Page 40 of Awakened By the Guardian

“Want you,” Gary repeated, his eyes narrow.

“I got that. What else?” She swiftly buttoned her jeans then grabbed her bra without breaking eye contact.

“It’s close,” he said, his voice a harsh rasp. “Feel it.”

“What’s close?” When he didn’t answer, Margaret pressed harder. “Gary! What’s close?”

“Bear,” he said, though it sounded more like a grunt. “Shift,” he added, his gaze on his arms. “Shift!”

He was ordering himself to change. Margaret had her bra on now, tee shirt ready, but her gaze was locked on him. He was leaning forward. If his legs worked, he would have been on all fours by now. But they didn’t, so he was hunched forward on his arms and glaring down at himself as though he could will what he wanted to happen.

Margaret could feel a kind of current whooshing past, cold air, tingling awareness not quite on a conscious level. Was it happening? Was this how it had occurred last time, or was this something darker and more terrifying? She couldn’t remember. It had happened so fast.

“Shift!” he bellowed.

CHAPTER 11

Gary felt the power burn inside. Lightning-hot, it seared his mind and his body with the promise of change, but it didn’t burst free. It churned there, boiling through his veins, but it didn’t pop. It didn’t splinter. It didn’t do any of the things he thought he remembered; it just plateaued, an almost tip, a near explosion. Close to the change that might bring back his legs. Close, but not there.

“Come on!” he growled at his arms. Where was the fur? Where were the claws? He needed to become a bear so he could return as a whole man with working legs. “Shift!”

Margaret whimpered. Gary’s head shot up and he saw her, nearly dressed except for her tee shirt clutched in her fist. She had it and both hands pressed to her mouth. Her eyes were wide and her skin ashen. She was terrified.

It will be okay, he thought. Everything was going according to plan. It had to.

“It’s okay, Gary,” Margaret said. Her voice was high with strain, but clear enough. “I’ve texted your father. He’s on his way up. It’ll be okay.”

He lifted his head and growled at her, a deep-throated growl because he didn’t want his father here. He didn’t want anyone except her and him. And to fucking shift!

The change was right here. So close. His entire body was on fire, even his legs, but the transformation was paused, pulsing like a damned disco beat that never found its climax. This was torture, hanging him uselessly in the place of almost, and it was like he was losing his mind.

Almost. Almost a shifter. Almost healed. Almost with Margaret forever.

Fucking almost! He was so close!

He heard the elevator ding, lifted his head and roared. His father and Vic appeared. Vic was transformed and monstrous. Gary glared at them, his mind focusing on Vic’s furred arms and wicked claws. He saw the guy’s bear muzzle and curved ears, and he wanted them. He was going to change into that! Or better. He would be a full bear. A full fucking grizzly bear.

Except, no. Nothing happened, and the more he strained, the more furious he got.

“Don’t fight it,” his father said. “Just go with it, whatever it is.”

That’s what he was doing! He was trying to go with it, but he couldn’t kick over.

“Sorry,” Vic said to Margaret, gesturing to himself, and Gary fought back his fury at the interruption. “Had a dust-up with some hybrids and had to move some people around. Didn’t mean to leave you alone so long.”

Margaret nodded and hauled on her tee, her expression fearful. She pointed at Gary. “Is he going to be okay?”

Okay? No! Gary’s gaze cut to her. He didn’t want her covered, but he sure as hell didn’t want the others seeing her the way he had: flushed and pretty, undressed, her eyes dazed and her body so gloriously open to him. God, the scent of her alone…!

Except, she didn’t look open now. She looked frightened as she backed slowly into a corner. Her eyes were wet with tears, her hands shaking where she pressed them against her mouth, and her shoulders were tight with strained breathing. Her asthma had returned.

Damn it! It wasn’t supposed to be like this! She was supposed to be happy, not terrified. And he was supposed to have shifted by now. He’d had a plan. He’d had…

No!

His head dropped down. The power was burning out. He could feel it fading with every heartbeat, just what Dr. Sherilyn had warned might happen. Emptiness. His breath was harsh, sawing in and out of his throat. He’d failed.

He looked down at himself. Had he changed at all? Even a little? No. He stared at his body and saw normal human arms and hands. When he tried to move his legs, they were lifeless. Dead weight. Flopping onto his ass, he glared at the useless things. He started pounding on them, beating out his frustrations while he cursed with every breath. “Damned. Fucking. Useless!”