True Nature Read online

  Copyright © by Jae. All rights reserved.

  First Smashwords Edition: October 2013

  All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment of the original purchaser only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  TRUE NATURE

  A Shape-Shifter Novel

  JAE

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Epilogue

  Glossary of Shape-shifter Terms

  About Jae

  Excerpt from Manhattan Moon

  Other Books from Ylva Publishing

  Coming from Ylva Publishing in Winter 2013 and Sprint 2014

  Acknowledgments

  I want to say thank you to my very own “pack” of editors, beta readers, critique partners, test readers, and creative advisers:

  Thanks to Pam for supporting me and my writing from the very beginning and for her advice on all things canine.

  Thank you to Erin for her enthusiasm and all the time spent beta reading my works-in-progress in various stages.

  A big thank-you to RJ for being a brainstorming partner and for providing me with fast feedback.

  I’m also grateful to Marion for her enthusiastic support, plot ideas, and many years of friendship.

  And a special thanks goes to my critique partner and friend Alison Grey for her honesty, her patient help while I was working out some plot problems, and for thinking outside the box. You are a wonderful addition to my “creative staff.”

  Once again, thank you to Astrid for her feedback, encouragement, and for falling in love with Rue. I’m happy to be publishing True Nature with Ylva Publishing.

  Thanks to Nikki for sharing her trip to New York with me and for keeping an eye out for repeated words in the manuscript.

  A big thank you goes to Revital, who’s a surprisingly good beta reader in addition to being a good friend.

  I also want to thank fellow author Cheri Crystal for beta reading and Henriette, Gail, and Margot for test reading.

  Another thank-you goes to Glendon from Streetlight Graphics, who outdid himself again by creating yet another beautiful cover.

  I’m also grateful to fellow author and editor Q. Kelly, who made sure my research into American Sign Language was accurate and I portrayed Rue’s son Danny in a realistic way.

  Last but not least, thanks to Lauren Sweet and Debra Doyle, two very talented content editors, and Judy Underwood, a wonderful copy editor.

  Dedication

  This one is for Pam. For many years of dedicated beta reading, constant support, and loyal friendship. Without you, I doubt I would have taken the step toward publication. Thank you.

  Author’s Note

  My shape-shifters, the Wrasa, were introduced in Second Nature, which told the story of Jorie Price and Griffin Westmore. This novel is a spin-off with different main characters, so it can stand on its own. If you want to read more about my shape-shifters, I recommend Second Nature, the novella Manhattan Moon, and the short stories in Natural Family Disasters.

  American Sign Language (ASL) is a beautiful, distinct language. It isn’t derived from English in any way and has its own grammar and syntax that doesn’t resemble English at all. For the sake of readability, I “translated” signed conversations into English, ignoring these grammar and syntax differences.

  Chapter 1

  A woman’s haunting scream reverberated through Kelsey’s head. The windshield spiderwebbed, bowing inward against the pressure of the water outside. She gasped as cold water surged onto the floorboard and splashed over her knees. Metal creaked and groaned overhead. The car’s roof caved in, slicing Kelsey’s forehead and sending warm blood dripping into her eyes.

  She screamed and ducked down, trying frantically to release the seat belt, but she was trembling too much. The pressure on her chest increased. She couldn’t breathe.

  Out! Out! She had to get out before the water rose too high or the need to shape-shift overwhelmed her. Her wolf form would be trapped in here, panicked, unable to release herself. Finally, the stubborn buckle gave way, and the seat belt released.

  The baby whimpered in the backseat, and Kelsey’s sister-in-law screamed again.

  Kelsey jerked awake. Great Hunter. Would she never be free of that nightmare? Groaning, she wiped her sweaty hands on her blanket and tried to catch her breath.

  A weight still pressed on her chest.

  Her breathing sped up again, and she struggled not to kick out her legs in blind panic. Calm down. You’re not trapped. But the weight was still there. She peered down her body and into the gleaming eyes of the cat perched on top of her, digging in his claws to hold on.

  “Will!” She growled and shook herself, nearly dislodging the cat. “Damn cat!”

  He was definitely getting too bold. Other cats avoided her, but for some reason, the orange tabby loved all Wrasa, even wolf-shifters like Kelsey. “Just because I sleep on the couch doesn’t mean I’m your new best buddy, understood?” She tapped the cat under the chin, but when he began to purr, she grudgingly gentled her touch to a light scratching. “I’m a Saru soldier, here to protect your human, not to serve as a kitty bed.”

  She sat up and set the cat on the floor, keeping her hands wrapped around the small body until she was sure Will was safely balanced on his three legs.

  Heart still pounding, she listened into the dar
kness.

  Everything was quiet.

