Authors: Lucy Kelly
“Mara said all shifters came from changelings and changelings came from another realm. Can you tell me more?” she asked.
“She’s right. Much of our history has been lost because we’ve never written it down. There are two main mythologies. The first is that they came here to build up shifter armies to fight wars in their realm. By building up the armies here, they could hold them in reserve until they were needed and spring them on their enemies,” said Frieda.
“Do you believe that?”
“There has never been a large group of shifters to go missing so the first story is not as popular as the second one. The second myth is about either three or twelve changeling queens coming here to this realm. They were all pregnant from lovers who weren’t changelings and so they needed to have their babies in secret from their own realm. Their sons were the first shifters. Only female children became full changelings and only when mated to shifters.”
“Why is it that only women can be changelings and not men? What if my brothers have daughters, will they be changelings?” Laura wanted to know.
“Because your brothers are the sons of a changeling, they will become shifters if they mate to a shifter or if you give them shifter abilities. The ability to give birth to a changeling comes down through the female line. If your brothers remain human and marry a full human their children will be one hundred percent human. If they mate a shifter, then it’s likely they will become shifters and their children will be shifters. Shifter DNA is dominant and so shifter human mates always produce shifter children.”
Laura chewed on a piece of chicken while she went over what Frieda said in her head. “How can I give my brothers shifter abilities? And what about my father?”
“There is a ritual where you can awaken the shifter inside each of your brothers. Granting shifter abilities to a human is a more serious matter. It has been done, but not always with positive consequences. Humans are attached to their humanity and don’t always deal well with their new animal side. This is not a step to be taken lightly. Once you have total control of your shifting, then we’ll start to work on your magic. Right now though, you need to finish your lunch!” Frieda said with a smile.
Laura did need to hurry so she could get to therapy, suddenly determined to get out of this wheelchair!
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was around two o’clock when Laura arrived for her therapy appointment. JoAnne worked the various muscles of her legs for two hours and then massaged them. Before Laura headed home, JoAnne reminded her that she might have muscle cramps during the night. Now that Laura had been healed of her paralysis, her exercises would become more intense.
“Laura, I know you’re training everyday as a changeling. But you need to work on your legs for more than two hours a day. I’m going to free up my schedule so I can start coming to you. Would you be able to find more time if you didn’t have to drive over here every day?” JoAnne asked.
“I would love it! Are you sure? Of course I’ll make sure you’re compensated for the lost time. Oh, but your other patients need you just as much as I do. It wouldn’t be fair for me to monopolize you,” Laura said.
“I only have one other patient recovering from an injury and he’s nearly to the end of his treatment. He’ll be discharged in three weeks, allowing me to start your in-home care the last week of May. My other customers are for massage therapy only and I can shuffle my schedule around to make sure they are covered by me or another therapist. Right now, you need to have intensive therapy several times a day. We want to build your muscles carefully so you don’t hurt yourself,” JoAnne explained.
“If you’re sure you have the time, I’d love to work something out. How soon do you think I can get out of this chair?” Laura wanted to know.
“That will depend on you and how hard you work. If you put in the work you could be working on the parallel bars within three months and walking in six,” said JoAnne.
“I’ll do whatever I have to,” said Laura.
“Okay, when my other patient is released from care I’ll come up to your house every morning and work with you throughout the day. Between now and then we can work up a schedule that works for all of us.”
“Sounds like a great plan. I had better get back now. This day is the longest I’ve been able to not shift into an animal, I should get going before I shift into a kitten or something.”
Before she could say anything else she turned into a kitten. Concentrating hard she switched herself back. “Oops, time to go,” said Laura to a very surprised and startled JoAnne, as she wheeled herself outside. The two guards assigned to accompany her were waiting for her. She continued to drive her motor home because she was familiar with the hand controls. But now that she was going to get better she decided to donate the camper and buy an SUV. She’d talk to Alex about it over dinner.
