by Wolf, Terra
"Stay back," he said, motioning with his hands, never taking his eyes off the wolf. "I know you're in there. Somewhere. I don't know what happened, but we'll figure it out together. But you have to take control, you have to make the wolf understand that you're the master, not it."
The wolf growled at him as he took a slow, solitary step toward her.
"You can do it, Natasha. I know you can."
Another growl.
Another step forward.
"I believe in you, I know you have the strength. Focus Natasha. Focus on the wolf, and take control. Make the wolf sit."
Growl.
Step.
"I know you can do this!" he said, putting some more strength into his own voice. "I'll be with you the whole way, right there beside you. But you have to do it."
Step.
Whine.
Bryce froze. The wolf whined again and for just a second the eyes lost some of their feralness.
"That's it. I know you can do it. Keep fighting it," he urged.
The wolf whined again.
Then, as if a light had been flicked off, the wolf sat up straight from its attack pose. Its entire body language changed as well. No longer did it look ready to attack. Now she was simply sitting there. As if to echo his thoughts, she cocked her head sideways, then rolled over onto her back, before standing up and padding over to him.
"I know," he whispered as she put her head into his hands. "Can you change back?"
She looked at him strangely, and he almost hit himself for being stupid. She would have no idea how to do that.
"Okay, you need to picture a door in your mind. When you're in wolf form, you need to open the door, and picture your human self going through it. It's crude, but it will work."
The wolf nodded. The motion was out of place on an animal, but it confirmed to him in case he had any doubts that Natasha truly was in control. The wolf closed its eyes as she began to concentrate.
Nothing happened.
"Try again," he urged when the eyes focused back on him.
She closed her eyes again, but nothing happened.
"One more time. Please. I know you can do this," he begged.
With a sigh, the wolf tried again.
Moments later, she opened her eyes again, still on all fours and covered in fur.
"Bryce." Jake's voice came from behind. "Use the bond."
"There isn't one," he replied in shock, only just now realizing that he couldn't feel her, couldn't sense her. "Why is there no bond? What's going on?" He was so out of his depth now, but he tried to remain calm. There was no sense in getting Natasha all worked up again.
"I'm not sure," Jake said, his voice deadly calm. "But I think it's time we had another chat with our resident senior."
***
The two wolves ran in tandem, their movements so precise that they seemed to flow over the landscape, instead of the all-out pace they were in fact setting.
"Natasha wins again!" Ethan crowed from his spot on the boulder that the two had just passed in a flash.
"Bryce my friend, you aren't getting any better at this," Holden remarked as the two wolves slowed to a halt, sides heaving as they gasped for air.
One of the wolves shook itself briefly, before shifting into human form. Bryce swore, before turning to look at the sleek, reddish-brown wolf at his side. "You're just loving this, aren't you?"
If a wolf could look innocent, then that was the look he was receiving from her.
"Come on, let's go grab some water, shall we?"
The two of them padded off toward the restaurant, where the other wolves were hanging out. The Silver Bullet was closed, but Jake was in the kitchen making food for everyone, and had just brought out several platters. The weather was unseasonably warm for the day, which made it perfect weather for the warm shifters.
He poured some water into a bowl and placed it down for Natasha, and then slumped down next to it. Although she couldn't shift back, Jake still felt as if he and Natasha had become closer than ever before in the two weeks since everything had gone down.
He knew that she was getting frustrated at being trapped in her wolf body, but at least her wolf was being kept contained for the time being.
"You've gotta stop making me look bad in front of the guys," he complained softly as the two of them curled up on a bare patch of dirt.
She whined and shook her head, throwing her body at him.
"Hey now, take it easy!" he joked, grabbing her in a headlock.
"You know, I can't wait until you can change back. There's so many things I want to be able to do with you."
The big wolf exhaled abruptly. It was Natasha's best attempt at a sigh. She then got up and began to wander off.
"I just want to be able to look at you when I tell you I love you," he said softly to himself.
Natasha froze.
