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“What’s wrong?” Spikes of anxiety jabbed me enough to dissolve the shadows around us. “Tell me.”
My worry shifted from Ruby to you both, knowing that something was off. A ripple went over your body, muscles tensing, agony contorting your muzzle so you looked ferocious. Fear was a hot poker, jabbing me from all sides, not for my safety but for yours.
Johnny’s body shook as he lifted himself onto hind legs, his torso shifting without completion, somewhere stuck between wolf and human. His skin rippled, waves tearing him apart. He clawed at his throat, leaving gouges that closed as fast as they opened. Silent screams stretched his jaw wide.
He teetered over to land hard on his back, rumbling the shadow ground, sending fog out like a tsunami. Horror gripped my heart.
“Levi.” I sputtered over my next words, my voice an echo that got sucked away into the shadows. You were no longer at my side.
You stretched your body, front legs angled down, paws with fingers ending in claws. Your spine contorted, undulating in a great arch, then curving until your hind legs gave out. You were stuck, too. You dug your muzzle into your side, frantically biting at your flesh as if that would help ease your shift. You whimpered and growled, shredding my heart with each sound.
You were both struggling to transition but meeting resistance that I couldn’t see. Flashes of human skin sprouted fur then rolled back to flesh, showing your tattoos had expanded, the starburst stretching well beyond my initial bite.
I zeroed in on the threads that bound us and tried to coax your shift forward, to give you peace and bolster your power, but my primal instincts told me something was missing, something obvious that I wasn’t seeing. I coaxed my beast forward, wishing she would take over, help me figure this out, but we were melded now. We shared one mind, and something was blocking me from knowing what to do. My horror was her horror. She didn’t have a suggestion or a path forward.
Johnny writhed on the ground, shadows teasing his flesh as he fought against whatever was working against him.
You turned your knowing eyes to me, blue clouded with storms, and it was obvious then that whatever was happening to you both was my fault.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Charlie
I woke on a gasp, my eyes wide, body full of terror. “Something is wrong with Levi and Johnny!”
Kane was frowning at his phone as he punched the screen with his thick fingers. “I know. He’s cycling through transitions.” He lifted his cell to his ear and speared me with a hard glare, letting me know that he was aware I was the cause of this problem. “Johnny’s not answering.”
“Isn’t he with Levi?” But I knew even as I said it that he wasn’t. Shit. Shit. Shit! He’d come after me. I should have known. I should have been paying attention to him, to Levi instead of being solely focused on Ruby. I was alpha now and a bonded mate, so I should have known what was happening. I should have been in tune with them. I’d have been able to stop it.
But no, I wouldn’t, because I had no idea what was causing them to shift like they were, out of control and in agony. My bite had to be a catalyst of some sort. And I couldn’t take that back.
Please. I tapped into my beast mind, hoping for an answer. Instead, I sensed a wall and a stubborn nagging feeling that I already knew what needed to be done.
“Cal, what’s happening?” Kane stared out of the window, and I followed his line of sight, making out Vancouver’s skyline.
We were home. Home. My heart constricted, and I clenched my chest. I had to stay calm. My emotions would only make things worse for Johnny and Levi. Deep breaths. Steady heart.
“Fuck,” Kane muttered. “Get him on a private jet. Cost is no barrier. Bring him here. There’s nothing I can do for him while he’s there.” He ended the call then roughly jammed his fingers into his hair.
“Johnny’s in Toronto, isn’t he?” I knew he was. He was confused, angry, scared. His primal instincts surged through our connection. He wanted to be with me. He thought I was in danger because I was spiking him with worry. It was a vicious cycle of emotion, and I’d been so stupid not to realize it would be impacting him as well.
“He’s fucked up like Levi.” Kane cursed under this breath. “Can’t hold his form.”
“I’m sorry. This is my fault. My bite—”
Kane shifted his eyes to me, and my next words dried up. I gulped down the lump in my throat, but it wouldn’t go away. I was choking on my fear, and that was only going to end up causing more problems for everyone.
Get a grip, Charlie. Levi and Johnny will feel your panic.
“We don’t meddle with this shit for a reason.” Kane’s tone was bordering on fury as he spoke through clenched teeth.
“I thought…” But I didn’t know what I thought, because at the time I was going on instinct.
Kane didn’t bother to acknowledge my words. He was furiously texting, his brow pulled into a deep vee.
I was desperate to make this right. I just didn’t know how.
“I need to check on Ruby,” I muttered, not expecting Kane to respond.
