Sitting alone in her cabin high in the Rocky Mountains Daria gazed at the dancing flames in her fireplace.She was absently stroking the fur of her favorite cat, Leo, and wishing she were not alone on tonight of all nights, Christmas Eve. Oh, she knew it was her own doing that had caused it - well hers and the fate of genetics…
It really was not her fault that she had inherited her father’s empathic abilities and her mother’s healing talents. Making her the odd witch out, her dual nature was both a blessing and a hindrance. She could heal an injury with a single touch or a potion, but was ceaselessly bombarded by the thoughts of everyone around her, and was thus destined to be alone for her own sanity unless the one man meant to be her “Perfect Mate” happened along. Which, as she thought, continuing to stare at the fire, was not very likely to happen considering she lived alone in a cabin high on the mountain.
Isolated by choice, where or how exactly was she was supposed to meet this perfect man that had been born to be the other half of her soul? She allowed herself a little daydream; what would he look like? She preferred a man with blonde hair and a lean build. Maybe blue eyes, or perhaps brown. He would be quiet, thoughtful, and intelligent.
"Well, Leo, do you think such a man exists for me?” Not that she expected the cat to answer her, but talking to him made her feel a little less alone. Oh yeah, this perfect man had to like cats; after all she has always had five or six of them. They were her friends, her companions, her confidants.
Wolf … nickname for William Oliver Lupus Forbes
Here he was on Christmas Eve, traipsing thru the Rocky Mountains heading who knew exactly where. He only knew he had this driving urgency to be… somewhere. At least he was relatively warm since he was traveling in his wolf form. Yes, he was a shifter, born into a family of wolf shapeshifters. Normally he went through life as a man, 6’ 5” tall, dark blue-black hair except for a white streak he was born with. He also had remarkable dark green eyes ringed in gold, long dark lashes and a natural lean, muscular build.
Women seemed drawn to him, but he had no interest in any of them. He was only interested in the one woman born to be his Perfect Mate. He felt as if he had waited all his life for her and finally he was feeling a pull, being drawn in the direction of the Rocky Mountains. Traveling the mountains in his wolf form allowed him to travel faster and warmer. As a wolf, he was large, with black fur and a small white patch on his chest. His eyes remained the dark green with a gold ring that they were when he was a man.
He did have to watch out for hunters, but as he was traveling at night he figured he was relatively safe. He was also feeling a sense of urgency to get to her. Stopping in a copse of trees, he raised his nose and sniffed the wind. There, a faint whiff of smoke, possibly from a fireplace. He took a couple of steps forward, still sniffing the wind when … SNAP! Son of mother fucking whore! A trap snapped around his left foreleg!
Damn it, he could not even shift to get his leg out. Extreme pain intruded, inhibiting his ability to complete a transformation. He let out a loud, mournful howl and then lay down, hoping someone might have heard him and would come to investigate. Preferably, before he gnawed off his leg and lost his chance at love.
Daria
A log popped loudly in the fireplace; bringing her out of her reverie, it also made her realize she had forgotten to bring in any more wood for the night. Letting out a sigh and mentally chastising herself, she got up and went to put on her coat and boots. She grabbed her flashlight and headed out to the woodpile. After taking in one armful, she decided since it was snowing to go out and grab another just in case the snow started to come down harder.
As she was walking back out to the woodpile, she heard a mournful howl in the distance that sent a shiver down her spine. Shining her light in the direction the sound came from she could not see anything nearby, and so decided to go investigate. The healer in her would not let her rest if there were an animal or person who was hurt and she did not try to help. As she got closer to where she thought the sound had come from she stopped and shined the light further ahead of her, but still saw no living thing.
Wait… there another noise, a faint whine, just up ahead. She continued walking, rounding a big tree, and stopped in her tracks. There next to a large tree lay a big, beautiful wolf! He was almost pure black, and huge! He - at least she thought it was a he - had one of his front paws caught in a trap. She moved closer slowly, trying to see how much damage there was, but when he started to growl she stopped. She knelt down and quietly said, “Its okay, boy, I am not going to hurt you. I just want to help.”
The wolf cocked his head sideways, almost as if he understood her, then he actually nodded his head! Daria took that as permission to move closer. While the wolf eyed her warily, he did allow her to come closer. The trap looked like it had not gone all the way through the bone in his leg, but the jaw appeared to be embedded deeply. “All right, boy, I am just going to see if I can pry these loose, it might hurt some so please don’t bite me.”
Again Daria had the impression he actually understood her words, not just the tone of her voice. It took a little doing but she finally got the jaws apart enough he could remove his paw; she fully expected he would limp off into the forest. Instead, he just quietly laid next to the tree, staring at her. It was actually a little disconcerting to have him just stare at her with his unblinking gaze.
Standing up she wiped her hands off on her jeans and said, “Well, boy, you should be okay now. Thanks for not biting me. I am going to go home now. Bye, big fella.”
Daria got up and started walking. She got about twenty-five feet away and realized the wolf was limping along behind her. “What are you doing, boy? Go on back to your den, or wherever it is you live.”
She kept walking and he kept following. Great! She was a cat person; cliché, but there you have it! She was a witch that liked cats! She had nothing against dogs, but cats were much neater and cleaner. Dogs tended to leave muddy paw prints and shake water everywhere when they got wet. Kind of like a man in many ways!
Looking back again, she realized he was continuing to follow her. Damn, what was she going to do with him? She had not noticed a collar, so he obviously did not belong to anyone, or at least anyone who cared about getting him returned if he got lost.
“Okay, boy, come on, since you are following me anyway.” What the hell, it was Christmas Eve! The walk back to the cabin was slow since he was only able to put weight on three paws. There - finally she could see the soft light coming from her cabin’s window. Looking at the wolf, she said, “I sure hope you are house-trained, big boy.” He looked up at her as she opened the door and the wolf followed her inside, staying on the rug just inside the door. She took off her coat and hung it up, then went to grab a towel to dry the wolf off a bit.
His thick coat fluffed and partly-dried, she placed an old blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. "There, boy, come over here and get warm and finish drying off. Then we’ll see if I can do something about your poor leg.”
Wolf went over and laid down where Daria had indicated. After he laid down, Leo made an appearance, coming to check out the strange animal in his home. Daria watched as Leo approached the huge beast, neither of them showing any fear or aggression. The wolf lowered his head and the two animals touched noses, his massive head dwarfing the smaller animal. It was unnatural, but the simple action somehow gave her confidence and put her at ease with the black wolf. Again she had the impression he understood everything she said. Daria headed into the back of her cabin to change clothes and grab some wraps for his leg and another towel to put under him while she worked.
While he waited for her to come back he decided to try to shift. Since he was not in excruciating pain anymore, it should work. Blessed with the gift of rapid healing, his leg had been improving even as they had walked to the cabin. Concentrating, he willed his body to change back to that of a man. In a shimmer of gold and green stars, he now stood on two legs, naked in front of her fireplace. He could hear her moving closer to the living room and quickly looked around for something he could grab to cover up with.
Damn! Too late; she came around the corner and to a very abrupt stop. Her jaw dropped and her mouth moved up and down without making a sound, then suddenly… “Who the hell are you? Why are you standing naked in my home? Get out of here! I have a gun and I know how to use it!”
Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, shock and anger. Wolf thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Pale creamy skin, silvery-blonde hair and light violet-colored eyes. He was not sure what type of supernatural she was, but he was betting a witch or a Fae. She was petite and curvy, just as he liked his women; the fates had sure been kind to him!
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, as she realized two things: One, the black wolf was no longer there, and two, she could not hear this man’s thoughts; he was a total blank to her.