Shit. He hadn't meant to say that within audible range of her, but he kept forgetting her hearing was just as sensitive as his now.
The wolf turned to face him, moving toward him on what looked like four rather unsteady legs. She gave him what he had come to realize was her quizzical look.
He sighed. "I do love you, you know. I'll continue to love you, until we find out how to make you change."
Reaching out, he went to grab her paw in his hand. As he did, Natasha closed her eyes. The moment hand met paw, something snapped in his mind. Suddenly he could feel her. She was there, his mate, her presence within her mind.
His hand clamped down on her paw immediately, not wanting to lose the connection. It was far from the first time they had made contact such as this, but it was the first time anything had come of it.
Reaching out, he touched her mind as best he could. The bond between mates was not telepathic, but there was a distinct connection beyond anything humans could ever experience. So now he used that as best he could, showing her that he was there for her, that it was possible for them to live together. Even if she never changed back, he would stay by her side. Bryce took those images and projected them as best he could to Natasha.
"I love you too."
Bryce's eyes flew open.
Crouched there in front of him was Natasha. She looked exhausted and was still wearing the same clothes from the night she had first shifted, but it was her, in the flesh and blood human form.
"Natasha, oh my God," he exclaimed.
That got the attention of the others, who came rushing over.
"I want a shower, a steak, a glass of wine, and a big comfortable bed please," she said, before passing out.
Epilogue
Natasha
"Hi," came the whispered voice as she blinked, opening her eyes. Her human eyes.
Damn that felt good.
"I'm still human," she said, part astonishment, part relief evident in her voice.
"Mostly," Bryce chuckled above her.
Holy hell it felt good to hear his voice with her own ears again.
"It's going to be a long, long time before I ever try switching to wolf again," she mumbled, still not quite awake.
"I don't think so," he said sternly.
She looked up at him, shocked by the tone of his voice.
"If you fall off a horse, what's the first thing you do if you aren't badly injured?" he asked.
Natasha sighed. "You get back on the damn horse."
"Absolutely. You may not like it, but the woman I know and love is smart enough to realize that's the way it has to be."
"Okay, okay. What a wake-up call," she said sarcastically, still not even having sat up.
"Ah, well," he said mischievously. "That I think I can help with."
"What do you...oh," she broke off as his hand slipped between her legs. "Okay," she said softly. "That works."
She reached up with her hands and brought his face down to hers rather roughly.
"Hey," he protested between kisses. "Be gentle. Don't forget, you have wolf strength now!"
There was a pounding at
the door.
Chase cried out when they didn't respond. "Breakfast is on, let's go you two. Up and at them!"
Bryce sighed. "One of these days I'm going to kill them all."
"No you aren't," she said, sliding from the bed, completely naked. "I'm starved, so let's eat. And," she said innocently, "if you help me get dressed now, you can undress me later."
Bryce leapt from the bed.
The End
Up Next: Jake, Ethan, the entire pack, and Thomas will return in Book 5: Coming 2016!
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Other Series by Amelia Jade
Bluff Bears
Rogue Bear (Book 1)
Outlaw Bear (Book 2)
Broken Bear (Book 3)
Junkyard Bear (Book 4)
Other Series by Terra Wolf
Atonement
Bear In Mind (Book 1)
Mine to Bear (Book 2)
Bear Down (Book 3)
About the Author
Amelia Jade
Amelia Jade loves to write the stories of tall, growly shifter men and the women who come to love them. Living out in the backcountry near the mountains, she keeps her own alpha male close by to keep the bears away and keep her warm. In her down time (which is rare), she loves to read science-fiction with a dash of fantasy. You can often find her curled up in front of the real wood-burning fireplace, her nose firmly buried in a book or her favorite ereader. The cold can't bother her there!
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About the Author - Terra Wolf
I love to write about all things billionaire and shifter. My books allow my imagination to run free and explore every possible idea I have. That makes writing less like a job and more like a fantasy come to life.
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Contents
Noble Wolf
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
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