I’m never letting go. I know he’d never hurt me.
I refuse to believe hecould.
We were made for each other.
“It’s incredible,” Liam says. “This type of change, probably because of its slowness...makes a wolf stronger, fitter, even more sharp-witted. Perhaps it’s because the change has longer to prepare the man to become the wolf, each moment meaning more strength. I’ve heard stories about monks who would meditate for several days before a battle, changing the whole time, sliver by sliver until they were as tough as possible to get.”
“What do we do?” Mom asks.
“We wait.”
“Won’ttheysmell us?”
Liam sighs. “It’s possible but unlikely. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, there’s no way I’m disturbing him now. The shock might send him into a sudden change. We wait.”
* * *
I’m not sure how much time passes as I cradle Ramsey. The air gets cooler, and dew covers the grass, damping parts of my clothes.
But I huddle closer to Ramsey, his body getting so warm as he slowly changes, his rumbling breath making it sound like he’s sleeping.
“Have you ever done this before?” I ask.
Ramsey doesn’t register that I’ve spoken. He only rumbles if I move position, as though telling me to remain in place. And this is the only place Iwantto be, with my man, making sure nothing bad happens to him.
“No,” Liam says. “I haven’t.”
“Ramsey made it sound like you could do everything.”
Liam chuckles softly. Ramsey stirs, rumbling, but I’m beginning to understand the tone. And with his powerful body pushed up against me, I can feel his pounding heart and thegoodnessin it.
Does that make me crazy?
“He always makes it sound like that,” Liam says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “The truth is, I’m just a kid who lost everything and found a brother. Ramsey thinks because I was a wolf from birth, maybe it makes me better. But those early years were terrifying too.”
“I can imagine,” I whisper.
“Not as bad as what Ramsey went....”
“He told me,” I say when Liam trails off, wanting to protect his friend. “About his parents.”
“Nasty business,” Liam says. “Evil, for a wolf to let themselves go like that.”
“And you killed him,” I murmur.
Liam’s voice is hard. “I would kill him again. Some wolves don’t deserve the power. Some wolves abuse it or let it abuse them. I will never let that happen if I can help it. I know Ramsey won’t either.”
I shuffle a little, changing position, moving so that Ramsey’s chest is against my back. He’s cradling me in his giant arms, his paws resting against the grass.
My eyes are getting heavy, which seems ridiculous that I could fall asleep in the arms of a beast.
But he’s not a beast. He’s Ramsey, just in a different shape.
From this angle, I can see Mom and Liam.
Liam sits cross-legged, hands on his knees. Mom stretches out a few feet away, leaning against a suitcase, her arms around her knees.
“Are you cold, Mom?” I ask.