Nate hopped up in an instant and flew at Alex and I. Alex pushed me behind his back and both boys got into each others faces, snarling viciously. The typical, submissive Nate was gone, and in his place was a man with a shorter temper and far more stubborn streak.

"Let her go" Nate growled, his tone different than Alex's because of his bear physique. I had stood in shock for long enough. I quickly spun around Alex and squeezed myself between both boys. Both of them attempted to push me out of the way, but I placed the palms of my hands on their chests and pushed, not just with my strength, but with my telekinesis. They each slid backwards a good ten feet. I took that time to put two force fields around their bodies.

Nate went to charge Alex again, but when he hit the mental barrier with a thud, he thought twice about trying again. He began to calm down and control himself. Alex on the other hand...

"Terri! Let me out" he raged, banging on the barrier. He was barring his canines and flexing his muscles as he tried to fight through the barrier.

"No! We are not going to fight any longer! I can't handle anymore craziness today! Alex, I don't know what your problem is, but back off!" I screamed. I felt my heart rate quicken and my hands began to grow warm.

"You should not be so frustrated with him, he only wants to care for you. He is your mate"

"You can shut up too!" I yelled at myself.

"Terri, calm down" Nate's strong voice said with conviction. I immediately felt myself become a little more grounded. I turned towards Nate, who now looked completely serene.

'You're right. I'm calming" I sighed.

"Good girl" he replied with a soft smile.

"Don't f*cking talk to her like that! Or smile at her like that! Don't even look at her!" Alex yelled in anger from his invisible prison.

"Quit! You don't own me! What are you even doing here!?" I yelled again, yet I managed to control my anger better this time.

As if he finally realized I was here, Alex looked at me and let some of his anger simmer down.

"I-I felt your fear... so I came" he said gruffly, but I could sense the embarrassment in the statement. My heart warmed a little towards him and I fought the urge to smile.

"Do you see? You are made-"

"Yeah yeah, I know" I murmured.

"Who are you talking to?!" Alex snapped rather angrily.

"The crazy cat lady in my head!"

"Disrespectfuld little-"

But before she could finish her tirade, I shot walls up in my head to block her out. Temporarily. They would not last long against her fury, I'm sure.

"Alpha, I am safe and fine, as you can see. There was a misunderstanding between Nate and I when he shifted, but everything is good now" I said, trying to be civil so he didn't get angry again.

"Bull sh*t! I can't tell if you're injured or not, you haven't let me check. And if he hurt a single hair on your head, he's dead" he growled the last part to Nate.

So much for keeping him calm.

"I am sick and tired of your anger" I told Alpha Alex, letting all my exasperation and defeat fill my voice. "I'm too tired to put up with you" I continued. Alpha Alex's face fell as he realized how upset I was.

"I-" he began, but I interrupted him.

"No, be quiet. Nate and I have...things... to discuss. If you ever get a hold on your temper, you can come and find me, but until then, stay away" I said as I rubbed my temples. I walked to Nate and gestured for him to follow me to his house. I let Nate change clothes then we left his house. Alpha Alex stared at me with a furrowed brow as we walked past him.

"Don't follow us. The barrier will fall... eventually" I sighed and continued to walk away with Nate at my side.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what-" Nate began to apologize for the hundredth time. We now sat in my room on my bed. Nate was still shaken up from the incident so I had put him in my room while I had gone downstairs to make hot chocolate. Of course, my grandparents had a million questions for me and I explained to them how I had shifted. I felt bad for them because I cut our conversation short as I wanted to get back to Nate, but I had promised them we would talk later.

Now that I was back in my room with Nate, my excitement was bubbling over and I could not contain it any longer.

"Shhhh! Nate, you're a bear! That is so amazing! And you're huge, the size of a house!" I exclaimed.

"A house that almost killed you..." he mumbled, looking pitiful.

"Oh hush, I can handle myself just fine" I said, sounding like a mother.

"I'm not so sure about that" my panther snidely commented.

"Seriously? I had it all under control. I wasn't going to fight him, he's my friend and that would have only reinforced his instinct that I was trying to kill him" I said.

