Standing there with her hands on her naked hips, Lyric narrowed her gaze. “Your underwear wouldn’t have fit me, and there was no way I was putting on dirty ones.”
The word dirty, coming out of her mouth, conjured up all kinds of naughty thoughts and caused an immediate and noticeable reaction in my briefs. “Eyes up here, darlin’,” I teased.
“Kinda difficult when that thing is ready to spring out and bite someone.”
“Don’t make promises you ain’t willing to follow through.”
“Stop thinking with your little head and focus. You do not want to end up stuck, shifted in between man and wolf.”
I couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth. Erring on the side of caution, I tore my eyes away from her hard-tipped nipples. I listened as she instructed me on how to find my wolf and let the beast have control, but not to lose myself in it. To say I was scared was putting it mildly.
She agreed to go first, hoping her wolf would be able to communicate with mine. I wasn’t convinced, but I felt a stirring in my mind. The creature was ready to come out and tried to reassure me. As I watched Lyric shift, I didn’t hear her bones popping, but it wasn’t a pretty sight to behold, either. It didn’t take but a minute before a blonde colored wolf stood where she’d been standing.
Before I could reach out to touch her, my own wolf began taking over. I took a deep breath and let go.
The pain was worse than I’d expected. What seemed like hours later, but couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, I found myself lying in the cool grass, looking down upon paws. There was another being in control of my body, where I was more of a backseat passenger. I remembered what Lyric had told me about asserting my dominance, ensuring the wolf didn’t take over completely. An instant recognition flowed inside me. Once I was sure I could stand without falling over, I got up.
I smelled the familiar scent of Lyric, close yet far enough away that I was aware she was leery of my reactions. Hunt, kill, and fuck she’d said. I lifted my nose and scented prey near the back forty of my property, close, yet I wanted to run in my new form. With what I hoped was a nod, I headed off in the direction I wanted to go.
We spent a long time running and then stopped to get a much-needed drink at a creek that bordered my land. I nudged Lyric when she got too close to my neighbor’s electric fence, scared she’d get injured. Her answering nip to my flank had me turning to nip her back, only to come up short when I scented other wolves. Their howls made the hair on my back stand up, and I sensed Lyric’s worry. I wanted to shift and reassure her all would be fine, but those howls were heading straight for us.
From Lyric’s body language, she knew who was coming, and although they weren’t the bad guys, she obviously wasn’t prepared for them. I knew my land like I knew the back of my hand, but being new to the shifter world, I wasn’t sure what they could do that I couldn’t. Hell, I wasn’t positive I could shift back to human yet, let alone on command.
I stood next to Lyric, her smaller wolven body barely reaching my belly, waiting for whoever was coming. We didn’t have to wait long before two huge wolves stalked into the clearing by the creek. I assumed the large blond one was Lyric’s brother, since he smelled similar to her. The other was a huge black wolf that exuded power and strength. I had no doubt the two men were the most powerful wolves of the pack. I would not show fear to them. The military didn’t allow such thoughts, and I wouldn’t betray my training tonight.
The black wolf shifted almost seamlessly. “Lyric, I suggest you shift now, girl. You’ve got some explaining to do.”
Not liking the way the big dark man spoke to my woman, I shifted first, blocking her from their view.
I raised my eyebrows at the show of protection. The other man was a little taller than Xan and me, with muscles upon muscles, and not a tattoo in sight. I wondered what the other man was thinking as he stared back at me. I made no apologies for my looks or my behavior. From what we’d learned in the last couple of hours, Rowan was a military man with a long list of honors behind him. He’d inherited his home and land and ran some sort of security business. Basically, he was the polar opposite of my pack and me.
“Hello, Rowan. Welcome to my pack. I see you’ve shifted,” I said, indicating the sweat rolling down the other man’s temple. Although he was putting up a really good front, shifting hurt like a motherfucker for newly made shifters. I usually connected with my packmates during their first shift and helped them through the pain, taking some of it on myself. As the alpha, I was the only one with the ability to do so, although Arynn, our omega, could also, to an extent.
“I don’t know the rules. Am I supposed to do something here? Do we see who can piss longer or what?”
“Xan can piss longer, as a matter of fact. Can’t you, Xan?” I had felt my best friend shift, but I’d also seen the way Rowan had subtly moved his body, keeping both me and Xan in his sights. “Let’s stop playing games and get this show on the road. Are we gonna kill him or slap him on the back and welcome him with some good ole boy drinking? I’d say fucking, but I don’t think I could let him live if he touched my baby sister back there.”
I had smelled no mating between Lyric and Rowan, which was good for the new shifter. I didn’t think I could keep my second from killing the man if he’d done the dirty with Lyric. Of course, I wouldn’t have blamed the man. Lyric was one of the most gorgeous women I’d seen. Sweet, sexy, and sassy wrapped in a small package sure to kick your ass, just like my sister Syn.
“Shift back so we aren’t standing with our junk hanging in the wind,” I said. I waited for Xan to shift, knowing my best friend was laughing. “You go first, and I’ll help you, and before you say something manly like, I don’t need help, believe me, you do.”
“You really will need his help, Rowan. I can’t do what he does as our alpha.” Lyric’s soft voice broke through their silent stare down.
“Girl, you are so gonna get your ass beat by brother here if you don’t quit pressing your naked ass against his naked ass,” I warned.
“Technically, it’s my naked front against his naked ass,” Lyric said, but shifted before Xan shifted back to human and followed through with the threat.
Her brother’s growl was more anger than menacing, which I understood. If Syn was getting up close and comfy with some nude dude, I’d want to take a bite out of the man’s hide, too.
Rowan shook out his hands and rolled his head around like he was getting ready for a fight. He exhaled loudly and then inhaled. I wasn’t sure what the fuck the guy thought was going to happen. I’d always been the less talk, more action type guy myself. Without pausing, I opened myself to Rowan, barreling into the mind of the wolf and taking over the shift.
Fuck! Three shifts in one night, and I still had to do it again when we got back to the house. Rowan was probably crying like a bitch and wishing for death right about now. Only I didn’t find him cowering in the corner of his mind. The man was trying to handle the pain without showing any outward signs. Obviously, Uncle Sam’s training was paying off. After I made sure Rowan could hold the shift, I opened a connection to all three of my pack members.
All right, my minions, follow me and don’t fuck around. I’m not in the mood to hunt, kill, or fuck Bambi.
Dude, that is messed up on a level even Bodhi ain’t messed up on. Xan nudged me in the side.
Who wants to fuck Bambi? Unless she’s some new hot chick?
