Page 2 of Iced Out Mate

Rain.

Moments later, the scent of moist soil and wet grass filled my kitchen. I inhaled deeply. My heart calmed and my brain slowed the constant buzzing that had been rattling my skull just seconds before.

I knew what I had to do.

“All right, Nike, I’ll be back.” I walked past his perch on the couch arm. He looked up at me with those wide amber eyes and gave a gentle meow in response. I went to my bedroom and changed into a pair of gray running shorts and a sleeveless faded Metallica T-shirt. Most people wouldn’t change for a run knowing it would rain, but then again, I wasn’t most people. I had my own quirks.

One of them being that I found peace in the storms.

Plus, I wasn’t planning on running as a human for long anyway. Shifting into my wolf form meant my clothes would stay dry.

There was a messy pile of shoes next to my front door. I grabbed my running sneakers and tugged them on. The scent of wet dirt and concrete grew stronger the moment I opened the door. There was something else mixed in there—sweet, pungent, raw. It hit me almost as hard as my anxiety had. Nearly brought me to my fucking knees. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, though.

Huh… interesting.

I stepped outside, locked my door, and started off toward the thick gray clouds that were creeping in on the horizon. I lived in a quiet community of brick-faced townhomes, only a couple streets away from the trails that led into dense Vermont woods. I took a left out of the gate and ran toward them. The burst of energy and activity was already making me feel better. I focused on the rhythmic beat of my shoes hitting pavement, ignoring the whispers of anxiety that kept trying to tell me something was wrong even though nothing was.

I slowed once I reached the first trail. A glance over my shoulder told me no one else was around. People—normal ones, at least—were likely to stay inside today.

Good. I wanted the woods all to myself.

I ran down the trail. The sky above darkened with the combination of a thick canopy and a curtain of clouds. Rain began to fall through the leaves. I turned off the trail and started to run into the woods, jumping over a fallen log, losing myself deeper into the one place I felt most at home.

The storm broke. Rain pelted me, drenching my clothes, flattening my hair. That odd scent I picked up on earlier became stronger the further I ran. I realized then that I was running toward it. But my senses weren’t as strong in my human form as they were in my wolf form; I couldn’t tell what it was.

Time to shift, then.

The sound of the falling rain on the leaves and branches was a song I could never grow tired of. I listened to it as I came to a stop and shut my eyes. I found the anxiety completely dissipating as I tugged on the threads of whatever magic inside me allowed me to shift. The world momentarily blurred as my body painlessly rearranged itself, growing mottled gray and brown fur, claws, a tail, a snout, pointed ears dipped in black.

Moments later, my paws hit the wet dirt and the rain began soaking my fur. I wagged my tail.

This felt good. This felt right.

Then I smelled it again, stronger this time. As if someone had dropped a box full of pungent roses right in front of me. My body tensed. I looked around, sniffing at the air, trying to pinpoint exactly where the scent was coming from.

North. I took off running, unsure exactly why I needed to chase this down. Wet leaves squished under my paws. A deer spotted me a moment too late and leaped away from me, nearly crashing into a tree as it tried to escape. I ignored it and continued running.

Continued chasing.

What the hell is that smell?

I was getting closer. I could smell it past the fresh scent of soaking rain and wet woods. Still couldn’t tell what it was, though. Curiosity pushed me to run harder. I didn’t want to lose the scent. There was a pull that felt almost magnetic—like even if I wanted to turn around, I wouldn’t be able to.

I crashed through the woods and into a large clearing. There, I came to a sudden halt.

Directly in front of me was another wolf. It had its back to me, head dipped down as it drank from a gentle stream. It had sleek gray fur that lightened to white toward its paws and its tail was colored with black as if it had been dipped into an inkpot, almost like my ears. The wolf sensed my presence and lifted its head, turning to face me. Its ears pinned back and lips curled into a defensive snarl.

I was moments away from mirroring the aggressive posture when the wind shifted. It carried with it another fresh blast of that beautifully sweet and endlessly mysterious scent. It was coming from the wolf. My guard instantly dropped and any ounce of defensiveness or aggression vanished. Instead, I slowly lowered myself into a submissive posture, closing my eyes to avoid making the other wolf angrier. My muscles seemed to be moving of their own accord. My heart raced, my body suddenly flooded with a massive rush of endorphins. There was a click of understanding that happened within me. Something profound. Something I’d only heard about in stories and second-hand experiences from other shifters.

Could this be…? Was this…?

When I opened my eyes, I looked up to see the wolf no longer there.

Instead, a human stood in its place. His clothes were drenched, his black hair fell in wet strands across his forehead, his tan skin glistened with the rain, and his hazel-green eyes were locked on mine.

A surreal sense of understanding gripped me in that moment. As if someone had yanked at the nape of my neck and told me to look up at my future written in the sky. I started to shift back into my human form. The man stayed statue-still as he watched me, head cocked, eyes curious.

Neither of us spoke for a long, drawn-out moment.