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“Now, all you need to do is remember what your human body feels like. Your fingers, your skin, walking on two feet. Really remember that, and also let your wolf know it’s time to change back. She’ll understand and help you shift.”

Reaching out to my wolf, I sent mental images of myself as a human toward her.

Recalling the sensation of closing a five-fingered hand into a fist, the way it felt to run on two legs, I tried to relive those moments as hyper-realistic movies in my head.

I showed her what I wanted, and used my emotions and instincts to ask for her help.

The wolf presence within my mind seemed to understand. My skin grew hot and itchy again. Heat pulsed through my body. Pain tore through me, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been earlier. A moment later, I was looking down at my fingers splayed on the hardwood floor.

“Holy shit,” I muttered. “That was crazy.”

Nate scooped me into his arms. “Let’s get you back in bed.”

I yelped and pushed at his chest. “No, I need to shower. I’m all gross and sweaty.”

He tossed me onto the bed and leaned down, grinning at me. “I think after last night, you know I like you a little sweaty. Besides—” he buried his nose in my neck—“you smell damn good.”

Too tired to protest any further, I collapsed back onto the pillow. Nate climbed in the other side, dragged the covers up, and pulled me close, burying his face in the hollow between my neck and shoulder.

As I lay there, I tried to process everything.

I could turn into a wolf. I had magic powers, for God’s sake.

I could hear sounds that should have been too faint, smell scents that should have been impossible to catch.

It was overwhelming, but I had a feeling that the wolf inside me was dulling it all a bit so I didn’t lose my mind.

Speaking of the wolf, I could sense her inside my mind. It wasn’t like having an intruder or parasite or something. It was more like a second part of me, one that stayed on the periphery and lived within my head.

“Shit.” Nate groaned and let out a dejected sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“All I want to do is lie here with you, but I need to tell Ollie about this. He should know you’ve had your first shift.” He rolled over and sat up in bed. “Where the hell is my phone?”

I blushed as I remembered how we’d tossed our clothes aside downstairs to get at one another. “Pretty sure it’s downstairs. In your pants. Uh, wherever those are.”

He chuckled and stood. “Right. Be right back.”

He returned a few minutes later, phone in hand, number already dialed.

On the drive up here, he’d explained to me that Detective Vickers was also a shifter.

That had been surprising, though not wholly shocking, since they seemed to be fairly old friends.

Still, it was strange to know shifters were so completely integrated into society.

Rick and his father, millionaire businessmen and lawyers; Ollie, a high-ranking police detective.

God knew who else. It would be interesting to find out exactly how deep this societal integration went once I was officially part of the pack.

Nate put the phone on speaker to let me hear the conversation. He had to call twice before Ollie answered, his voice muffled and thick with sleep.

“Jesus Christ, Nate. Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Yeah, like almost six in the morning. Listen?—”

“You really are the worst friend, you know that?”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m here with Cameron. She’s done it. She just shifted. It happened like ten minutes ago.”

Nate shifted around in bed, and my gaze fell on the scars crisscrossing his back. I’d noticed them the first time back in my bathroom. Had I thought about it the night before, I would have asked him during one of our many conversations. What could have happened to cause such awful injuries?

“If she’s fully shifted now,” Ollie said, “then Rick Masters will become a bigger problem.”

“What?” I blurted. “Why?”

“Your scent will be more powerful now,” Ollie explained. “It’ll make you easier to track and find.”

“He’s right,” Nate said. “If he does catch your scent, he’s gonna go crazy trying to hunt you down. The combination of him being bonded to you and you being a full shifter now is gonna turn him into a wild animal. If he’s bonded to you, he may have already sensed that the change happened.”

Nate’s jaw clenched, and I could see the worry in his eyes. The idea of Rick hunting me down like some caveman and dragging me back to his place to mate with him filled me with apprehension and disgust.

“Here’s what I’ll do,” Ollie said through a yawn.

“My next day off is Monday. This is Sunday, though some would still call it Saturday night,” he added with a bitter undertone.

“I can come up there and pick Cameron up first thing Monday morning and drive her out to meet JC. I’ll introduce her and see if the pack accepts her.

Once she’s an official member, the pack will be obligated to protect her from Rick.

Regardless of how powerful they are, no member can force a female to be their mate.

JC will put a stop to that fast and tell Rick and Lincoln Masters to go pound sand. ”

“Good plan,” Nate said. “I like it.”

“Great,” Ollie said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep.”

The line went dead before we could say goodbye.

A troubling thought crossed my mind. If Rick was going to become more desperate to make me his, then what did that mean for the people I loved?

“Is my family still safe?” I asked.

Nate shrugged. “We can call. It’s early, though.”

“Mom goes in to work at the crack of dawn, and Gael usually wakes up when she does. They won’t be grumpy like Ollie.”

We called the house. Sure enough, after two rings, Gael answered. “Good morning, Torres residence.”

“Wow, you’re never that polite with me,” I quipped.

“Cam? Hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, buddy. Is everything okay there?”

“Yeah. Mom just left for work. I’m eating frozen waffles and watching TV.”

“Ew, you’ve got to cook them first, silly,” I laughed. “You’ll break your teeth eating them frozen.”

He cackled his little boy laugh that always warmed my heart and said, “I put them in the toaster first. Duh .”

“Okay, cool. Hey, I know you heard what we were talking about yesterday, but just to make sure—if you guys see Rick anywhere , do not talk to him or let him in the apartment. Got it?”

“Got it. He’s a douchebag, anyway. I’m glad you got rid of him.”

I wanted to scold his language, but how could I when it was the truth?

“I’ve gotta go, but make sure to tell Mom what I just told you. Love you, Gael.”

“Will do. Love you, sis. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up and sighed with relief. “All clear there for now.”

“Good,” Nate said. “I doubt he’d go there, but better safe than sorry.”

“I need to let Lesley know, too.” I’d left her apartment without telling her where I was going or why.

Hurrying downstairs, I found my own phone. As I walked back up to the small loft area, I sent a text to Lesley.

Me: Rick’s not taking the breakup well. He got really possessive and jealous. I’m a little scared of what he might do, so I’m laying low out of the city for a day or two. If he comes around looking for me, DO NOT let him in, and don’t be alone around him either.

After sending the text, I sat on the bed. Exhaustion crept into my bones. “Why am I this tired?”

Nate rubbed my back. “The first few times you shift, it’s rough on your body and mind.

Eventually, it becomes second nature. It’s kind of like working out.

If someone has never exercised before and suddenly decides to do twenty push-ups, they’ll be tired and sore as shit the next day.

But if they keep at it, after a while, twenty is nothing.

Same sort of idea. Once you have a few shifts under your belt, you won’t be tired at all. ”

“Good to know.” I rolled my shoulders. “It still feels like I ran a marathon with a sack of concrete on my back.”

Nate’s warm hands slid up my back, and he massaged the knots from my shoulders.

“Mmm, that’s good,” I said.

“I think you said something similar to me last night,” Nate said with a chuckle. “Maybe that’s really why you’re tired.”

“Uh-huh,” I murmured, unable to find a snappy comeback as he dug his thumbs into the knots in my shoulders.

His hands worked down my back, then up my neck into my scalp. I moaned as he massaged my head. Part of me wanted him to slide those fingers down to other, better places, but another more insistent part begged for sleep.

“Lie down,” Nate said, sensing my exhaustion.

I lay back, and Nate pulled me to him as he settled beside me, letting my head rest on his chest. He pulled the covers up to my chin. The last thing I remembered was his fingers running through my hair and feeling safer than I’d ever felt in my life.