Free Lynx Northern Shifters 3 by Joely Skye

disoriented. As usual, he woke on his side, ribs rising and falling from the effort of shifting into lynx form. But this morning things were strange, new, when nothing had been strange and new for a long time. The smell of wolf alarmed him, given that he was stuck in the back of his own house. Generally he climbed trees to avoid these creatures; generally they didn’t come close to him, because he was a large lynx or perhaps because they knew he was more than a lynx.
He found himself snarling as he rose, then heard movement, the sound of feet approaching.
Familiar that sound, and memories of Trey swam to the forefront of his brain. There he stood, the large dark wolf with vibrant blue eyes. His ears pointed forward while his tail moved in a friendly fashion, so Jonah stopped snarling, although his ears still lay flat on his head. With that Trey gave a woof and trotted out of the room. Jonah followed to find him waiting at the door, the expression on his face saying, Ready?
Trey’s paw pressed down on the door’s handle, made long ago to ensure it was easy for Jonah’s lynx to leave and enter the house, and he opened the door. The wolf went through, waited while Jonah shut the door, and Trey was careful not to crowd the lynx, as if sensing that Jonah felt skittish.
That day and half the night, they spent outside. They covered a fair distance, more than Jonah’s usual as Trey had better stamina. Staring at the moon as a lynx with a wolf for company was something wholly new, and Jonah could barely believe he had this companion who knew both halves of him. When Trey threw back his head to howl in the moonlight, Jonah joined in, yowling. For some reason Trey found this amusing and he shouldered the lynx.
His chest rumbling in a purr, Jonah pushed back, enough that Trey tackled him, and they rolled in the deep snow, tumbling down the not-very-steep hill until Jonah had to give up the fight. As in human form, Trey was the stronger. In apology, perhaps for having gotten carried away, Trey licked Jonah’s ear and Jonah’s chest rumbled again.
The tension in Jonah had eased and he didn’t question it, didn’t try to remember why he’d felt so restless the day before. His human would know, but he slotted that away for later, when all those human thoughts returned. For now, he enjoyed what was—company and play and a clear, clean night of moonlight and stars.
Trey took off, and Jonah chased him, though he wasn’t allowed to catch him. The wolf was keen to show he was the stronger, and yet Jonah wasn’t bothered because he wasn’t aggressive, and sometimes he was affectionate. His lynx had rarely received affection in his life. Only his human.
When they returned home, late, they flopped down in the cold room on the rug, and finally Trey touched him again, as they huddled together for warmth.
It seemed rather amazing, and Jonah purred with happiness until he fell asleep.

Chapter Seven
    Jonah woke flat-out exhausted, became aware enough to push himself up from the rug, only to find Trey-the-man had lit a fire and was eating breakfast.
“Hey, you’re awake.” Trey’s mouth kicked up, that half-smile of his. “Go change.” He jerked his head towards the back room.
Jonah rose slowly and tentatively, arching his back, extending his claws. For some reason he liked appearing big and strong in front of Trey, not to intimidate but for show. He settled on his rump, not ready to shift quite yet. They hadn’t been together this way before, him as cat, Trey as human.
Trey grinned. “Very impressive. You’re a beautiful lynx, I can say that.”
Jonah stood stock-still for a moment, not sure what to make of such a statement. No one had ever said it before. His lynx was a burden his mother and brother had been forced to bear, and had often tried to avoid. When he was younger, Aaron had kicked him a couple times until he’d learned to stay out of sight.
Watching him carefully now, Trey said, “Come here then.”
The idea of going