Page 11 of Wulf’s Pack

I gasp when I see the problem. Lying on the ground just outside the front doors is Carl, writhing in pain in a half-shifted form.

That’s different than having a partial form.

A partial form is still a form. Being stuck between man and beast means having no form at all.

Your body is broken and contorted, mutated in a mangled mess as the shifter magic wars with the physical body.

It’s agonizing for the shifter, and if it lasts more than a few minutes, it will kill them.

Anger explodes in me, and my wolf howls, every bit as enraged. Getting stuck mid shift doesn’t just happen naturally. It takes severe trauma, magic, or poison.

Nora bursts back inside. “Wolfsbane!”

Behind me, Skylar gasps.

Ren curses and immediately takes out his phone.

While he’s explaining the situation and requesting someone bring down an antidote, Skylar moves toward the doors.

I grab her hand and pull her back. “Wait. We don’t know how he was dosed.

There could be more. It was probably someone in the crowd.

You could be exposed. They’re bringing an antidote. ”

She shakes her head frantically. “The antidote will null the poison, but he won’t complete the shift if he can’t calm down. I can help.”

She moves again, but I don’t let go of her. She turns big, pleading eyes on me. “Please,” she whispers. “I can help him. Trust me.”

Every instinct in me wants to scoop her into my arms and hide her away until the danger is gone, but she’s looking at me with so much desperation.

Begging me to trust her. And there’s something about her, a confidence I haven’t seen from her before.

She’s sure of herself. My wolf grumbles, but he backs down.

He trusts her. Then I realize I trust her too.

I let go of her arm and take her hand. “If you’re going out there, I’m coming with you. ”

She nods and hurries out the door, Ren following right behind us. Outside, Nora is trying to use her siren’s song to calm Carl down, but it’s not working. Gorgeous is trying to hold him down to get him to focus, but that’s not working either.

Skylar pushes past Nora.

“Skylar,” I warn. My wolf is so close to the surface I’m shaking. I’m ready to shift and kill the beast at the slightest hint of him hurting my mate.

Skylar stops about four feet from Carl’s flailing body. She holds her hand up to me in a reassuring gesture. She never takes her eyes from Carl. “What’s his name?”

“Carl.”

“Carl,” she says gently.

Suddenly, a sense of calm wraps around me. I feel it in the air, thick and heavy, seeping into my body. I breathe it in, and my wolf and I both relax. Our minds are still sharp, but the soothing feeling washes over us until we’re almost purring.

“Carl,” Skylar whispers again. “It’s okay. You’re going to be all right.”

Carl’s thrashing slows, and the crowd goes silent when they realize something’s happening.

Skylar steps even closer to Carl. I don’t react.

I trust my mate, and I’m so calm I can think rationally and see that she’s not in danger.

She’s doing this, I realize. Skylar is calming not only my beast, but Carl’s as well.

Carl is now lying still, whimpering from the pain, but watching Skylar. She steps right up to him and gently presses her hand to his forehead. “It’s okay, Carl. I know it hurts, but we’re going to fix that, and you’ll be yourself again in a minute.”

Half a dozen people come bursting through the front door, including Oliver, who tosses a syringe to Gorgeous. The dragon doesn’t waste any time. He moves to Carl’s other side and injects the shifter with the antidote.

Skylar keeps her hand on Carl and continues whispering soothing words to him. After a few minutes, Carl lets out a huge sigh and his body deflates. The antidote has done its job. He’s no longer feral from the wolfsbane, but he’s still stuck between forms.

“Carl,” Skylar coos. “You need to concentrate. The medicine has stopped the poison, but you need to shift now. You can do it; you just need to focus. Listen to my voice. You’re okay.

Think of your human form. Feel your arms. Your legs.

Think of your fingers and your toes. Try to move them.

Release your bear. He needs to rest. The danger has passed. You can come back now.”

It takes another minute, but then Carl starts to transform.

It’s fascinating to watch. Usually, a shift takes only a second.

You change in a flash. This is much slower.

Carl is struggling, but slowly his bones are rearranging.

He’s morphing back to human. Skylar never takes her hand from Carl, and she doesn’t stop her gentle, encouraging words.

The crowd is riveted by the sight. A stillness has fallen over us all. People have their cell phones out, recording the scene, but no one is interrupting.

After another minute, Carl is human again.

His body collapses against the ground, and he sighs.

Skylar runs her fingers through his hair.

I know I should be jealous at the sight of her touching another male, but my instincts know she’s only trying to help him.

Carl is my friend, and Skylar has just saved his life.

Carl lifts a shaky hand, and Skylar takes it, still running her other hand through his sweaty, bloody hair. Carl brings her hand to his chest. “Thank you,” he rasps.

She smiles down at him. “You did the hard part.”

“I was only able to because of you.”

“It doesn’t always work. You’re very strong.”

Carl coughs and wheezes. “I don’t feel strong.”

She cups his cheek. “You just need rest. You’ll be back to your normal self after a good meal and a nap.”

“Thank you,” he whispers again.

Skylar moves back, letting Gorgeous take over. He helps Carl sit up. When the crowd sees that the drama is over, they go crazy again.

“Freak!” someone shouts.

Another calls out, “Monster!”

The hate doesn’t bother me. Humans are scared of what they don’t understand.

What pisses me off is the fact that someone in this crowd somehow dosed Carl with wolfsbane.

It’s deadly to shifters and a very horrible way to die, as we’ve all just seen.

It’s torture. Gorgeous is worried about this too because he passes Carl off to Nora and starts barking all kinds of orders at the agents to take control of the crowd and find the person responsible.

“You! Girl! What’s your name? How’d you do that?”

The question gets my attention. A wall of eager reporters and bystanders have clustered in front of Skylar.

“What did you do?” one asks, shoving a microphone toward her.

Another shouts, “What are you?”

They’re too close for comfort, and my wolf growls inside my head.

We’re in complete agreement. I stomp up to Skylar’s side and glare at the group.

I wrap my arm around her, and she quickly turns into me, ducking her head into my chest. She hates the attention.

The embrace sets the humans off with another volley of questions. “Wulf! Wulf! Who is she?”

Of course they know who I am. Everyone knows who I am. They know every member of our clan. They stalk us like celebrities.

“Is she your mate?” someone calls. “Is she a wolf too?”

“Are you officially off the market?”

I cringe inwardly. This is going to make headlines, and once that footage hits the airwaves, things are going to get very complicated.

Every shifter who watches it is going to know how special Skylar is.

They’ll know, just as I do, how she was able to calm Carl, and every shifter around her, and they’re going to want her.

Skylar has a coveted and rare gift. She’s an omega.