  Just a dream. You’re safe.

  Her skin still itched, warning her to calm down if she didn’t want to scare Will with a panic-induced shift into her wolf form.

  She breathed in Jorie’s coconut scent that still lingered in the living room. In the six months since she had become Jorie’s bodyguard, she had come to associate the scent with the safety of a pack. See? You’re not in the car. Finally, her heartbeat slowed and the itching of her skin stopped. She shoved back the sweat-dampened blanket, got up from the couch, and padded to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

  The clock on the microwave showed three o’clock.

  She leaned against the kitchen counter, pressed the cool glass against her forehead, and closed her eyes.

  A scream from the bedroom made her jerk.

  The glass slipped out of her fingers and shattered on the floor. Cold water and shards of broken glass hit her bare feet, and for a few seconds, dream and reality tangled in a moment of frozen horror.

  Instinct took over.

  Kelsey raced to the bedroom, ignoring the pain of broken glass underfoot, ready to shift and defend her human alpha.

  She threw open the bedroom door and leaped into the room. The smell of coconut and fear hit her, but her nose didn’t catch any scent that didn’t belong there.

  No intruder.

  The bedroom was empty except for Jorie, who shot upright and groped for the lamp switch on the bedside table. She lifted one hand to shield her eyes from the light and clutched the duvet against her T-shirt-clad chest with the other hand. Shaggy bangs were plastered to her forehead. Her Asian features, distorted with fear, relaxed when she recognized Kelsey. “Kelsey! What are you doing?”

  “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t want to—” She took a step back, ignoring the sudden pain in her feet. “Are you okay?”

  Instead of answering, Jorie wiped her face and looked to the other side of the bed. As if only then remembering that her partner, Griffin, was away, she glanced at the picture on her nightstand.

  Kelsey followed her gaze. From her place next to the door, she couldn’t see the photo, but she herself had taken it just a few months ago, so she knew the frame held a picture of Griffin sporting a liger-sized grin as she wrapped her arms around an equally happy-looking Jorie.

  The smell of Jorie’s fear evaporated, and Kelsey wished she had a protector who could chase away her own nightmares as easily.

  “I’m fine,” Jorie said. She dragged trembling fingers through her midnight black hair and looked up at Kelsey. “What about you? You look a bit disheveled too.”

  “It’s nothing,” Kelsey said. After all, she was there to serve Jorie, not the other way around. “Just some stupid nightmare. That’s all.”

  “Yeah, me too.” A sharp breath escaped Jorie. “God, what a dream.”

  Dream? Kelsey flinched. Oh, no. I woke her from a dream. As a member of Jorie’s protective detail, she had to follow just three simple rules: Protect Jorie with your life. Don’t chase the cats, even if they taunt you. Never wake Jorie because she could be dreaming. Since Jorie was the Wrasa’s only dream seer, each and every one of her dreams could be vitally important.

  Congratulations. You just broke rule number three. “I’m sorry,” she said, lowering her gaze. “I didn’t realize...” Kelsey bit her lip until she tasted blood. What if she had compromised the Wrasa’s safety by interrupting an important dream vision?

  “Hey,” Jorie said.

  Kelsey glanced up, then away again when Jorie swung back the covers and slender, naked legs appeared.

  “Don’t look so guilty,” Jorie said. “If you hadn’t come in, I might have woken myself up with my screams. Besides, it has happened before. Griffin once woke me in the middle of a dream vision by kneading against my belly.”

  Ugh. Kelsey resisted the urge to press her hands over her ears. She didn’t want to hear any details about what her alpha pair did in bed, even if it was just kneading. It was like thinking about her parents having sex.

  When Kelsey looked up again, Jorie had slipped on a bathrobe. It dragged across the floor as Jorie circled the bed, much too long for Jorie’s slender five-foot-six frame. She snuggled her nose against the fabric, and her eyes fluttered shut as she inhaled.

  A whiff of liger musk and Griffin’s favorite body lotion hit Kelsey’s nose. It’s Griffin’s robe. Kelsey grinned. Just one night apart and she’s missing her already. Like a pair of mated wolves. She found their behavior almost comically endearing. Not that she’d ever tell them that, of course. As the lowest-ranking member of the pack, she had no business commenting on their private lives.

  “How about a cup of—?” Jorie stopped and rushed toward Kelsey. “Oh my God! What happened to your feet? Stay still. Don’t move.” She almost stumbled over the bathrobe’s excess length before she caught her balance and sank onto her knees in front of Kelsey.

  “W-what are you doing?”

  “Didn’t you notice? You’re bleeding!”

