He went to Aria’s side, trying to see if she’d been hurt. He trusted his wolf’s nose better than any of his human senses. He could smell fear and determination—but not, thankfully, blood.
She sank down to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close like he was a pet dog.
“I thought you were going to be facing them down completely unprepared.” Her voice was teary and trembling. “I thought I had to help you—and I shot you!”
Colby pressed his head against her, trying to reassure her.
This is undignified, his wolf said, even as its tail was wagging. We’re not a dog.
If she needs a cuddly dog right now, Colby said, you’re a cuddly dog.
He stayed in the circle of her arms until she let him go. She sat back on her heels, wiping at her eyes.
“I’m sorry. You can—you can change back, right?”
Cuddly dog time was over. US Marshal time had arrived.
Colby let himself fall back into his human body.
He immediately regretted it. His wolf had been on an adrenaline high from the fight, and he’d been single-mindedly concentrating on protecting Aria and her family. Now everything he’d been able to ignore in his wolf form flared up in agonizing detail.
His body was a road map of battle casualties. He had more bruises and bite-marks than he could possibly count, not to mention a few broken bones and the long groove the bullet had left along his ribs.
And he was currently naked on Aria’s living room floor.
What was that his wolf had been saying about dignity?
But before he could even lurch upright, Aria was gently lowering an afghan down on him.
“You’re shaking,” Aria said. “Look, I am too.” She held out her hand so he could see. “I feel like my teeth are going to start chattering.”
“It’s the adrenaline.” He wrapped the blanket around himself. “The other wolf—”
“He ran back outside. I shot at him again, but I was so freaked out that I think I missed. I’m sorry! I can’t believe I hit you.”
“Hey.” He grabbed her trembling hand and held it between his own. “If I hadn’t been able to reach him in time, that bullet could have saved your life. I’m really glad you fired when you did. Your instincts were spot on.”
“Well, my spot-on instincts almost ripped a hole in you. You need a doctor.”
Colby shook his head. “Can’t. I heal too fast, they’ll know something’s up. Besides, until Theo and Gretchen get here, I don’t have anything to wear.”
He poked at his tattered clothes, wondering if they were at all salvageable. Probably not. Not for the first time, he envied mythical shifters like Theo and Martin, who could take their clothes with them in and out of their shifted forms.
Focus.
“You should go tell your family that everything’s okay for right now. They’re probably worried sick.”
Aria stood, but she didn’t leave right away. Instead, she just stared out the gaping hole where her front door had been.
“He’ll try again,” she said.
“Yeah,” Colby said. “But we’ll be ready. I promise.”
She put her hand on his head, carding her fingers back through his hair.
“I believe you.”
“And, um,” he said, “do you have anything I could wear? I don’t exactly like going commando with your parents and Mattie around.”