She nodded, “Yes. Right now, I feel like an empty shell, I don’t know who I am, outside of the nympho inside, I mean.”

  I wanted to remind her she was strong, but I didn’t want to bombard her with my opinion on it or compliments. She knew my view on it, and she’d come to see it too. So I just existed with her for a while, spending time and holding her, which didn’t make the fear of rejection or fear of losing my respect go away, but it did make her feel warm inside and valued in the moment, almost safe, so it was worth doing. I needed to get to know Caroline and Vespa too, not just the beautiful exotic goddess I’d be fucking daily. That wasn’t what the moment was about anyway, it was about giving her what she needed and spending time with her at the same time.

  Of course, when the need in her grew too great, I took her inside and nailed her doggie style, then from up above with her deliciously long legs pinned over my shoulders, then I held her again for a long while, so she’d feel like it was more than the sex, because it was. Guys didn’t need that to feel close to their lover, but women did, which was patently obvious with a shifter’s nose.

  Then I got on with my day, as much as I wanted to be there for her still, I had four mates, three friends with benefits, four friends to chat with, as well as Caroline and Vespa to get to know.

  Which was all a little overwhelming, fortunately the lesbian couples and friends with benefits could be caught up with one large group setting. I also got to know Caroline and Vespa together. Only my four lovers and Maria needed that one-on-one intimacy, as the latter hoped to join that number. Honestly, so did I, I just couldn’t say yet if it’d work out.

  Time went by, a few weeks as they worked to acclimate to this age and I worked on magic. It wasn’t all magical studies and maintaining my host of different relationships in the coven, we also had some fun. Stuff that was entirely new to the coven and the three witches hoping to join it, but that me and Sela used to take for granted.

  The town below the hill wasn’t all that big, but it did have a couple of restaurants, and a bar. Taking my coven out on the town or at least the light version of it, was a lot of fun. Music, dancing, outdoor events, and so forth. It also exposed them to crowds of normal human people, to get them ready for when we entered the real world to find and end the threat to the future.

  Sela had clearly set up the town not just to support recovering witches, and to teach them technology and how to get along, but also an introduction to a social life which they’d never had before. At least, a social life outside the coven and twisting the sheets together and just talking. Which likely wouldn’t change, they might adopt some interests, but they wouldn’t be picking up the foibles I didn’t think.

  Not to harp on it, but I was fairly sure the pastime of twisting the sheets wasn’t just because it was the only form of entertainment and stress relief in that horrible world. In the supernatural world the two big downsides, accidental pregnancy and disease, just weren’t an issue with magic. Covens were also extremely close and dependent on each other, so that solved some of that emotional fallout as well. There were just no hang ups, because there were few if any consequences to pursuing it as a form of expression and relaxation activity. Enough on that.

  We also did a few outdoor things, boating, lawn sports, even threw around a frisbee. Telekinesis meant never having to chase the frisbee because of a bad throw, not even when it went over a cliff and out into the ocean. We also used the pool often, and I still hadn’t seen the coven ladies in bikinis, which was fine, because they all went naked. I imagined it would eventually happen, seeing them in bikini wear, likely the first time we went to a public beach. It was a lot of fun and introducing them to the modern living world made me see it through new eyes.

  Made me realize just how fucking spoiled we were in the age of my birth. Where the definition of struggling to survive in America was standing in line for food stamps and going to a grocery store, living homeless. Or even more ridiculous, having our feelings hurt and going on destructive rampages through cities because life wasn’t fair. A world where everything was at our fingertips.

  I also wondered and maybe even worried a little how that culture would affect the coven, or if it would at all. We were all incredibly close, those bonds stemming from both our need to survive and our giving natures within the coven. Without that hardship the coven was living in a world with relatively few dangers now, and a lot more options.

  I wasn’t worried I’d lose any of my mates, nothing like that, and the coven bond would keep us all connected, but there would be some drift as they all found and discovered hobbies and interests that drew us all in different directions. A good thing on the face of it, healthy even, but everything had consequences.

  Of course, we’d still be physically close together, other covens would be a danger to us alone. Despite the hardship of that world that I was heartily glad was gone, there had been some good things about it. It just wasn’t worth the cost to see it.

  As far as the actual studying, I was making progress. Learning about ten words a day meant my witch tongue vocabulary had grown by over two hundred words those weeks, and that I could cast a large number of spells that used those words. Interestingly enough, my whole study focus had changed on the new world, since we no longer needed those survival spells on a daily basis. Rue guided me in learning mostly defensive spells, protections, and those concealment spells and wards that we’d need now that we were back in a world that had no clue the supernatural existed.

  It was early after lunch when I tracked down Carline, she was lounging in the sun on the patio veranda, my connection to her over the pack bond leading me straight to her. She looked really good in a skin tight halter top that was little more than a sport’s bra, and a pair of short shorts. Her dark golden blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and her amber eyes were as lovely as ever.

  “Carline, I couldn’t help but notice at lunch your feeling a bit… annoyed.”

  Carline replied with cool sarcasm, “How observant of you.”

