A vision of a black wolf with a white undercoat suddenly appeared in Jenna's mind. She was sitting, her tail swishing back and forth. Jenna stared at her in awe. 'You're quite beautiful.'
'Thank you. I'm looking through your memories. You've had such a rough last year. I'm so sorry Jenna,' Vanessa said mournfully.
'It has been rough,' Jenna agreed.
'I need a bit more time, and then we will shift. Rest, Jenna. You're going to need it.'
Jenna dropped off to sleep, her dreams involving her wolf as they ran together through a field.
Vanessa woke her a few hours later. 'Wake mate. It's almost time,' she said.
Jenna looked over at Daniel, her eyes widening at how much she suddenly felt drawn to him. Her need for him was almost overwhelming. She breathed in his intoxicating scent, and reached out to touch his arm. The tingles were greatly intensified and she bit her lip as she looked down at him.
Daniel's eyes popped open and Jenna felt her world flip upside down as she met his gaze. She was on him in an instant, kissing him like she needed him to live.
Daniel felt overwhelmed by the lust he'd been hit with the moment his eyes had met Jenna's. It felt like the first time he'd seen her and he hungrily kissed her back, his hands trailing down her back, then her thigh as he pulled it up around him.
'Mate's wolf is fully present,' Rafe said happily in his mind.
'We need to mate and let her mark us,' Daniel said, his brain overcome by lust as he rolled her on her back and ground himself against her, making her moan.
'Yes,' Rafe growled in his head.
Daniel grabbed Jenna's shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it across the room. His lips were on her again, their tongues wildly dancing as he pulled her bra straps down, and cupped her breasts, rubbing her nipples. She moaned against his mouth, her hands traveling over his skin before heading down to his jeans and unbuttoning them. She yanked his zipper down and slid her hand down his stomach and inside his boxers, causing him to groan into her mouth.
'Stop!' Rafe suddenly said, startling Daniel. 'We don't have time. Mate will shift soon.'
Daniel pulled back, earning a whimper from Jenna. "I'm sorry, but we don't have time right now. This will have to wait. You're going to shift soon. "
"You and Vanessa," Jenna huffed as she rolled away from Daniel and got up off the bed. "Bunch of killjoys." Jenna walked towards the closet pulling off the rest of her clothes. She grabbed some leggings and turned when she heard Daniel walk in.
He stopped, staring at her, then suddenly he was in front of her, his lips on hers as his hands ran over her naked body, leaving tingles in their wake. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him, as they kissed, exploring each other's mouths. He finally broke off the kiss and sat her down. "I'll wait out here for you," he muttered, turning and leaving the closet.
Jenna smiled as she slipped on the dress and the leggings. She walked into the bathroom and quickly braided her hair before walking back into the closet for some boots and found Daniel in there slipping a T-shirt over his head. "You ready?" he asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jenna conceded.
'Don't worry. I've got us,' Vanessa piped up.
"Let's grab Noelle and trade her for Talia," Daniel said, grabbing her diaper bag.
Jenna giggled as she picked up her pup. They left the apartment and headed next door. Charlotte was waiting for them, and gave Jenna a hug. "You've got this. Just remember to breathe and listen to your wolf."
"Thank you Charlotte. And thank you for keeping Noelle," Jenna told her gratefully, as she handed the pup to her.
"Oh anytime, Jenna. I just love me some baby kisses," Charlotte said, kissing Noelle's cheeks. "Maybe we should have another, Caleb." She winked at Jenna.
"What?" Jenna looked past Charlotte to see both Caleb and Daniel with their mouths hanging open. Talia stood off to the side, a smirk on her face.
Jenna walked over to Talia and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're coming."
"I wouldn't miss this for anything. I'm so excited for you. Has your wolf appeared yet?" Talia hugged her back.
"Yes, she's already shown me what she looks like. Her name is Vanessa." Jenna was excited that Talia was going, and that her friend was this engaged. It was the most animated she'd seen Talia since James' death.
'We need to go,' Vanessa informed her.
Jenna looked at Daniel. "We need to go."
He nodded, and Jenna kissed Noelle goodbye.
"She's safe, Jenna," Charlotte reassured her.
Daniel led them back to Caleb and Charlotte's bedroom and out the French doors. They walked down the steps to the ground level, and into the woods, Daniel leading them up a path.
"Where are we going?' Talia asked.
"There's a small clearing up ahead, It's completely surrounded by trees so Jenna will have plenty of privacy. I've warned everyone in the pack to stay away." Daniel kept walking. He could feel Jenna's apprehension, and it was fueling his own. He'd spoken to his father for reassurance when they'd stopped to drop off Noelle. Every scenario possible had ran through his mind last night, from Jenna's personality completely changing to her not surviving. He'd done his best to hide how afraid he was, not wanting to worry her, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared out of his mind.
They finally approached the clearing, and stopped. He turned to look at Jenna. Outwardly, she too looked calm, but he knew she was nervous.
