CHAPTER 4

Wave music? Fucking Wave Music? Valaria's first thoughts when she woke from what felt like a month long sleep, she opened her eyes to the dimly lit room, there were candles everywhere and a dark figure slumped in an armchair in the far corner, she could smell rosemary, most likely from the candles, she could smell something else too, mmmm Dominic, she only met him for a few minutes but his scent had left a lasting impression on her and her panther who by the way was very happy to be swimming in his scent right now.

“Dominic?” she managed weakly.

The dark figure stirred and looked towards her, all she could see from the shadows was the tell tell golden eyes of that man, that sweet wolf man that she couldn't stop thinking about.

“I'm here.” He said gently as he rose from the chair and walked towards her bed,

“You've been out for a few days, you were both exhausted.”

Valaria's eyes grew wide as she suddenly remembered how she got here, “Oh god, The King!” she exclaimed trying desperately to get up from the bed, Dominic eased her back and replied.

“It's Okay, we're on lock down, right now we're safe.”

She shook her head and said, “No, you really aren't!”

As Dominic realised the fear in her dull grey eyes they were interrupted by a knock at the door, without waiting for permission Amber entered, food trays in hand.

“Oh you're awake,” she said near a whisper but still with such excitement in her voice,

“Both of you are awake.”

She placed the trays at the foot of the bed and left without another word, Valaria never once took her eyes off of Dominic and he never took his eyes off of her, each of them felt a pull like magnets to a pole, neither of them wanted to fight it, even if they did it would be useless, what was now happening was beyond anyone's control, and in an instant they both realised just what it was, in unison they both said, with confusion in their voices

“Soul Mate.”

Soul mates are exactly what they sound like, they are the ones destined to be together, but it has never crossed the species border before, other species have matted obviously but to find your Soulmate in another species Did NOT Happen, EVER!

“How?” Dominic asked with such a bemused look on his face it almost made him unattractive.

“I... I don't know, it isn't possible...”

Before she could continue Dominic interrupted, “Well clearly it is, this isn't just sexual attraction, this is our souls, our animal spirits destined to be together, they, we were made for each other.”

Each word echoed in his own head, he knew that soon the bond would begin to take hold, it wouldn't be complete until they mated but the emotional connection and the primal need to be together starts almost immediately, as he shook his head trying to understand his own words Valaria cupped his head in her hands and drew him close, resting her forehead against his, a few moments passed and their breathing synced each breath they took was perfectly in time with the others, She placed a soft kiss on his lips, such a soft embrace, he pulled back with a soft smile,

“This is going to take some getting used to.”

He could already feel her emotions as the bond began to take hold, at first it’s like an empathic feeling but soon they would have a strong psychic connection, they would literally be able to talk to each other without words.

Valaria stood from the bed her naked body basking in the candlelight,

“My Panther needs a run to heal, and we both need space to come to terms with this,”

Dominic agreed, but he wanted to taste her, all of her, he wanted to stick his tongue in her mouth and his cock in her pussy, he wanted to bite her and mark her as his, and his wolf wanted the same, however he knew she was right, this was something that they needed to accept but they wouldn't be able to think clearly in the same room, not until they consummate that is.

Valaria walked through the living quarters hallway still baffled by the recent discovery, she and her Panther needed out, she needed to run but everywhere she turned she was met with concrete, her Panther was growing restless, not only was she pulled away from her soul mate but now she couldn't escape this maze, she turned once more and there it was, a sparkle of hope, at the end of the hallway was an open door, visible through this door was a saviour in green fatigues cleaning what looked like a sniper rifle, Valaria would recognise that dirty blonde hair and perky butt anywhere,

“Stacy!” she didn't mean to shout, she was just so relieved to find anyone that could help her get out of the building.

Stacy looked up from her Modified Barrett 50 Cal. To see a very naked Valaria running towards her, she didn't know whether to be happy she was awake or raise her gun, she chose the former,

“Val! You're awake.”

Valaria entered the room and wrapped her arms around Stacy,

“Gods I'm happy to see you, I need to run, how the hell do I get out of here?”

“Run? Mind if I join? Kinda going nuts being on lock down.”

Valaria smiled and said, “If you can get me to the surface, you can ride on my back.”

Stacy actually entertained the idea for a moment but resigned herself to just running with the She-panther.

Once the two were out in the woodland Stacy began to strip and pile her clothes next to a picnic bench, Valaria watched her shift, 'so beautiful' a graceful pure white wolf with the most piercing blue eyes. Valaria then calmed herself and began to shift, a Panther shift was different to that of a wolf, no cracking bones and tearing flesh to reveal fur, it was more phantasmal, she knelt beside Stacy who at this point was sitting, with no pain or movement, pure black fur began to sprout all over her body, but it didn't stay black it began to turn grey with black markings Valaria was in complete shock a panther never changed their colouring, as she continued her shift she landed a paw next to Stacy and realised she was bigger than before, she was as big as the wolf beside her, twice her normal size.

'What the fuck?'

Valaria went into a panic, as did her panther, to Stacy it looked as though Valaria was trying to chase her own tail when I fact she was trying to look at herself, Panthers are usually around the size of a normal everyday panther, unlike their wolf counterparts who are nearly double the size of the average grey wolf, Valaria thought it must be because of the Soul Mate bond, something unseen was happening and it had changed her on a cellular level.

She took off running, stopping every so often to check Stacy was keeping up, the pair ran together for miles and played by the river when taking a drink, any onlookers would think they were going mad seeing a white wolf and a grey panther playing like pack mates, but they were pack mates, in fact they were family, starting to link on a psychic level, Valaria, thanks to the bond with Dominic which was growing stronger and attaching her to the pack could sense Stacy's emotions, even feel her talking to her in her head, it was such a bizarre experience she almost lost her footing a few times, Stacy had released that Valaria must be Dominic’s Soul Mate, why else would she have a bond?

Valaria would get control of her new body and her new gifts, in time, hopefully before she needs to use them.