"Ummm..." Nate started in confusion, "you're talking to your... voice... right?"

"Yes, sorry Nate I'm not good at conversing with two people at once. Although the conversation she and I are about to have definitely pertains to you" I said.

"Yeah, I understand now. My bear... feels really bad. He's very violent but he feels extreme regret that he... 'Betrayed th' yoong girl's troost an' broke mah pledge ay protection' or something like that. His accent is confusing, but he keeps telling me we will have to do 'Penance fur uir wrang doings by fastin' an' lashes.' But what conversation are you about to have?" My mouth had fallen open as Nate continued to switch to a very rough but authentic Scottish accent as he spoke.

"Uh- wha-... Does he really talk like that?" I asked, shocked by this information.

Nate dawned the most miserable face possible and nodded yes.

"Well, my panther has an accent as well, but I can understand her" I hesitated, trying to recall what we were talking about, "oh, yeah, my panther said that you were my protector and that you shouldn't be hurting me and now she has to explain herself" I said finishing with a chastising tone.

"I do not have to explain anything, child. I will, however, be kind and explain to you what he is. Apparently his Bear is having a hard time explaining the situation to him" she hesitated and I tried to wait patiently but she was taking too long.

"Ok... explain" I ordered impatiently.

"Are you planning on repeating everything I say or do you want to open up the pack mind-link with him so he can hear me?" She asked condescendingly.

"Mean..." I mumbled I then looked up to address a very confused Nate, "I'm going to open up my mind-link between you and I so she can explain to both us at the same time" I explained. Nate nodded and I closed my eyes, imagining my brain once again. I could feel all the people in the pack outside of my walls, but I only wanted to create an open link with Nate. I searched the perimeter until I found him and I established a two way path of communication between us.

"Hello Nathaniel" my panther greeted Nate. He jumped a little but quickly adjusted.

"Hello" he said out loud.

"Goodness, you children do not know how to converse silently do you?" My panther chastised.

"No, we like to speak out loud, get over it. And stop saying that I am a child!" I grumbled.

"That reaction is proof that you are. But I will continues regardless. Nathaniel is a descendent of a great species of shifter from the Scottish Highlands. Known for their violent natures and stubborn ways, they were regarded as the most ruthless killers imaginable. The only thing that calmed these raging animals was their strong sense of family. They loved and cherished the families they had created and spent most of their life protecting said members. To harm a Bear Shifter's family was to ask for certain death. Soon, no one would even have the gall to pick a fight with the Bear Clan. In order to fight, the Bears had to align themselves with others as protectors. This was the ultimate downfall of the Bears. Since no one would fight them one on one, the bears sought out other warring clans to join with. The Bears found one of the largest wars going on in the world, a battle between Mammal shifters and Serpent Shifters" she attempted to continue, but I cut her off.

"When was this huge war? And Serpent Shifters?"

"Yes" she replied with an exasperated sigh, "Serpent Shifters, those that shift into large snakes, lizards, and such. They do not exist any longer, they were wiped out in that war. And this war was eons before any regular humans donned the earth. I was the leader of my faction of warriors and I died valiantly, which is why I am now permitted rebirth as a spirit for shifters like yourselves. I was an original shifter, which is why it is important for you to listen to my advice!" her voice became sharp and angry at the end but I was too distracted at the end.

"You died?" I asked in a sad, innocent voice.

"Of course I did you dumb child! how else could I be reincarnated? Now, be quiet so I may continue. As I said, the Bear clan found this war and felt the need to join in to satisfy their bloodthirsty needs. However there was a discrepancy among the clan. The loyal, moral Bears wanted to fight with the mammal shifters, naturally, but the other half of the Bears who enjoyed the thrill of victory saw that the Serpents were winning and decided that they wanted to support them instead. The Bear clan fought over the issue but finally decided to split. The half that joined the mammals was led by revolutionary leader Ridderock Buchannan. The betrayers were led by Finnigan O'Shallesey. The problem that arose, unforeseen by the Bears, was that no one wanted to fight Bears. So naturally, when strategizing, the leaders made the Buchannan clan fight the O'Shallesey clan in every skirmish. Bears are extremely hard to kill, more so than any other shifter, and the only shifter strong enough to fight the Bears is another clan of Bears. The Buchannan Clan and the O'Shallesey Clan fought repeatedly and eventually the Buchannan Clan wiped out most of the O'Shallesey Clan. It is said that whatever O'Shallesey bears were left after the Mammal Shifters won were killed by the remaining Serpent Shifters out of spite. That is why I know that Nate is a descendent of the Buchannan clan. That and he is a brown bear. All of the O'Shallesey Bears had a spell cast on them by African Shamans when they betrayed the mammals that made them all black bears so that they would not be confused during battle. I also have a feeling that the spirit within Nate is none other than Ridderock himself. Am I right?" she asked and I realized she was asking Nate's Bear himself.