  I snorted, “I didn’t know you wanted to be spanked like Sela does?”

  She liked it during sex, like most women appreciated a measured swat, but not so much as a form of punishment or kinky foreplay I was thinking.

  Carline flushed, then looked up at me penitently, “Sorry, Glen. Something about this new world is really getting under my skin.”

  I nodded, “Yeah, I can feel it too, like a building pressure under the skin, which is irritating as hell. I don’t think it’s the new world at all, and I didn’t put it together until I realized today at lunch it’s just us feeling it.”

  Carline tilted her head curiously.

  I continued, “When’s the last time you shifted?”

  She blinked, “Not since we left our territory, actually.”

  I said, “I think that’s the problem, we’ve been neglecting that aspect of our natures on accident. You used to shift daily to patrol, but we can’t around the hill as it’s an exposure danger, and neither of us have felt the full measure of our pack bond for weeks either. We’ve been so focused on acclimating and the coven, all the witches down the hill recovering, and getting ready to take on Jacob Dellwood, that we forgot about our shifter needs. So, how about it, want to go for a run? The island is pretty large, and this mansion and the town, along with the docks and airfield, are only about a tenth of it.”

  She giggled.

  “What?”

  She said, “I think you’re right, just the decision to go on a run made it go away. But also because I’m wondering if your ten times bigger at twenty times more powerful. I was imagining a wolf the same size as one of those tour buses down in town.”

  I smirked, “That… I hope not. Maybe if I focus on a particular size, it will work? So only a part of my warlock magic will enhance the shifter side?”

  She said, “One way to find out, let’s go.”

  We got up, and headed outside, toward the woods on the side of the house. That part of the hill was undeveloped and heavily wooded, so it should be easy enough to shift there and slip into the wilderness of the island without anyone in town seeing us.

  Chapter Seven

  The idea wasn’t entirely off base. Magic followed the focus and will of the one with it. The instincts of the shifter were to be as powerful and large as possible, a predator stronger than other predators, so of course all of my potential would be realized if I didn’t think about it specifically.

  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized not only should it work, but that with focus I could change into a wolf even smaller than I had the first time, before I’d been an enhanced warlock. Say the size of a normal wolf or even a medium sized dog. That would be a good way to hide in plain sight, and if danger encroached I could always shift bigger, without returning to human form first.

  At least, that was my theory, and it was one I was about to test.

  I teased, “You know, if this works that means you could shift into a cat sized tiger.”

  She glared at me, the two of us deep within the trees, about halfway down the large hill. We couldn’t see the town, not even the mansion, and our noses told us there were no humans within a mile of us. It was another mild beautiful day, a few white clouds in the sky and with a tropical breeze coming off the ocean. Our clothes were already folded up neatly, and they were concealed beneath a deadfall and some leaves. With our noses, it’d be impossible for us to lose track of where we put them.

  I laughed, “It could be useful. I know I’m teasing, but on a serious side what if your goal was to hide your nature from humanity and to be stealthy? Not to be a threat or respond to one. You can’t walk around in a city naked or in nothing but a long t-shirt, but you could disappear fast after a fight by shrinking down to cat size.”

  She tilted her head consideringly, and I let her think about that while I focused.

  I focused on being about the size of a German Shepard, so anyone but a canine expert would see a dog and not a small wolf at all. I also made sure I had enough clearance from the surrounding trees, just in case I was wrong. If I did turn into a bus sized wolf I wouldn’t be crushed between tree trunks.

  Then I triggered the shift.

  My flesh flowed, and my bones reconfigured, as I became a wolf. My head was just a few feet above the ground, waist height on Carline, and I howled in victory.

  She giggled, “Your dominance magic is quite a bit bigger even in the smaller form, ten times bigger than it was. I suspected you really would be the size of a bus, it’s something we should test one day, just to be sure. Your probably ten times stronger and faster as well, despite the compact form.”

  She didn’t bother telling me all that was making her wet and aroused for me, since I could smell it quite clearly. For a shifter it’d be like declaring the sky was blue.

  Then she shifted, and I was surprised she was about the size of a bobcat, but of course she looked like a miniature tiger. Then she shifted again, to the size of a normal tiger without going to human form, which answered that question. Still not her true size, which was half again as large as the natural predator.

  “Nice,” I said over the pack bond.

  She replied, “You were so right, that feeling of being smothered is completely gone now. Let’s run.”

  She aimed her body away from any scents of humans, and then took off toward the wilderness side of the island. I was still fast, because even at half her size I kept up easily. It felt like my paws barely touched the earth, as my body bunched and extended, loping forward in leaps that ate up the ground, and it didn’t feel like I was putting any effort into it, while she was running full out.

  We stuck to the winding trails, taking us up and down the large wilderness covered hills. I also felt closer to Carline, the deep joint mind of our bond that was far too close of a bond for humans to tolerate, felt right with the pack instincts of being shifted. Nothing was private, instinct, thought, intention, it was all out there, and she was magnificent.

  Despite that close bond of thought and deed, I’d never felt freer as we enjoyed the run.

