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I watched in awe as her fur bristled and her muscles rippled beneath her sleek coat, her transformation a testament to the raw power that coursed through her veins. But I saw the pain that still lingered in her eyes, echoes of the wound her mother had inflicted.
I knelt beside my mate, my hand resting gently on her fur as I murmured words of encouragement and reassurance. I knew the healing process would take time, that the scars of her ordeal would linger long after her wounds had closed. But I was humbled as I watched my mate embrace her true nature with courage and grace.
She pushed to her feet, the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. The silver wolf. She was the stuff of wolf lore. She would be a powerful wolf once she harnessed her abilities. Her sharp mind and hacker skills were the perfect complement to her lupine ancestry.
Mila’s wound had already closed, although her blood was matted in her fur. Her accelerated healing was kicking in. I closed my eyes in relief. She moved clumsily at first, like a newborn pup familiarizing herself with her new form. Prowling closer, she butted her head against my thigh.
I stroked my fingers through her silky coat. “You did so good, little one. I’m so proud of you. God, I love you.”
Mila butted her head against my thigh again. Somehow, I knew she was eager to test out her new form.
I chuckled. “Okay, but we’ll take it easy. You’re still healing.”
Her face split into a mimicry of a grin, her blue-silver eyes sparkling. She padded out of the cabin and took off at a run. No one could stand in her way now. In seconds, I shifted and took off after her, catching her up and steering her toward the park and the car.
Mila finally stopped running as night fell and we hit the clearing where I’d shifted earlier. I watched as she sank to the leafy ground and slowly morphed back to her human form. Naked, she stretched and rolled her neck, letting everything pop and crack as she adjusted back into her skin. Then, exhausted from her ordeal and her first transformation, she passed out.
Retrieving my clothes and keys from where I’d left them, I wrapped Mila’s unconscious form in my shirt and secured the buttons. Fortunately, it fell almost to her knees, concealing most of her body. Shrugging into my suit jacket, I pulled on my pants, socks, and shoes before scooping her into my arms and carrying her back to the car under the cover of night.
Chapter 12
Magnus
Mila slept for almost twenty-four hours, not even waking when I bathed her. I didn’t leave her side, propping myself up on the bed beside her while I dealt with urgent work matters and updated my brothers. We would all be on the lookout for Mila’s mother now. She would need to flee far to evade our wrath.
While Mila slept, her body continued to heal and recover. I checked her wound periodically, which had now healed to a raised pink scar in the middle of her chest. It was incredible. Bear shifters healed quickly, but Mila’s recovery astounded me. I knew she’d be ravenous when she finally awoke, so I prepared crockpot chicken with dumplings.
Only one thing worried me–something was different about her scent since she’d shifted. I hoped it was simply due to her finally merging with her wolf and nothing more sinister.
I must have dozed off with my laptop open on my lap because I was woken by a featherlight touch over my brow. Looking down, my heart clenched as clear blue eyes pierced mine. Jesus, she was even more stunning to my greedy eyes. Her eyes seemed to shine brighter, her hair shimmered, and her cheeks glowed with health, a stark contrast to her pallid color in the cabin when she lay close to death.
I shut my laptop, placed it on the bedside cabinet, and gathered her into my arms. “Welcome back, little one,” I murmured, smoothing her hair from her face.
She smiled. “How long was I out?”
“A day, give or take.”
Her eyes widened. “A day?”
“You needed to recover,” I explained. “That was a close call, Mila. I thought I’d lost you.”
“But you didn’t. I knew you’d find me. Somehow, I just knew. Thank you for coming for me.”
I grinned. “I’ll always come for you, sweetheart.”
Mila rolled her eyes and then sobered. “How did you find me?”
I gave her a quick rundown of events, how my meeting had finished early, and Thor’s phone call.
“And my mother?” she asked almost fearfully once I’d finished.
“She escaped,” I said, my jaw tight. “I wanted to go after her, but I couldn’t leave you. Your turn. Tell me what happened.”
My blood boiled as Mila told me everything, how her mother had disguised herself as a cleaner and stuck her with the needle I’d found in the bathroom. How she’d woken in the cabin, bound and terrified. Her shock at seeing her mother and the realization that she was insane.
Her brow furrowed. “I have no idea how she got me out of the building alone without anyone seeing.”
“Female shifters are strong, so she would’ve had no problem lifting you. It would’ve been easy to conceal you in the cleaning cart and wheel you down to the parking lot.”