"I don't-" Nate began, but he was cut off by a gruff, Scottish accent.

"Guid job kitty moggie. 'at was a braw wee story time. Rightly accurate.

Ye forgot th' part whaur Ah died valiantly killin' aw th' traitur bears at th' lest battle thocht."

"Your accent is still atrocious Ridderock" my panther sighed.

"Wait... if he has a name, why don't you have a name? And why have the wolves never spoken of this war?" I asked quickly.

"I have a name... I just choose not to share it. All that matters is I am now part of you. And the Wolf Shifters were not even a species yet when this war occurred. They have no idea of its existence"

"What is your name?" I asked, ignoring her statement.

"I am not going to reveal it"

"I would, she is very stubborn" Nate interjected into our conversation.

"Lass, th' kitties nam is Memerat. Spunky devil when she was alife. Real spitfire. Much loch yerself Ah micht add."

"Ridderock..." my panther growled.

"Memerat? That's pretty. Ok Mem, what where you saying about protector?"

"Do not call me by my name. And he, Ridderock, swore to me that he would never let anything happen to me. And then I died. He eternally swore to protect me as his soul was reincarnated. I have done a good job so far of avoiding him, which is why I did not realize what Nate was before. I did not expect to see him again" Memerat said spitefully.

"Why would he swear to protect you then punish himself for eternity?" I asked, completely confused.

"We were... mates of a sense. There was no bond and the relationship was... short lived... but Ridderock swore I would live and we would be together so that made me his family. But then I died, which is what set off his vengeance streak"

"What?!" I squeaked.

"Uhhh" Nate said with a blush.

"Ye make it soond loch thaur was nae passion. Ah loov'd ye an' ye loov'd me. but ye went an' died oan me" Ridderock said with a chuckle.

"I did not 'die' on you. I was killed in battle. But this is all irrelevant. It's obvious now that we would have never been well together since our charges now have Mates of their own" Memerat explained.

"Why do we have different...mates... then?" I asked hesitantly, looking at Nate with sad eyes.

"I have explained this to you. Alpha Alex is the perfect partner for you. And Nate has a perfect partner. Our mates aren't just perfect for the animal soul within us, but also for the human body we are in. Ridderock may have been good for me but Nate may not be what you need. Alpha Alex needs you. Most certainly"

"Oh... let's not talk about Alpha Alex right now. Where is Nate's mate?" I mumbled.

"Aroond" Ridderock stated off-handedly.

"Ridderock, you should be helping Nate, not hindering him. And while Nate has a mate, he will always be tied to you, thanks to his Bear. But as a protector. A brother. That is why he calms you and helps you control your powers" Memerat continued to explain.

"I don't mind that" Nate added.

I looked at him aghast.

"I do. It shouldn't be your job to babysit me. I can take care of myself. you should protect yourself" I said.

"I will, but honestly, it wouldn't be any different than what we have been doing. I take care of you" he responded.

"I-" I began

"He is right. Listen to him. You may remain... friends. But you need to focus on your mate"

"Will you quit talking about him. I don't want to hear it. In fact..." I closed my eyes and completely severed the line between Nate and I. I then blocked Memerat again.

"Much better" I sighed.

"Really? I'm glad you think so, I feel like my head is about to explode" Nate sighed and fell backward onto my bed.

Thank you for reading!! Vote and Comment Please! A picture of Jason and Andrews mother on the side!