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“You need to calm down,” I said to him as much as my wolf.
“Calm down?” he scoffed. “Calm down? You shouldn’t be here.”
I gripped the door frame with one hand while clutching my stomach with the other. “And why is that?”
“It's because–”
My ears rang, cutting off my dad’s voice as my wolf clawed to the surface. I’d gone through plenty of shifts in the past but never one as fast as this. One second I was standing, doubled over in pain, and the next, I was three feet tall.
Darkness crowded my vision, pushing a ball of lead into my chest. Panicked and unable to see, I sucked in a lungful of air, then breathed around my relief once the momentary blindness had passed.
Light brown fur covered my arms and legs with a white streak painted along the underside of my stomach, chest, and neck. The clothes I’d just had on lay on the floor around me.
“Liv?” Kate’s voice pierced my subconscious long enough for me to sense her standing behind me.
“You good now?” My father’s hard tone hadn’t improved.
My tail curled behind my legs as my ears flattened against my skull.
“Let’s go.” This time, he didn’t give me a choice, pinching the skin between my shoulder blades and neck.
Pain shot down my back, causing me to cry out. Concerned for Kate’s wellbeing, I shook free, then turned on him, biting my dad’s hand in the process.
I’m not your pet.My lips curled back, showing my fangs as I glared in his direction.And I'd like you to stop treating me that way.
“I want you out,” Nora said as she hurried into the kitchen. “Now.”
“Liv?” My dad cocked an eyebrow at me.
My fur bristled. A low growl passed through my lips.
The only way I’d get home was if I went with him or ran around in my pelt, neither of which were ideal. Especially after seeing how upset he was or how uneasy my wolf felt then. Until the tension passed and my wolf calmed, there wasn’t anything I could do.
“You know what? Fine.” There was an audible growl in his voice. “If you want to act like a child, so be it, but don’t come running to me and your mom at the first sign of trouble.”
He waited a moment more, likely expecting me to change my mind, then stormed out of the house.
His heavy footfalls mimicked the harsh beating of my heart, causing my head to throb as my entire body sank to the floor.
Nora was at my side within seconds, gently stroking my pelt. “It’s okay,” she soothed. “I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like.”
Why are you helping me?I lifted my head, then lowered it when the throbbing around my temples became too strong.
“Liv?”
Kate?I whimpered at her and flopped my tail.
“I don’t understand,” she said as she joined me and Nora on the floor.
“You have quite the admirer here,” Nora said when I sniffed at Kate’s hand. “She was protecting you.”
“She was?” Kate glanced the way my dad had gone and shivered enough for me to notice.
“From the situation,” Nora explained. “Sadly, for wolves like Liv, she won’t be able to change back until her wolf is ready. So try and go easy on her for now, okay? No need to make things worse.” She offered Kate a warm smile, then got up to leave. “I’m going to grab a few blankets. Chances are, her wolf needs to sleep.”
“Wait. You’re just going to leave me here with her?” Kate snapped her mouth shut, but it was too late.
“Liv attacked in self-defense and to keep you safe. She won’t hurt you. Of that, I’m sure.” Nora placed a reassuring hand on Kate’s shoulder, then went to gather the blankets she’d mentioned before.
