“Come here, Wyn,” he told her. Magnanimously nude, she was a spectacular sight, Logan thought. “You trust me?”
“Yes,” she responded quietly, looking at her feet. She could feel Logan and Dimitri’s eyes on her skin. She was frightened out of her wits. No matter how much she’d told herself this was going to happen, she still wasn’t prepared.
A surge of nausea rolled her stomach. Reacting, she bent over, her hands on her knees, willing her stomach to hold the food. She coughed and gagged, managing to push the bile back down her esophagus. Please God. I will not throw up…no throwing up…especially in front of Logan. Be brave. I can do this. No, I will do this. She closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. With a whoosh, she blew it out through her mouth. Logan is with me. Logan. Oh shit. She’d almost forgotten he was watching her ridiculous panic attack. She stood up and gave him an apologetic smile.
“Are you okay? As gross as it is, if you need to throw up, go ahead. Believe me, you wouldn’t be the first.”
“You’re being nice.”
Logan smiled. “Well, it’s the pups who usually hurl their first time, but you’re kind of like a pup.”
She shot him an annoyed look, her hands on her hips.
“Okay, more like a super-hot, naked human lady wolf,” he laughed. “Seriously, baby. Nothing and I mean nothing bad is going to happen tonight. We’ll shift. We’ll run. We’ll make love.” His voice was low and dominant, guiding her wolf.
She simply nodded, allowing him to take her hand in his.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” Logan instructed. When her eyes met his, he continued. “I’m sorry this happened to you…I really am. No matter how much I want you as my mate, I’d never force a shift on you. It sucks. It’s not fair, even. But there’s no stopping nature. This is like skiing, baby. Sure, it’s a little dangerous. You will most definitely fall. Probably will be sore afterwards. And a little dirty. But most certainly, you will have fun. And before you go hatin’ my analogy, you’ve never been skiing with me…and you will love it.”
“I like skiing,” she disclosed with a small smile. “I’m from New York.”
“And someday, we’ll do that together too. But today, you’ll shift. So let’s do this thing, okay?”
“Okay.” As soon as she’d agreed, her skin tingled as if she’d stuck her finger in an electrical socket. She looked up at the full moon. As if it reached out with a firm hand striking into her heart, she seized, unable to speak.
Logan saw Wynter freeze and knew immediately it had begun. Damn, this was not how a pup or anyone was supposed to shift. It shouldn’t be done under duress. Transformation was a celebratory milestone. Logan focused within, drawing on his inherent Alpha power, attempting to soothe her mind. But her immobility continued and within seconds, she began to shake uncontrollably, saliva dripping from her mouth as if she’d gone into a full grand mal seizure.
Logan put his hands onto her cheeks, forcing her to look at him, but her vacant stare told him she was lost within her own mind. Dimitri sensed trouble and ran to his assistance, but Logan waved him off with a hand. He and he alone would coax her out of the paralysis that had taken over her body.
“Wynter, concentrate on my voice. Listen to me. No matter what’s going on inside of you, I know you can hear me. I’m your Alpha. And as such, you will do as I say. Your wolf. She knows this. And you do too. You need to let go. Let me in.” Goddess, it shouldn’t be this way. He hated to be harsh with her but he needed to force her wolf to the surface. “Close your eyes.”
Unresponsive, Wynter continued to quiver.
“Close. Your. Eyes. This is an order from your Alpha. Do it now,” he growled.
Recognition registered in her pupils. Her lids flickered but still didn’t shut. Her wolf rolled submissively onto her back, yelping in response. At his voice, she struggled, clawing to get out, to run with her mate.
Small though it was, Logan knew she’d heard him. He’d have to be more forceful. A dominant, almost foreign voice emerged. “Wynter, I’m commanding you to shift. Now close. Your. Eyes.”
Logan’s authoritative directive speared through the palpable numbness that had arrested Wynter’s muscles. As if someone had smashed a rock through a pane of glass, her humanity shattered into pieces. Her eyes snapped shut, and the wolf emerged. Utter agony ensued as the metamorphosis completed. Gagged by the shift, her scream pinged within her own consciousness, and she thought she’d died. Mouth opened, no tortured cry would save her. But within seconds, she heard a howl pierce the night air. Blinking her eyes, she realized the animalistic noise had come from her. For it was she, the wolf, acknowledging her shift, calling to her mate. As Logan came into focus, she caught sight of his proud smile.
Logan held his breath as she changed before his eyes. Her silent screams tore open his gut. With great restraint, he held back, allowing her to transform independently. There could be no other way. And within seconds, the red-haired, blue-eyed, she-wolf lay on the dirt.
“Look at you, sweetheart,” he whispered and crouched down to the ground.
Goddess, she was every bit as resplendent in her wolf as in her person. His heart constricted seeing that she’d gone into submission. With her ears backward and tail curved under her backside, she whimpered and quivered in fear. Slowly reaching forward, he held his hand out to her.
Distressed and disoriented, Wynter sniffed and licked Logan’s hand. She knew her mate. His scent, his taste. Thank God, he was still here with her. He didn’t leave. She focused on his voice and touch. Everything about him seemed to calm her and felt peaceful.
“That’s right, it’s me. I won’t hurt you, baby,” he assured her, rubbing her ears. He nodded to Dimitri, who’d stripped in preparation for his own shift. But as his friend drew closer, Wynter growled and bared her teeth. “Come on now, it’s okay. It’s just D. You know he won’t hurt you either.”
Wynter saw movement, a human. Defensively, she snarled at the incoming danger. An innate desire to protect surfaced.
Logan eyed Dimitri. “Slowly, D. She looks like she wants to bite. And considering you’re nekkid….well, go easy. You’ve got a low hanging target there,” he joked.
“Ya got that right. Geez, she may have just shifted but she’s a feisty one.” Dimitri carefully sidled up to Logan. He slid his hand down Logan’s arm, picking up some of his scent, and then presented a palm to Wynter. He knew that she’d eventually know it was him. But at the moment, the overload on her senses made it difficult for her to process.
Another hand came toward her. Cautiously, she nosed his skin. Logan. Dimitri. Yes, she knew Dimitri, cared for him. A lick of his skin cemented her acceptance. While she’d not tasted Dimitri, both his scent and touch happily appeased her wolf.
“That’s it, baby. See, told ya, it’s just D,” Logan coaxed, continuing to caress her fur.
He smiled over to Dimitri, who also had begun to pet her neck. A pivotal moment for them all, he supposed. His mate, a human, had shifted. And he and his beta had just borne witness to the extraordinary phenomenon. Both men, without jealousy or expectation, nurtured the new little wolf. As she relaxed into their calming strokes, Logan smiled at Dimitri before addressing her.
“Okay little wolf, we’ve gotta shift too. I’m gonna go first, then D. Don’t be afraid now. We won’t be able to talk to you like this when we’re shifted. But you’ll know what to do, I promise. The only thing I ask is that you stay close. Even though the ground here is firm, there’s plenty of trouble to get into, so stick with us,” he told her as he broke contact. He stood up while Dimitri continued to rub her. “This’ll just take a second.”