Maggie, assign Mara security level Beta Alpha,” Laura said in a clear voice.

  “Affirmative, security level Beta Alpha assigned. Mara, do I invite or repel the visitors?” Maggie asked again.

  “Invite them in, Maggie,” Mara said as she smiled to Laura in acknowledgment of her trust in giving her security access. She’d have to find out what level Beta Alpha entailed. “When we’re alone again, I’ll give you the story
on mates, I promise.”

  Laura nodded her agreement and then she started to clear the table. When Mara attempted to stop her, she informed her that she who cooked doesn’t clean and she’d be making lunch. Mara made no objections and left her to it as she went upstairs to greet their guests.

  Laura’s brain was overloading with all the new things happening to her. As she cleaned up from breakfast she was trying to decide if the rest of the things her mother told her in the dream were really true. She idly gazed at the monitor over the sink, which showed a view of the outside, almost like a window. As she finished her cleaning she decided to take it slow. Learning about mates was enough for now, all that changeling stuff and being a super-hero shifter would have to wait.

  By the time Mara returned with the group, she had the kitchen clean once again.

  “Laura, do you have some extra chairs for the dining room table? We need to have a meeting. I’d like the full council to view the data you gave me,” Marshall said from the kitchen doorway.

  “I can do you one better than that. I haven’t had a chance to show you the rest of the house,” she said, smiling. “Um, we need to take the freight elevator. You’ll have to follow me,” she told him.

  “Not a problem. We can put off the introductions for now,” he said.

  She wheeled after him as he turned back and led the way to the group standing along the hallway.

  “Hello, welcome. If you’ll follow me?” she said before leading the way past the kitchen and into the walk-in pantry and out to the indoor unloading area at the top of the tram. To the left of the pantry door was another elevator. After wheeling inside and turning to face the panel on the right, there was enough room for the others to step in. Opening a door below the two buttons, she keyed in a code on the panel. A mechanism brought up a biometric scanner. She ran her hand over the sensor and then pressed the number six on the keypad. The doors closed and they could feel the elevator moving.