Page 42 of Charged By the Razorbacks

She noticed anyway. Of course she did. Because, hello, they were hot, and she was not blind ... or stupid.

Then the change began.

It wasn’t clean or smooth like she might have expected, but it was real.

She watched as Jarek’s body shifted first, his frame expanding, muscle thickening, reshaping beneath skin that didn’t stay human for long. Bone followed, a visible restructuring that should have been horrifying and somehow wasn’t. It was too precise for that. Too intentional.

Too powerful.

Aleksy’s shift came beside him, quieter somehow, more controlled even as his body followed the same transformation, the same expansion, the same reformation into something far larger, far more dangerous than any human form could contain.

Tamsin didn’t move.

Her gaze tracked every second of it, absorbing the process, the reality of it, the truth of what they were beneath everything else.

And then—they were there. Fully shifted. Both of them were massive.

They didn’t just fill the space—they changed it.

Their bodies rose high, easily to her shoulder when she stood, thick muscle layered over bone built for impact and force. Their hides were dark, coarse, built for more than survival—built for war. Tusks curved up from their jaws, wicked and sharp, not ornamental, not symbolic, but real weapons that could do serious damage if they ever chose to use them.

And their eyes—God. They were blood red. Not glowing in some unnatural way, not theatrical, but deep, burning, aware in a way that sent a quiet shiver through her.

She let out a slow breath, her head tilting slightly as she really looked at them.

Not just their size or the threat that came with them. But the detail. Could she tell them apart? The answer hit her almost immediately.

Yes. Of course she could. Easily.

Jarek stood just a fraction heavier in his stance, his weight set forward, his presence pushing into the space like he owned it, like he always would. There was a faint marking along one shoulder, not a clean scar but a subtle variation in the hide, something old, something earned.

Aleksy held differently.

More controlled. His weight balanced, his stillness intentional, like he didn’t waste energy even in this form. His gaze tracked her in a way that felt sharper, more precise, even if the size of him was just as overwhelming.

Same species. Same power.

Completely different.

Her lips curved.

“Well,” she said softly, more to herself than them. “That explains a lot.”

Neither of them moved. They just watched her.

And waited.

Tamsin stepped forward. One step. Then another.

Closing the distance they had given her.

“I’m still here,” she said, her voice steady, a little lighter now. “That’s usually a good sign.”

Jarek shifted first, a low sound rumbling out of him, not quite a growl, not quite anything human, but not aggressive either.

Aleksy held, but she saw the way his focus sharpened.

“You were worried,” she said, glancing between them.