by A Lonergan
Tracey swore on the other end. “How much longer do you have?”
Tears were streaming down my face now. Was it supposed to be this bad? “Maybe a few minutes.”
There was a knock on my door and my entire body seemed to pause at the sound. Could my wolf wait it out for a few more minutes? “Your music is kind of loud. Do you need anything?”
I managed to drag myself across the carpeted floor to the bathroom just as my mom opened my bedroom door. “Jade?” She knocked on the bathroom door and I managed to swallow down some of my panic.
I struggled to get to the bathtub as another crack went through me and my music was turned down. No, no, no, no. “Yes, I’m fine, just some nerves about the finals coming up.”
Somehow my voice didn’t shake but the rest of my body was. “Okay, well please let me know if I can bring you anything.”
“Uh-huh,” A shiver went down my body and nausea held me tightly in its grasp.
A few seconds later there was a knock on the door again. My body shook too hard for me to even answer. I threw up in the toilet as the door opened. Another pop sounded and I cried out. This was it, the moment my mother would find it all out. Except it wasn’t my mom in the doorway, it was Rafe. His face was blank but his arms hung at his sides.
“I called Tracey,” I choked out.
“Tracey went to the city for me to pick someone up from the airport. She didn’t think you would appreciate her parents coming here. We are a little short-staffed at the moment.”
I scowled at him as I threw up again. This time he detached himself from the wall and knelt by my side. A long second passed before he brushed my hair from my face and pulled it back to keep from falling in the toilet. As he ran his hand down my back in slow circles my wolf seemed to calm. The pops and cracks of my bones weren’t as loud and the nausea was gone.
“What do I do?” I whispered.
His hands wrapped around the tops of my arms while he helped pull me from the bathtub. My legs shook too hard for me to climb out on my own. He helped lift me out without any problems, like I weighed nothing. His eyes were bright yellow when I looked up at them. Something inside of me shrunk away in fear and I knew it was because of what happened at the party when he turned me… and when he had saved me just a week ago.
“You let your wolf control the change. The more anxiety or fear you have, the worst it will be,” he said as I stumbled but instead of hitting the ground, he swooped me up into his arms. My head lolled back as another pop ripped through me. I didn’t even have the strength to look down at myself to see what I was becoming.
“What about my parents?” I growled through gritted teeth.
Rafe shushed me. “Don’t worry about them. I can hear them if they head this way and can be out the window in seconds. I will keep you and them safe through this.”
Pain ripped through me and a howl tore from my lips. Rafe looked nervously at my bedroom door as he laid me on the bed. “I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever platonically laid a girl down.”
He chuckled and I took a swipe at him. He managed to evade my punch then he settled down in the desk chair beside my open window. I was pretty sure I kept it closed and locked. I didn’t even want to know how he had managed to get around that. Slowly, ever so slowly my body started to break, truly break. A whimper escaped my lips and my back bowed as everything happened all at once. The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been before but it was steadily getting worse. Until the last pop and crack sounded and everything was different.
In one blink everything was black and white. My nose twitched on my much longer snout and something thumped behind me on the bed. I turned my head and there it was… a massive fluffy tail on the bed behind me. I blinked at it all slowly. Everything made sense but didn’t. I could hear my parents talking downstairs but it was like there was a disconnect that my wolf couldn’t put together. She pressed our ears to our head and let out a little whine. Why couldn’t we understand what my parents were saying?
“Being a wolf will take some time to get used to.” Rafe stood up from the chair in the corner and approached us. He held his hands up in surrender but my wolf didn’t seem threatened by him.
My Alpha. She whispered in my mind. It was almost a purr of approval.
I scoffed. Definitely not.
There was a crash downstairs and my wolf jumped from the bed. The scent in the air was wrong. Something was wrong. Rafe held his hands up again and shook his head. “I will go check everything out.”
I shook my massive head. He would get caught. He couldn’t get caught here.
The corners of his lips pulled up into an almost smile. “I will be careful.”
Before I knew what was happening, Rafe was out the window, there was a snarl from somewhere in the house and my parents were shouting. Their voices rose up through the floor in panic. My breathing became rapid as I paced around the room. How would I change back? Could I change back? What if they came up here while I was this massive animal? I got down on all fours and scooted my wolfish form under the bed then turned around to watch the door. My white paws jutted out in front of me and I stared at them in awe. This was a part of me. I could hardly believe it.
Chapter 38
Jade Rivers
The panicked voices rose louder and then there were sirens in the distance. The wrong scent in the air only grew worse. Then Rafe was swinging his body back through my window in a quick arch and was on the floor in front of me.
“Shift,” he commanded. I let out a whine.
I shook my head once.
“I know I am not your Alpha, Jade but you have to shift right now or there are going to be lots of questions about this massive animal that has taken your place.” He stood up, peered over the side of the bed, and then chuckled. “You’re literally tenting the center of your mattress right now. Jade, it will be painful but there was a break-in and your parents need you right now.”