  Kelsey glanced down. Blood dripped onto the carpet. So that’s where the pain is coming from. She had ignored it while she made sure Jorie was okay. When she lifted one foot, she discovered that tiny shards of glass were embedded in the soles of her feet. “Oh. I’m sorry. I’m ruining your carpet.”

  “Don’t worry about the carpet.” Jorie produced a tissue from the bathrobe’s pocket and dabbed it against one of Kelsey’s feet.

  “Um, Jorie...” Pinpricks of pain shot up Kelsey’s leg, but the heat in her cheeks had nothing to do with pain. She reached down and tugged on Jorie’s upper arm, trying to get her to stand. “You don’t need to do that.”

  “Sure I do. You’re hurt.” Jorie continued dabbing.

  Kelsey squirmed. This is wrong. She’s a maharsi. She shouldn’t kneel in front of me. She tried to shuffle back, but Jorie’s grip on her ankle held her in place.

  “Stop that. You’re dripping blood all over my carpet. Sit down.”

  Following orders was in Kelsey’s nature. She hobbled over to the bed and sat on the very edge of it.

  “Stay here,” Jorie said. She gathered up the bathrobe as if she were a queen in a ball gown and strode from the room.

  Dazed, Kelsey stayed behind. She shot up when she remembered the state of the kitchen. “Please be careful in the kitchen,” she called after Jorie. “I dropped a glass. Let me clean up.”

  “No, I’ve got it,” Jorie said from the kitchen. “You stay where you are.”

  Kelsey sank back onto the edge of the bed.

  One of the kitchen cabinets banged shut. Glass clinked, and the bristles of a hand brush rasped over the floor. Within minutes, Jorie returned. “Do you want to go out and shift? That would heal the wounds faster than patching you up.”

  “Later,” Kelsey said. Since Griffin was in Boise to meet with the council, Jorie’s protection was Kelsey’s responsibility. Leaving her, even for just a few minutes, was out of the question. “For now, I’ll just put a Band-Aid on it or something.”

  “All right. You stay here. I’ll get it.” Jorie entered the bathroom and reappeared with a first-aid kit and a small basin filled with water. She pressed her hands against Kelsey’s shoulders. “Lie down. I need to reach the soles of your feet.”

  Two instincts warred within Kelsey. Following this order meant invading Griffin’s territory even further. Some days, she got the feeling that Griffin barely tolerated her presence in the house and in her Saru unit, and she didn’t want to give Griffin another reason to mistrust her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. This is Griffin’s side of the bed, isn’t it?”

  Jorie gave her shoulders a firm shove. “Instead of worrying about Griffin, worry about not making me mad. I’ll explain it to Griffin once she gets home. Right now, taking care of you is more important than staying away from Griffin’s side of the bed.” When Kelsey sank onto the bed and dangled her feet over the edge, Jorie knelt down and opened the first-aid kit. “So,” she said,
“what happened?” She tilted her head toward the kitchen and then nodded down at Kelsey’s feet.

  “I got up for a glass of water, and when I heard you scream, I dropped the glass. I’m sorry I made such a mess.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Jorie used a pair of tweezers to pull needle-sharp pieces of glass from Kelsey’s skin.

  Kelsey winced. Now that she wasn’t distracted by a possible danger to Jorie, the tiny cuts started to hurt. Oh, come on. Don’t be such a puppy. The pain wasn’t nearly so bad that it would trigger a shift into her wolf form.

  Jorie washed out the cuts and then dabbed antibiotic ointment onto them. “So you had a bad dream?” she asked as if to distract Kelsey from the pain.

  Little does she know that the nightmare and my memories are much more painful than the cuts on my feet. Kelsey just nodded.

  “Me too.” Jorie’s breath brushed over Kelsey’s bare feet as she exhaled. “A woman attacked a boy. He struggled and tried to break free, but she pinned him down with her full weight. He was drenched in sweat, and his face was a mask of pain, but the woman showed no mercy. God, the poor boy was terrified. I could smell his fear.” Jorie paused and shivered. “He groaned and I think tried to talk to her, but she pressed her thumbs against his throat and choked him.”

  Kelsey’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl. “She was human.” It was a statement, not a question. No sane Wrasa would ever hurt a child. But then again, Jorie would probably say that no sane human would either.

  “Yes.” Jorie put the ointment back into the first-aid kit. “The boy wasn’t, though. For some reason, I saw that quite clearly. He was Wrasa.”

  Every muscle in Kelsey’s body clenched. She sat up abruptly. “She was trying to kill one of us?”

  Jorie glanced up at her. “I thought we finally made it past the ‘us versus them’ stuff.”

  Kelsey looked away and licked her lips. “I’m sorry. It’s just...”

  “I know. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.” Jorie sent a smile up at Kelsey and dabbed at the cuts until the bleeding stopped.