  I determined we’d never neglect this side of us again, it was too important. Not just for ourselves, but for the pack and our relationship.

  She thought, “I love you too, and I’m glad you figured this out. I’ve shifted every day to patrol since gaining my shifter magic, so I had no idea not shifting for so long would become a problem.”

  It was also the day of our first hunt. Shifters from her time, well there were no animals, not really, so all they did was guard against encroachment for help with survival. But when we caught the scent of deer she immediately veered in its direction, while I ran straight and picked up speed, to go around it so we could perform a pincer movement.

  There was a thrill in it, the joint hunt as a pack, and the deer didn’t have a chance as it picked up Carline’s scent and dodged to the side, right into my jaws. A quick head twist snapped its neck. I’ll admit eating was a little odd, I had to kind of ignore my human sensibilities, and wallow in the wolf’s instincts. It was also a bonding experience, a sharing of food after the hunt. As absurd as it will sound, I also felt prideful that the hunt had been a success and I’d managed to provide so well for my pack.

  After that we headed toward the scent of water to wash our muzzles, which is how we found the waterfall on the side of a nearby hill, or it might’ve been tall enough to be classified as a mountain, I wasn’t sure. We washed up, and then we both shifted and joined our bodies together, mutual thought, mutual need, mutual consent, all in the pack mind. We just needed each other.

  There was almost no conscious thought in it at all, and my human side was a little surprised to suddenly find myself balls deep in Carline’s gloriously athletic body with huge C cups, and her classically beautiful face and bright amber eyes looking up at me in pleasured awe, love, and a deep lustful need for our coupling.

  Naked, in the forest.

  The pleasures of her body drowned my senses, as I buried myself with a deep sense of urgency, her proud and firm C cups bouncing riotously as she arched her back and took me in eagerly. Her eyes telling me there was no where she’d rather be than underneath me being ravished, in that moment.

  The roaring of the waterfall, and the lack of other scents told us we were as private as we’d be in our own bedroom behind a closed door, but there was still a thrill to it. Fucking right there, on the grass next to the waterfall and small natural pool before it continued on as a creek. Taking her in the outdoors, under the bright blue sky.

  She said breathily, “I love our mates and wild mix in bed, but I also love this, being the focus of your singular attention. The way you’re looking at me right now is driving me crazy, as if you want to consume me and that I’m so very precious to you. Your scent a delicious mix of dominating possession and giving love.”

  “I love the way you’re looking at me, wildcat. Like I’m your world, and the pleasure we share is all you want or need in life. My mate.”

  Her submission at feeling owned, and so much more than that, making our rutting quite a bit deeper than just the for the joys of physical pleasure and in fulfilling our mutual lustful need. But it was also that, a wild joining to become one and experience the pleasures of our bodies moving to one purpose in a sensual dance as old as time.

  She worked me just as hard with wicked devotion, her sweet sound of feminine pleasure was a siren call to my libido and pleasure. She was mesmerizing, and I was lost in her eyes as I ravished her from above, and she wantonly arched, rolled her hips, and moved her body in a perfect counterpoint for both of our pleasures.

  Then I felt a yearning in her, or scented it, right before she screamed my name, “Glen!” and her body trembled, writhed, and flooded my middle as her body begged me for my seed with an eloquent pleasure that wouldn’t be denied.

  I grunted, “Carline!” as the pleasure hit me like a tornado touching ground, and I started to empty myself into her with sharp pulses of pleasure wracking my mind and spinning me about. The only anchor the sweet ecstasy and wicked joy in her beautiful amber eyes as we rode the heights of blissful release as one.

  It felt like it would go on forever, and it ended far too soon.

  I kissed her softly, feeling a tenderness rise in me that rivaled the lust we’d just spent.

  She moaned sweetly, and then looked up at me warmly as it broke.

  “So what was that about? A yearning so powerful it made you cum hard for me.”

  She blushed, “It took me by surprise too. I… want your baby, I realized in that moment I want to start a family, and the idea of you putting me with child threw me over.”

  “Oh, well we can certainly discuss it,” I said casually, but my scent reaction to her words and my powerfully twitching cock deep inside her told her a different story.

  She giggled.

  I asked, “I thought that would come later?”

  She nodded, “Yes, but circumstances have changed significantly. In the wasteland the priority is survival and growing strong as a coven first. Powerful with knowledge and magic, while defending ourselves. But this new world Sela stole us off to is a land of plenty, and we live in luxury. Yes, we have battles ahead of us, but all my instincts are telling me we’re ready for that step now, and that we would have no trouble raising kids in this world. In short, this world we’re in now, there’s no reason to wait another four or five decades.”

  “That… makes a lot of sense, instinctually, and I want it too, obviously. We should talk to the coven about it, if nothing else it may prompt them to consider it for themselves as well. They don’t have the benefit of our shifter instincts.”

  She smirked, “You just want all four of us knocked up.”

  I blinked innocently, but the surge of lust totally gave me away, so I just grinned and owned it, which was my usual go to move to the lack of privacy among extremely smart and perceptive mates, “Damn right I do, that would be so sexy.”