I screamed, trying to hold my shape, but I couldn’t.
Fur rippled along my skin as my own wolf started to take over. My knees popped.
Oh God. No. Not yet. I wasn’t ready.
I squeezed my eyes shut as another ripple of pain moved through my muscles as they reformed.
Dastien’s wolf nose touched the back of my neck, urging me to keep going.
“No. I can’t.” My voice was gravelly. I fought against my wolf. Terror clawed along my spine. I wasn’t ready for this. I had two more days before I had to do this.
I felt a strong alpha energy closing in fast. The rest of the wolves must’ve felt it, too because they started howling.
It was too much. Too loud. I couldn’t fight it all.
“Move out of the way,” Donovan said.
Oh God. He was the Alpha I was feeling. He’d force my change. I couldn’t let him, but I was shaking from pain and the need to go furry.
“Shift!” The command hit me with a force so strong, it took my breath away.
The wolves howled as one.
I groaned, but there was no stopping it. My strength was waning. “No. Please.” My muscles fought against me, but I was holding off the change. I screamed, stuck between forms.
“You’re a damned stubborn one.” Donovan stood above me. His blue eyes bright. “You saved my mate, and I’ll not have you hurting like this. You listen to my command and you follow it. Do you understand?”
“No. I can’t,” my voice was low and scratchy.
“You will.” He put his hand on my forehead. “Shift now, Teresa Elizabeth McCaide.”
So much power. So much force. I couldn’t fight it anymore.
It was as if a dam inside me broke. My form was fluid. One second I was in pain, on the ground, struggling to maintain my sanity as my clothes were shredding. The next I was on my side and everything was calm. For the first time since I woke up at St. Ailbe’s, I felt completely at peace.
My vision changed. It wasn’t in black and white, but it was muted. And my sense of smell. If I’d thought I could smell everything before, I could smell more now. Every little thing. The grass. The dirt. The bugs crawling between the two. I jumped up to my feet. All four of them. Weird. I stumbled for a second. And then turned to find Meredith.
She was a beautiful white wolf. She sat with Donovan’s arms around her. “Why didn’t you tell me that this was the reason you refused me? We could’ve fixed this together. It didn’t have to be a no,” Donovan said to her. “God. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified. Never scare me like that again. Never. You got me?”
Meredith whimpered, and I laughed. It came out like a chuffing sound.
I looked around the circle. The wolves were there. Watching. I howled, and they answered in unison.
The pack bond wove through each of them. Some weaker than others. Some burning bright.
Dastien howled twice, and the wolves scattered into the woods. Then he rubbed his side against mine and took off running.
Where the hell was he going?
I took off. Chasing him. I stumbled and tripped a bit before figuring out where my new shape was in space. My claws dug into the dirt as I moved.
I got caught up in the new sensations of the world around me. It took me a bit to realize I’d totally lost Dastien.
What the hell? Where did he go?
I sat down and whined. This was bullshit.
He crashed through the bushes at me, and I rolled. He motioned toward the ground with his nose, then took off.