Talia looked at him, and narrowed her eyes for a second, then looked back at Jenna. "Now what?"
'Jenna, I want you to give me control,' Vanessa spoke up.
'How?' She was starting to feel odd.
'Close your eyes, and visualize yourself stepping back,' Vanessa coached her.
'Should I take off my clothes first?' How in the world was she going to manage to strip naked in front of them both?
'Yes, but hurry. We have little time left,' Vanessa warned.
Jenna stepped out of her boots, then slid her leggings off. She grabbed her dress, and glanced up. Talia gave her an encouraging smile, then turned around.
Daniel, on the other hand, sent her a concerned look. "Please don't ask me to turn around."
'Mate is just worried, but don't worry. Everything will be fine,' Vanessa reassured her. 'I'll finish undressing us.'
Jenna met Daniel's gaze. "I love you,' she whispered, then closed her eyes, giving Vanessa control.
Daniel held his breath as he watched her eyes close. When she opened them back up, they were glowing green, and he knew her wolf was in control. She lifted her gown over her head, and placed it over a tree branch, then turned back to him. She placed a long hard kiss on his lips, before flashing him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mate." Then she shifted fluidly, shocking him.
Vanessa was beautiful in her own right, and the opposite of Rafe, with long black fur with a white undercoat. Daniel stepped forward and lightly touched her head, then began to run his hands through her fur. "Talia," he called.
Talia turned around. "I didn't even really hear anything. She shifted that quickly?"
"Yeah. I watched it with my own eyes and I still don't believe it," Daniel said as he continued to pet her.
Vanessa licked his cheek, then turned away before looking back at them.
"I think she wants us to shift," Daniel said.
They both disappeared a little into the woods to strip and shift themselves, then came back out to find Vanessa.
Jenna watched them both from her position in Vanessa's mind. It was the oddest feeling. She'd thought for sure that it was going to be excruciating but it hadn't been.
'Told you I got this,' Vanessa smirked.
Being a wolf was amazing. The earth smelled rich, and like new growth. Everything looked sharper, more clear and she could hear the smallest noise.
Vanessa ran for a bit for all she was worth, following Rafe through the woods, Talia hot on her heels. Then they played.
Hide and seek, tag, they played it all.
Finally Jenna could feel Vanessa begin to wear out.
'Soon we will have more stamina, but for now, we're done,' Vanessa said. 'Im going to give you back control.'
Jenna found herself suddenly front and center. Rafe came up alongside her, rubbing against her side. Tingles errupted under her fur, surprising her. Lila came up on her other side.
'What do I do?' Jenna felt overwhelmed and was afraid to move. Rafe came back and licked her snout then disappeared into the woods.
'Breath deeply. Search for the scent of our mate's clothing. It'll be the easiest for you to distinguish,' Vanessa said.
Jenna took a deep breath, and was met with a ton of different scents.
'Dont get overwhelmed. Just sort through them until you find the right one,' Vanessa instructed her.
"I smell it in two different directions,' Jenna felt confused.
'The stronger one will lead us to mate. The less stronger one will lead us to Mate's clothes,' Vanessa said.
Jenna smiled. Smart wolf. She followed the lesser of the two scents, moving slowly so she didn't lose track of it, and soon, she came across Daniel's clothes. She glanced around, finding the clearing, and her own garments. 'Now what?'
'Now we're going to shift back. Visualize yourself as human.'
The shift back took a little bit longer than shifting to her wolf, and Jenna had a feeling it was because she was in control and not Vanessa. It hurt a bit but still wasn't bad. After the shift though, she found herself aching all over. She dressed quickly, pulling the dress down as Rafe and Lila appeared in the clearing. Lila headed into the woods towards her clothes, while Rafe came over to her. Jenna ran her fingers through his fur. It was the first time she'd been this close to him as a human. She kissed his snout. "I'm really sore from all of this."
Rafe licked her cheek, then headed off towards his own clothes and Talia appeared out of the woods, fully dressed.
"Thank you for inviting me. Lila and I needed this. How are you feeling? Did you have fun?" Talia gave her a hug, causing Jenna to wince. "Are you okay?"
"I'm really hurting." She looked over at Daniel as he reappeared dressed. The draw to him was almost irresistible. She breathed in his scent deeply as she looked him over, and could feel Vanessa looking out at her mate. She wanted to jump him and mark him.
"We should head back." Daniel eyed her with concern.
They all headed down the path, back towards the pack house, though Jenna ended up slowing them down, as her body began to really ache. When they approached the back of the house, Jenna looked up at the stairs. "I'm not going to make it up those."
Daniel scooped her up, causing her to gasp. The tingles were so much more intense than they had been before.
"Talia, I'm going to take her up to our apartment. I'll be over to get Noelle after I get Jenna settled and take a shower." Daniel started up the stairs.
Talia was already halfway up. She turned back to them. "Okay, I'll let Charlotte know. Thank you so much for including me today. Truly."
"Love you, Talia," Jenna called as Daniel flashed her a smile.