She missed him. He hadn’t joined her for lunch because he and Marshall had gone to visit the alpha of the local wolf pack, Marc Hunter. He promised they would have dinner together. She concentrated on her driving and staying human. She discovered it was easier to stay human if she was doing something and giving it all her attention. As she pulled out of the parking lot of the medical building, she thought she saw that weird man, Roland. But when she looked again he wasn’t there. He was nasty and she was so happy to be mated to Alex instead of him.
Turning her eyes back to the road she navigated her way back up the mountain to her home, absently dreaming about when she could walk or run up the steps instead of taking the tram system.
When she got home she was happy to find Alex waiting for her in the garage. He opened the door and pulled her into his arms. Without thinking about it, she wrapped her legs around his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He swooped in for a welcome home kiss.
“I hate being away from you all day. Soon I’ll have my office moved here and things organized better,” he said.
“Why are you here in the garage?” asked Laura. The two guards had also gotten out of the camper, stepping out of the garage to give their alphas some privacy.
“I wanted to look at the space. I have two vehicles, a four-wheel drive truck and a convertible sedan. Before I asked my assistants to drive one or both of them out here, I wanted to make sure there would be room. Why did you build such a big garage?” he asked. He didn’t give her time to answer, kissing her again.
It didn’t take long for the kiss to become heated. “I need to be inside you,” he growled into her mouth.
“Yes!” she said and, reaching down with one hand, she pushed at her sweats. “Hold me up,” she said as she dropped her legs from around his waist to drop her sweats to the floor. She was so wrapped up in the moment she didn’t realize she was using her leg muscles. After she got rid of her own clothing, she went to work on Alex’s. It was difficult because Alex kept on moving his mouth over her face and neck nibbling and kissing her. She giggled because he had found a spot that tickled.
Squirming, she finally got his pants open, his engorged shaft falling into her small hand. Wiggling into place, she locked her ankles around his hips as she impaled herself. “Ooh, this feels so good!” she said.
Alex stepped forward, each movement driving him deeper inside her. Backing her up against the side of her camper and began to thrust. Taking her mouth as he took her body, the camper began to rock from the force of their loving.
Over, almost as quickly as they begun, Laura moaned out her release and the spasms of her climax bring on Alex’s. Collapsing, he holds her up against the side of the camper. As Laura got her breath back she remembered the feeling from the night before. She hasn’t said anything but she’s sure she’s pregnant. She can’t believe in her excitement that morning she forgot to ask Frieda if shifting would harm the baby.
She got distracted when Alex swung her around, placing her in her chair. Then, after she’d unlocked it, he lifted the chair with her in it out of the door so she didn’t have to go into the back of the camper and use the lift. Her bottom was cold and she could feel Alex’s cum leaking out of her. Alex picked up her underpants and sweats.
“Just the sweats, I’m not putting on underwear that’s been on the garage floor. Now where were we before you started this delicious interlude?” she asked as she expertly pulled on her sweats with only a little help from Alex.
Alex quickly tucked and zipped before helping Laura. As she finished with her sweats, he looked around. “I just wondered why you built such a large garage. From the front it looks like a large five car garage. But when you’re inside you can see it’s more than twice as deep,” he asked.
“I have a big family, if everyone visits in the winter, I wanted to be able to put all the cars and trucks inside. And then I was planning to own three vehicles of my own, a car and a snow-cat in addition to this camper. Plus, I expect when the underground facilities are put to use the garage will be helpful. I’ve considered a tunnel from the garage into the facility, what do you think?” she asked, intending to talk to Frieda about the baby before saying anything to Alex.
“Well there’s definitely plenty of room for my two vehicles,” he says as he tucked her underwear into his pants pocket. “I know you were looking forward to having Mara over for dinner, but I want you all to myself. So Mara is taking Frieda to the pack house so we can be alone. I need time with you.”
“I like your plans. I do need to have a few minutes of conversation with Frieda and I need a shower. Is she gone yet?” Laura asked.
