Authors: Lucy Kelly
Tags: #supernatural, #mf, #shifters, #werewolves romance, #womens fiction, #fantasy romance, #other worldly, #shifters action adventure
Call of the Wild
The Changelings
Book Two
by Lucy Kelly
© Copyright October 2015 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN#978-1-310-23141-4
All cover art and logo © October Copyright 2015 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Cover by JK Publishing, Inc.
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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This book is dedicated to all the men and women who dream of shifters and other magical things. People who like to leave the mundane behind for a little while and dream.
Thank you all for dreaming with me.
Lucy Kelly
Ten year old Aaron Donahue ran down the stairs, the deep pile of the shag rugs shushing under his Adidas sneakers. Full of energy and always in a hurry, he never walked anywhere if he didn’t have to.
“Stevie, come on, let’s go ride our bikes to town. Masters of the Universe is playing at the Tri-Plex,” he called out, as he ran to the back of the house. He found his brother in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m helping Mom,” said his brother, a glum look on his face.
“Mom won’t mind if you help her later. It finally stopped raining and the ground is dry. It’s a perfect day to take out our bikes. Let’s go,” said Aaron.
Steven knew he was going to have to fess up. “I broke Mom’s lamp. You know, the one grandma gave her? I’m grounded for a week and have to help Mom with all her projects.”
“Bummer! Well, I could stay and help, I guess…psyche! I’m outta here. Catch you later, gator!” he said, before running out of the house.
He had to escape quickly before he was snagged into helping with one of his pesky little brothers. Sometimes being the oldest was a total pain. Jumping on his BMX, Aaron took off down the street. Two houses down, he took a shortcut. If he was out of sight, he was also out of range to be called home.
For now, their house was really close to the woods but his dad had told him soon developers would be taking down some of the trees and building more houses. The neighborhood was on the edge of a big forest and he didn’t plan to go home until it started to get dark. It wasn’t often he didn’t have chores to do or brothers to watch. He had his compass, his binoculars, a thermos of water, some beef jerky, and Nutter Butters in his backpack. He planned to go deeper into the woods than he’d ever gone before. He was an explorer, like Lewis and Clark. Maybe he’d even find Indians in the woods.
After about an hour of hard riding, he’d only had a couple of spills. Luckily, his mom had put those iron-on patches on the knees of his pants so they were thicker there. His hands were skinned up a little, though. He propped his bike next to a tree to stop and rest for a little while. He took off his sweatshirt and tied it around his waist. Opening up his backpack, he pulled out his thermos. After taking a drink, he dug out some jerky and looked around.
Nothing looked familiar. He wasn’t worried, though. He always had a good sense of direction and knew he’d have no problem going home. Wanting to have a good look at this part of the forest, he decided to climb a tree. Chewing on his jerky, he looked at the trees nearby, judging which one would be an easy climb and tall enough so he could see far. He pulled his binoculars out of his backpack and strung them around his neck.
They were plastic and couldn’t see as far as his father’s. Aaron liked them. He used them when he and Stevie played soldier. He chose a tree and walked over to it. As he climbed, he wondered if he would be able to see the other side of the forest.
The tree he’d chosen was at least three stories tall. He kept climbing and finally sat down on a branch and leaned against the trunk. Looking down, his stomach rolled for a minute when he saw how high up he was, and then it leveled out and he laughed. Being a boy, he instantly hocked a loogie, then leaned over to spit it out and watch it fall.
Sitting back up, he looked around. He couldn’t see his house. He couldn’t see anything except more trees. Carefully, he maneuvered around to the other side of the tree. He liked this side more; it enabled him to see a small meadow close by. Hoping to catch a glimpse of an Indian, or even better, a bear, he lifted his binoculars. With his legs wrapped tightly around the branch he sat on, he pulled another piece of beef jerky out of his pocket as he scoured the meadow for signs of life.
He kept looking at the meadow, from the trees to the sky, making up stories in his head about all the adventures he was having. He was wondering if his brothers would like to make a tree house in this tree. It just had to be far enough away that it wouldn’t be cut down to make room for houses.
He had finished his jerky and was about to lower the binoculars, when a flash of movement caught his attention. The biggest dog he’d ever seen stepped into the meadow.
Oh, wow, I bet it’s a wolf!
The animal ran into the middle of the meadow. While Aaron was watching, the wolf ran through the tall grass. It was just past halfway through the meadow when it stopped. It had found something. Aaron was leaning forward, trying to see, and almost lost his balance. After he’d caught himself from falling, he looked again and saw a little girl standing in the meadow hugging the wolf.
Darn it, it was just a dog!