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He reached out to stop her, but she slapped his hand away, her strength and speed surprising him. “Don’t think last night gave you the right to try to order me around, wolf man. I’ve got a job to do, and I intend to do it right.”
“This is my niece we’re talking about,” he ground out.
“And at this point in time your niece appears to still be alive.” She flung the words over her shoulder as she continued marching up the street. “You go rushing in blindly, and you just might be the trigger that kills her.”
What she said was common sense. He knew that. But it went against every instinct he had to stand here and do nothing while the unthinkable could be happening to one very precious little girl. He thrust a hand through his hair and glanced in the direction from which Kat had come, then took another deep breath and followed her back to the cabins.
And wondered if he could still become a wolf after all the years of denying that part of himself.
* * *
KAT CROSSED HER ARMS AND WATCHED ETHAN PACE. HE didn’t say anything, but he didn’t really need to. His anger, frustration, and perhaps even fear filled the room, as sharp as the wind outside.
“It’s not that easy,” he said eventually. “I can’t just become a wolf.”
“It is that easy,” she replied, keeping her voice calm. Anything else would only inflame him further. “And it’s not a case of can’t. It’s more won’t.”
He glared at her, his fists clenched by his side. Controlling the anger rather than any desire to lash out, she knew.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he growled. “Not this time.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong. Again.”
He snorted and resumed his pacing. “What, are you trying to tell me you’re also a werewolf? Because, trust me, I’d know if that were true.”
“Of course that’s not what I’m saying,” she bit back. So much for calmness. “I am, however, a shifter.”
He stopped abruptly, his expression a mix of surprise and disbelief. “What?”
“I’m a shifter. I can take on the form of a raven.”
“No.”
“God save me from obstinate men,” she muttered. She pushed away from the wall. “Watch and learn.”
With that, she called to the shifting magic and felt it surge through her, with eager fierceness. In a matter of seconds, she was a raven rather than a woman.
And the look on his face was priceless.
She shifted back, adjusted her clothing, and said, “It’s that easy, Ethan. You just have to go with the flow.”
He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “I really have lived a sheltered life, haven’t I?”
“Apparently so.” But why was the question—though one she knew he wouldn’t answer right now.
He walked across to the window and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “I don’t know—”
“Look,” she said, “if you want to come to the cabin I found that cross in, you have two choices. Face the wrath of your captain in human form, or avoid it altogether by becoming a wolf. Your choice, as I said, but decide quickly. We need to get up there.”
He took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “I don’t know how to take wolf form willingly. The only time I tried—” He stopped and shrugged, but she felt the flash of pain nevertheless. Obviously, something had gone seriously wrong that one and only time.
“I can guide you, Ethan. It really is easy enough to do. In the end, the magic is a part of you. You just have to be willing to release it.”
“Something I’ve spent a lifetime avoiding.” He swung around to face her, his expression resolute. “What do I do?”
“First off, relax. Breathe deep and release the anger, the fear, and the tension.”
“Easier said than done,” he muttered.