“No, I don’t think Mara is picking her up for another hour. There’s time,” said Alex as he followed her out of the garage and over to the tram. He had a few questions of his own to ask Frieda. Her legs seemed so strong one moment and then so weak the next. Maybe the older changeling would have answers.
Alex got to the house first and found Frieda in the kitchen with Lola. The two often spent time together, both being from the same part of Europe originally.
“Frieda, Laura has some questions for you. After you finish and before you leave with Mara I’d like a word with you too,” he said.
“Of course, I’d be happy to speak with both of you,” she said.
Alex nodded his thanks and then made himself scarce. He got the impression Laura wanted to speak privately with Frieda. He’d take his shower first and then when Laura took hers he’d speak with Frieda. Besides, if they showered together, they’d never leave the bathroom and neither of them would speak to Frieda.
Laura reached the top of the tram station. She wondered why Alex had run ahead. She got her answer when she entered the kitchen through the pantry and found Frieda waiting for her.
“Your Alex is showering, giving us time to have a few words. What’s bothering you, my dear?” Frieda asked her.
“Frieda, I think I’m pregnant. Is there any way to tell? Is it safe to shift while I’m pregnant? I’m worried about my control,” Laura asked her in a worried voice.
“It would be wonderful if you are pregnant! It's perfectly safe for you to shift through your fifth month. After that, you will need to be more careful though. First, let’s make sure you are pregnant. What symptoms are you experiencing?” she asked.
Laura explained her feelings of the night before. “It’s really too soon to tell isn’t it?” she asked. “I’m being silly.”
“No, dear, not silly. After all, you know your body better than anyone. If you believe you are pregnant then you probably are. They have these tests you can take at home, but this early on I think a blood test is what you need.”
“Then I’ll have to wait to find out. I was hoping there would be another way,” said Laura, a little disappointed.
“Well, there is one other method we could use. But you would have to stay shifted for an hour. You would not be able to shift back into your human form right away. And we would need a large area for you to shift. The room off the patio is not big enough.”
“How about the training room down in the cavern? Would that work?” Laura asked, anxious to find out if she was carrying Alex’s child.
“Yes, but are you sure you don’t want to wait?” Frieda asked.
“No, if I’m pregnant, I want to know right away.”
“Very well, let’s go then.”
Laura led the way. They took the elevator down to the training level where they had held the reception after the bonding ceremony the night before. Marshall and Alex had not yet decided on how they wanted to use the space. They needed to analyze the data she had gathered. She told them they had about six months before they needed to act unless something changed. Which reminded her, she needed to check to see if she’d picked up anything new in her scans.
When they entered the huge cavern Laura had set aside for training, Frieda was quite happy. The area was a huge vaulted chamber. There were a few stalactites and stalagmites around the edges, which would make a wonderful obstacle course.
“Is there still water dripping in here?” Frieda asked.
“No, it’s all been diverted to run through the hydroelectric plant I set up. We’re almost completely self-sufficient down here,” said Laura. “Okay, now what?”
“Now you shift into a dragon of course. Your dragon will really like this cavern. She’ll be able to tell you if you’re pregnant. But don’t expect her to let you shift back so soon. Dragons are the most magical of creatures and they have a strong personality of their own.”
By this time nothing was stopping Laura. Just like the rest of her life, she'd tackle this full speed ahead. Getting out of her wheelchair, she pushed it out of the way. Just the way she had earlier, she started concentrating on becoming a dragon.
She tried picturing a dragon in her head and was surprised when she couldn’t. She turned to look back at Frieda and realized her head was far off the floor. Bending her neck she looked down at herself. She was huge! And blue! She had pale blue scales on her belly blending into darker blue-gray scales. Turning her large wedge shaped head to look over her shoulder she saw a ridge if spikes flowing down her spine colored a dark navy blue leading down to a long tail also studded with spikes. Experimentally she moved her tail and smashed into one of the stalactites.
Oops!
I’m a dragon!