CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Joy didn’t know what to say as the hot water washed over her back and shoulders. She had no idea how long it had been since she had a shower or even felt human, for that matter.
Adam kept saying she was in shock because she wasn’t speaking, but she wasn’t in shock. She was processing everything that she had seen and been through. She wanted to cry, but not in front of him. He would try to comfort her, and she didn’t want that. Not after the way he had just literally knocked Donovan’s head off his damn shoulders. People don’t do that. Humans don’t do that. She was just a human and wanted nothing to do with this whole violent shifter life.
It scared the piss out of her. Period.
She had heard him when he said that he loved her and that he would never hurt her. But how the fuck did he expect her to believe that? The first time he had chased her down and damn near eaten her. The second time she had seen him turn into a polar bear, he beheaded another guy with a swipe of his damn paw.
It was too much. All of it!
Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest at any freaking minute. Who lived like this?
No one normal!
“Are you okay, Joy?” Gerri asked, taking a seat on the floor of the bathroom while she showered.
“No. I’m not okay with any of this,” she spoke honestly with her friend. It didn’t bother her a bit that Gerri was in the bathroom with her. It wasn’t like she could see anything. Her shower enclosure was glass brick. Unless you stepped into the shower with her, there were no prying eyes.
“I know it was hard for you to see what Adam did today, but you have to understand that not all shifters are good people, just like not all humans are good people. Unfortunately, in our world, those not-so-good shifters are put down. They simply cannot be allowed to live, to terrorize both humans and shifters alike. It’s the way of our people. But not every shifter you meet is a threat to humanity. Most of us just want to live our lives in peace,” Gerri explained.
She had been friends with Gerri for a long time. Gerri had never lied to her, not once in all their years of friendship. Hell, Joy hadn't even known that her friend was a shifter until she confessed just a few short weeks ago. Still, she couldn't possibly be as scary as Adam, could she?
“When you shift or transform or whatever it's called, is it as scary as when Adam transforms?” Joy asked.
“What do you mean by scary?”
“I mean, the room feels weird. Like it changes with his magic or something. You can hear his bones pop. I just find the whole thing unsettling and very frightening. Is it like that when you turn into a wolf?” Maybe Joy shouldn't have asked, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. She had to know.
“Yes and no. What you are feeling is the magic in the air. I’m surprised that you can even pick up on it. Usually, only other magical creatures can pick up on that. As far as the bone popping, yes. Anytime we shift, that happens, but as long as we don’t fight it and we’re not injured, it doesn’t hurt. It actually feels good to shift from our human form to our animal form. It’s freeing. Like letting ourselves truly be who we are meant to be,” Gerri explained.
“The sound reminds me of someone cracking their fingers, only the same thing happening to every bone in their bodies.” She giggled because she felt like she was losing her damn mind.
“And does it feel good when you crack your fingers?” Gerri asked.
“Oh my God. It’s the best.”
“Exactly!” Gerri laughed.
“Do you shift just to fight, or are there other reasons?” she asked, feeling like a damn idiot for not knowing.
“We shift for any number of reasons. I think one of the main reasons we shift is to run.”
“You mean like exercise running?” she asked.
“Silly, girl. We run because it's fun. There is nothing more freeing than shifting to your animal and racing through the woods. At least, for a wolf anyway.” Gerri laughed. “I suppose it's the same for polar bears like Adam. You should ask him and see what he says,” Gerri suggested.
“Oh, I don't know if I can do that. I'm not sure why I feel differently about being around you versus being around him. You've told me you're a shifter, that you transform into a wolf, but I haven't seen it. Maybe that's why I'm not terrified of you like I am him.”
It really didn't make any sense to Joy why Adam scared her, yet Gerri didn't. Was it because Adam had chased her? Or because she had watched Adam kill a man, or shifter, right in front of her?
“The first time you saw Adam as a polar bear, what was he doing?” Gerri asked.
“He was trying to save some men on a boat that was trying to get into the harbor to unload,” she said.
“So he wasn't trying to eat them?”
“Oh, God, no! I don't know what I would have done if that were the case,” Joy said.