Run With Me

Chapter Twenty Two

Terri wasn't sure if it was pain or pleasure ripping through her body. She was determined to give Kirk the trust he had more than earned. So when she felt the command push through her, she didn't fight it the way she had fought her brother's growing up. She let the power flow into her and let her wolf follow that flow. Her skin stretched and she felt her bones snap as the pins and needles sensation slowly faded. The world looked different, brighter. And warmer. She wasn't shivering and cold anymore. If anything, Terri felt like everything was the perfect temperature. She turned to look at Kirk and realized that she was still in his arms, but awkwardly. Starting to move, Kirk opened his arms and Terri tumbled out of them, landing on the cold stone floor. Hard.

"Easy, slowly," Kirk spoke to her, his hands open and reaching out to touch her. When she expected his warm flesh on hers, all she felt was a gentle pressure and a pleasurable sensation go down her side. She opened her mouth to speak and all that came out was an incoherent yowl. Kirk threw his head back and laughed. Terri's response was to growl at him and turn in a circle. On all four paws. Looking around her body in panic, she could see that he left leg was whole and intact, the brilliant white fur shining out even in the darkness. The other disorienting thing for Terri was that she could see clearly. What had once been dark and dim, barely able to make out Kirk's features, she could now see the hard planes of his body and the beauty of his face.

"You're perfect Terri," he said, letting the blankets fall and gripping the sides of her head to hold it between his hands, "you are the most beautiful, flawless, white wolf I have ever seen." Terri's head tilted in his hands. White? Her hair was black. She should be a darker shade than white. Flipping her head around, she tried to look at her body. This earned another hearty laugh from Kirk, who was starting to shiver. "We'll get you a mirror once we get back, but first, we need to tuck in and wait for Zoe to come back with reinforcements." He turned back to the cave entrance and shouted for John and Nolan to come back in. The shock was apparent on their faces when they saw their alpha sitting naked with a stunning white wolf.

"We'll answer questions later, but for now, we need to settle here until Zoe gets back," Kirk shivered again, "we might as well get some sleep." He shifted then, his silver and black fur a shadow next to Terri. Laying down next to where Terri stood, the massive head with amber eyes just looked at her, waiting. After a few moments, Terri awkwardly dropped her body into his side, reveling in the warmth he provided. One of the other wolves, probably John, boxed in on the other side, keeping her completely out of the elements and allowing her to feel like she was bundled in the warmest of blankets. The remaining wolf, Nolan she thought he was called, lay down between the three of them and the tight entrance to the cave, completely blocking her into their nest.

The gave Terri time to think. Her greatest fear was that her wolf would be lame, like her. So she never shifted. Even if she had been able to shift when the accident occurred, the human doctors had amputated her leg, so her wolf would have been unlikely to heal it. Chances are her leg would still be gone when she shifted back. But that's fine, her life, her career, and her future all had to do with prosthetics and technology. It would be impossible to explain to anyone how she had suddenly grown a leg over the course of the weekend. That would put all of the shifter community at risk, and she would never do that.

And Colin had been right. She was a white wolf. She huffed in pleasure at the thought of showing him, causing Kirk to raise his head and look at her. Terri nuzzled her face into his neck, feeling him go still for a second before curling back around her. Kirk. That was another thing to deal with once they got back. Her insistence that they couldn't mate was no longer valid, since her wolf was whole. No member of any pack could dispute her right to be a Luna, she was no longer latent, as she had always claimed. She had known her wolf was there, had felt her. But they had locked that secret away out of fear. Kirk had given her the space to be courageous and break past that fear. There was nothing holding her back now. But she didn't want to let anyone know that she had shifted. No. That was the trump card for the shit show that was inevitably to come. But for now, she was safe and warm. And thinking about every reason she had given Kirk a no for being with him. Those were all gone.

Terri nuzzle in deeper, listening to Kirk's heartbeat as she drifted off to sleep, thinking of a future in a pack where she was not an outcast, but a valued member. For the first time in a long time, Terri felt truly at peace.

                                                                                                     ***

Zoe was far from quiet as she cursed her way back up into the cave, waking everyone long before she reached the entrance. Terri started to panic, trying for figure out how to shift back to human. She scrunched her eyes tight and thought 'turn back, turn back', over and over in her mind. Seeing her doing this, Kirk shifted, grabbing a couple of blankets, one to wrap around his hips, and the other draped over Terri's body.

"Shift!" he whispered in her ear, pushing his influence into the command, "both of you are to remain silent on what happened in here, understood?" Kirk ordered the other two as Terri started shivering again from the cold. She hadn't though about the biting cold for when she shifted back to human, so Terri was already shivering violently, clutching Kirk for added warmth. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I never thought you were a cuddler," he whispered in her ear, holding her close, "I have never slept so well as when you burrowed into me and fell asleep yourself." Terri blushed, feeling slightly bit warmer.

"Well, I had time to think," she began, "and I have decided..." Terri's sentence was cut off when Zoe stumbled into the cave, a massive bag on her back and bundled up against the cold. Terri would have to finish what she was saying later.

"Fuck man," Zoe exclaimed, "what the hell is up with this storm? I mean, I'm used to the east coast Canadian weather, but this storm came out of nowhere. No one is prepared for it," Kirk didn't recognize any of the cold weather gear she was wearing, and the boots looked about two sizes too big for her, "Michael is down at the bottom of the cliffs with some of the others in wolf form. We can take her back" Zoe pulled a couple of towels and some instant heat packs out of the bag, "here, make sure you're dry."

Next came several articles of clothing that all smelled of Michael, except for a single snow boot that must have belonged to Kayla. Terri paused reaching for the towel as her eyes fell on the single boot. Tears started to form in her eyes as she looked up at Zoe. Anyone else would have pulled out a pair of boots. But with no prosthetic, even with her running foot, she only needed one boot. Zoe gave her a soft smile. There was no judging, just acceptance as she held the boot out to Terri.

Kirk started putting on the clothes Zoe was handing him when Terri stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"If there's only one snowmobile, it will be faster if you run in wolf form," she looked up at Zoe, "you too. I'll ride back with Michael, you guys can run as wolves. We'll make better time rather than four of us on that machine." She watched as Zoe looked over her shoulder and then back at Terri. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second before speaking.

"You good to get down on your own? No headache or broken bones? How are the cuts on your hands?" Zoe was giving her a verbal once over, taking note that Terri was now hiding her hands in the pants she was holding. Terri gave her head a shake.

"If there are gloves in that bag I can climb back down, it's not hard, I hardly ever use my left foot in the climb anyways," Kirk and Zoe just stared at her, the pair of wolves whipped their own heads around to look at her. She just shrugged, "What? I had to learn when I was younger because my leg didn't fit properly and I would have to carry it up in a back pack to make sure it didn't get damaged or dropped. How do you think I got up here in the first place?" Terri dropped the blanket to start getting dressed, causing Kirk to growl and bark at the others to turn their backs. While nudity was an acceptable thing amongst shifters, he was obviously more than a little possessive of her. Leaning over to give him a soft kiss, Terri just smiled and gave him an order.

"Shift."