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I lowered my coffee, my smile fading.
That was why I couldn’t claim her. Not yet. When Bryn and I had made love, it was more than perfection. Being with her made me feel invincible. It was like the world had suddenly come into sharp focus, and I could see everything with total clarity. But when it came time to bite her, to officially claim her as my mate, I couldn’t do it.
I hadn’t told her that she was my mate yet. It didn’t feel right to bite her without that communication. Though I loved her, though I needed her, I wanted to give her the opportunity to deny our bond rather than taking away her choice. I owed her that much.
My wolf, who had been purring and sighing contentedly since last night, suddenly jumped at the thought that she would reject us. I didn’t like the thought any more than he did, but I needed to consider the facts. The moment I bit her, our souls would be bound for eternity. At least, that was the way it worked with wolves. Now, because Bryn was human, I wasn’t sure the same rules applied. I would need to check with the Elders and ask for guidance.
Until I was sure she understood what a claiming bite meant, I wouldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be right for me to do something like that when she still didn’t know the truth about me. She had no idea that I shared blood with the Redwolf monster who wanted to abuse her. How would she react when she found out that I was the son of the Alpha who had let her live in misery and half-brother to the wolf who tried to rape her and keep her as a slave after years of tormenting her?
I knew it was selfish to keep that truth from her, but I was terrified that she would turn away from me the moment she found out the truth.
My wolf howled, panting with fear that I was going to deny his feelings for Bryn again. I tried to soothe him. I’m going to tell her today, I promise, I told him. I’m feeling scared that she’ll leave when she finds out who I really am, but I don’t actually think that she will.
My wolf, not fully convinced, growled in my mind. He worried that someone else would take our mate before we could claim her. But I shook my head. No one could have Bryn, not unless she wanted that. And she wouldn’t. I knew she felt as deeply for me as I did for her. I had to believe that it would all be okay after I explained everything to her. And then we could officially be mated.
My hand tightened around my mug. I just hoped I wasn’t lying to myself and my wolf.
I tried to ignore the doubts so I could return to enjoying my coffee, to feeling whole for just one more moment. But then a terrifying shriek came from my bedroom. I dropped my mug, the pottery shattering against the porch. I sprinted back inside, taking the steps three at a time, bursting into my bedroom to be at my mate’s side.
But she wasn’t in the room anymore. In her place, where I’d left her snoozing on my pillow, her hair resting gently across her cheek, I found a struggling mass. I caught sight of a tail, a paw, and finally a snout as the wolf fought to get free of the blankets. When she landed on the floor, her paws slid awkwardly over the smooth wood.
As she gained her balance, she sat carefully at the foot of my bed and stared up at me. The wolf had a rich, chestnut-brown coat, and though she was a bit smaller than most other female wolves, her body was lithe and strong. She was stunning in the sunlight peeking in through the blinds. I knew immediately that she was Bryn, but all I could do was stare with my jaw on the fucking floor.
Bryn actually growled at me, which came as both a shock and a delight. I tried not to laugh as I met her steel-blue gaze, which glowed even in the morning light. When I left my mate that morning, she had been a human, but somehow she sat in front of me in shifted wolf form, and she was still the most beautiful, enchanting creature I had ever laid eyes on. My wolf echoed the sentiment, panting and running around in tight, excited circles.
Bryn got to her feet again, apparently eager to try walking again. I stayed in front of the door in case she tried to bolt. She seemed calm, but I couldn’t be sure; every wolf was different the first time they shifted.
She shook out her fur and almost lost her balance again. I bent, wanting to help her, but maintained my distance so I didn’t spook her.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, keeping my hands low, trying to make myself look as nonthreatening as possible. “You’re okay. I’m here with you, Bryn.”
She gazed at me and then began to step cautiously toward me. As she neared, I knelt slowly so we were at eye level. I wanted to talk to her, but I wouldn’t be able to do that if she didn’t feel safe enough to shift back. Her wolf would protect her no matter what.
“It’s okay,” I said again, keeping my voice low, gentle. “You are glorious, the most beautiful wolf I’ve ever seen. You can shift back whenever you’re ready.”
Bryn’s wolf sat in front of me, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. She didn’t seem scared, but she showed no signs of intending to shift back. My wolf howled more insistently and pawed again for control. He wanted to be with Bryn’s wolf, to run and play with her. That would be innocent enough, if not for the fact that my wolf also wanted to claim her.
“Bryn, your coat is lovely,” I said. “And you have such long, graceful legs. I can’t believe how beautiful you are both as a human and as a wolf.”
Compliments were known to work for pups who weren’t sure how to shift back into their human forms or for wolves who were stuck. But it didn’t seem to have much of an effect.
“Are you waiting to meet my wolf?” I asked. “Is that why you’re determined to stay?”
Her tail shifted from side to side against the floor. I took that as an adorable yes.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let him come out right now. It’s not time. For now, I want you to shift back, alright?”
Bryn’s wolf stared back at me. I couldn’t see any sign of the human woman I loved, and I began to get anxious for her to return. I hated doing this to her, but if being gentle and pampering her with compliments didn’t work, my only option was to make it happen. After all, I could be wrong about her waiting for my wolf. Maybe she was stuck and didn’t know it.
I locked eyes with her, pushing into her mind with the force of an Alpha. “Shift,” I commanded. “Now.”
Her body began to tremble as the fur left her body. Bryn gasped, once again in her naked, human form, and I let out a relieved breath. I reached out for her, and she reached back. She let me pull her into my arms, where she was safe. Where she belonged.
We sat together in the silence of my room, both of us reeling from what had just happened. How the fuck had Bryn become a shifter? And what do we do now?
33
BRYN