The words he spoke did it for me. I instantly felt my wolf shrink back and even though there was pain, it wasn’t nearly as much as before. A shiver raced down my spine as my limbs became shorter and smaller. The bed above me groaned as my wolfish body disappeared. I laid my head on my arms and took a deep breath. Rafe held out a scrap of silk material and I stared at it in bewilderment before I realized the shower was on. I could barely hear it over the blood roaring in my ears. I took the scrap of fabric, realizing it was my robe and I was lying underneath the bed naked.
I had forgotten that part. My cheeks flamed as he held his hand out to me but kept his eyes diverted. I hesitantly put my hand in his much larger one. In one jerk he yanked me out from under my bed, then shoved me into the bathroom. I leaned my forehead against the door as the sirens got closer to the house. Then his words came back to me and I jerked the door back open.
Rafe had disappeared again and my window was closed. I wrapped the pink robe around myself and rushed out of my bedroom as quickly as I could. I took the stairs two at a time as my heart pounded out of my chest. There was a knock at the door before I could make it to my parents. My mom was holding a bag of frozen vegetables to her face and my father was opening the door. I pulled the robe around myself more securely. My knees buckled with every step. My mom erupted into tears when she saw me. The bag of vegetables dropped from her hands and there was a black bruise forming around her right eye.
I frowned and rushed to her side. My hands hovered right over her face like there was something I could do about it. “What happened? I heard a crash just as I was about to get in the shower.”
She laughed and shrugged her shoulders like she wasn’t fragile. “An accident I think. Someone threw a ball through the kitchen window and it hit me while I was doing the dishes.” The smell of wrongness was still heavy in the air. I inhaled deeply to try to catch the scent again, to try to distinguish what I was smelling. But it was no use.
“Someone came into our yard and threw a baseball through the window?” I blinked slowly as I lo
oked toward dad at the front door. He was leading the policeman through the house and into the kitchen.
“Yes, officer, someone was in the yard when they threw the ball. It wasn’t a fly ball that went over the fence. We don’t have neighbors that even have younger children.” My father’s voice was filled with fury.
The policeman nodded his balding head as he surveyed the damage. “What about the cameras posted outside your home?”
My dad scratched his head, confused. “I looked at them but there was no one on them. I don’t understand unless there was a blink where it didn’t pick anything up.”
The cop nodded his head before he picked the ball up with gloved hands. He put it into a baggy and then started his report on the clipboard that had been tucked under his arm. My mom pressed her hand to the small of my back and led me away from the broken glass in the kitchen. It was then that I realized I still wasn’t dressed. I brushed my mother’s light hair away from her face and took a deep breath.
“That looks nasty, please be careful.” You’re too fragile. My mom shrugged again and I felt a desperation rising within me. “Are you two still going to leave tomorrow?”
The front door closed and my father approached us in the spacious living room. “Yes, the police officer is checking around back but he doesn’t believe there was ill intent. We can’t change our flight but I’ll be having someone come out tomorrow to check the cameras first thing in the morning.”
I nodded my head and my mom kissed my hairline. “Go take that shower,” She wrinkled her nose. “You smell like sweat and,” She paused as she took another sniff at me. “Wet dog.”
I raised my eyebrows and laughed. “That’s gross, you’re right, I should get to the shower.”
My legs were slower going up the stairs as the adrenaline faded from my system. My muscles protested on the last step and I felt myself tilt sideways with exhaustion but before I could topple down the stairs Rafe was there wrapping his fingers around mine. He pulled me forward and into my room faster than I could blink. My door clicked closed behind us and my legs gave out. Every single muscle in my body ached. It felt like it was bone-deep. Rafe had me up in his arms before I could hit the ground.
“A forced shift isn’t easy on the body and then you rushed down the stairs like that.”
I didn’t care about what he was explaining. I would go over that later. “Did you see what happened?” My voice sounded tired and I didn’t know how I was going to be able to shower feeling like this.
Rafe’s eyes flashed yellow. “I don’t know what happened out there, but I will be getting that ball from the police station in the morning.”
I rolled my eyes as he once again brought me to the bathroom and then set me down in the tub. He turned the water on and checked the temperature on the back of his hand before he walked out. All I could do was sit there and stare as the water poured in around me and my robed body. Stupefied. That’s what he had done to me. Gone was the behemoth of a man that I was used to. Was I getting to experience the real Rafe? I leaned my head back in the tub and didn’t worry about the robe floating around in the water. I could hardly move my legs or arms, the last thing I was worried about was the wet garment. I would figure it out when the time came for me to get out of the water. I leaned forward, with all of my strength, to turn the water off then practically fell backwards in exhaustion.
Chapter 39
Rafe Crimson
The rogue wolves were closing in. Whatever they had planned, they would start to take it out on the most fragile part of the pack. The one woman that had no idea she was putting herself in danger. She smelled like the Crimson Pack so they had gone after her first. I leaned against her window as the water shut off and went over my options.
I would have to stay close in order to protect her house through the night but I couldn’t be in the woods. My wolf was powerful but not that much. I could only take on so much alone. I knew how to pick and choose my battles but I also knew that after a forced shift, Jade wouldn’t be able to do much for herself. There was a loud splash in the bathroom before I heard Jade curse. I had been so lost in thought I hadn’t heard her try to get out of the tub.
I didn’t bother with knocking as I barged into the bathroom. Jade was laying face first on the tiled floor and her hair was a wet mess stuck to her face. The pink robe I had given her was clinging to her body in a way I couldn’t even acknowledge at the moment. I forced my eyes away from her form and pulled a towel from the cabinet.
Before I could change my mind I wrapped the towel around her shoulders and pulled her from the floor. My lips tipped up in amusement. “How many times am I going to save your sorry ass?”
Jade squeezed her eyes shut and shook her wet hair against me. “You have a lot to make up for.”
“Don’t forget, I also gave you a lot too.” Her eyes flashed yellow and it took all the self-control I had to gently place her back on her bed then rifle through her drawers for her pajamas.
She let out a squeak and I felt awful. She didn’t deserve a forced shift and her wolf was probably freaking out right now. I grabbed the first things I saw and tossed them her way.
Chapter 40
Jade Rivers
Rafe Crimson continued to surprise me again and again. He kept his back turned away from me while I very slowly dragged my pajamas up my damp body and then waited until I told him I was decent. The panty thief I had known wasn’t present right now and it confused my foggy brain. When I was finished I didn’t have the strength or the will power to even move. My eyes started to slide shut and my body ached all over. I had zero fight left in me when the bed dipped beneath Rafe’s weight and he pulled the blankets over my body. I peeked up at him from beneath my lashes and there was a frown on his face. I wanted so desperately to tell him that he didn’t have to be here but the fight was gone. I had no will to even care if he didn’t want to be here and was doing this for Tracey’s sake.
A sigh escaped me as Rafe leaned back on the pillow beside mine. My shoulders relaxed and then as my consciousness was leaving me, I could have sworn he twirled a piece of my hair around his finger.
The night before slammed into me as I jerked awake to an empty bed. I had actually shifted, which was a great surprise, but Rafe had stayed the night and I had no idea when he had left. Then there was the part about the run-in with my parents and I still wasn’t sure if it was something I needed to be concerned about or not.
I dressed quickly and rushed down the stairs to find a group of strangers in my kitchen. Once again, the smell was off. It was wrong but I couldn’t place why. I pulled the fridge open and wrapped my fingers around a bottle of water. I didn’t bother with opening it as I listened to the conversation surrounding the window that had been broken the previous night.
The man beside the sink promised my father it would only take a few minutes to replace but his words stunk. They pulled at a memory from the preschooler’s class. We could taste lies. But why was this man lying to my father?
I leaned against the fridge and watched the men milling in and out of the house as the main man assured my father that the job would be paid for by insurance and they had already gotten in touch with them. My father didn’t look too relieved. His shoulders were straight and rigid. He wasn’t going to leave until they were done with the job. The man at the sink looked at me and for a brief moment, his eyes flashed yellow and I knew. He was a wolf and that was the smell from the night before. I kept my face neutral as I leaned forward and kissed my father’s cheek.
“I’m gonna go for a run,” I rubbed my hand down his back and then walked away from the group of wolves that didn’t belong in my house. Why they were there, I didn’t know. But I needed to get to Rafe as soon as possible. I was thankful I had dressed in leggings and a loose shirt. I made a beeline for the woods and then let my body do the rest. I made it halfway through the woods when another body slammed into mine.
“Where you going little wolf? Run to visit grandma’s house?” A
man’s voice sneered into my ear. He smelled like Tabasco and wolfsbane. I put my hands on my knees and panted hard.
“Actually I am, Granny has been missing me lately.” A smile stretched across my face as the man circled me. He was a decent enough looking guy. He had a heavy build with a thick mop of brown hair on his head. His eyes flashed yellow. I didn’t recognize this man from inside the kitchen but that didn’t mean they weren’t working together. My wolf wanted to come to the surface so badly to do the fighting for me but my body was too weak. Fur rippled along my arms but that was all she could do. The forced shift, I imagined, had drained me more than a regular shift would have but being a wolf with law enforcement in the house wouldn’t have been a good thing.
“Where’s your mate at? Did he run off to go play somewhere else?” I couldn’t tell if the man was taunting me or not. His voice was cold and I knew he was going to attack at any moment. I couldn’t let him catch me off guard.
I rolled my eyes as we circled each other. “What do you want?”
“There are many things that I want, but unfortunately you can’t give me those things but maybe you can give me something else.”
Nausea rolled through my stomach and the soreness in my body made it hard to stand but I had to get to the Pack. There was a group of werewolves in my kitchen and I had left my dad alone. I backed into a tree and almost threw up. I had left them alone with werewolves. What had I been thinking? My breath was coming out in short pants and I knew I had to get back home. That was more important than this stupid mission I had gone out on. But before I could think about slipping away to get back to my parents, a blur flashed before my eyes and the man in front of me was thrown through the air.
