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The following evening, I sleepa bit later again, only this time I’m not recovering from physical trauma, I’m just being lazy. Both Parker and Oliver are passed out on either side of me, and it feels so good to be sandwiched between them that I stay snuggled in their arms until my body demands I get up. I carefully extract myself from the pair. I don’t want to wake them. They’ve both got to be exhausted.
During Parker’s waking hours—and he’s been pushing his limits on both the sunset and sunrise ends of the night—he and Oliver have been working nonstop with Director West to sort through the aftermath of the battle with Henry’s clan.
Being field agents, Nick and I haven’t been as busy. Of course, we were both passed out afterward anyway. When I woke up, I asked if I could help, but Director West told me to rest and wouldn’t let Nick anywhere near the office. He’s still weak from the gold dust poisoning, and I guess he’s not the person she wants dealing with the human government and all the bureaucracy that goes along with smoothing things over after such a serious incident. That made me laugh. I can only imagine what kinds of trouble Nick Gorgeous stirs up when he has to deal with human politics. Parker and Oliver are much better suited for that. But, the mess has finally been contained, and Director West told both Parker and Oliver to take the night off tonight.
Terrance and Wulf are off work, too, seeing as how the club was pretty trashed after the fight with the mercenaries. Terrance hired Laagh’s brownie clan to fix the place up, but it’s going to take at least a week before it’s ready for a re-opening. In the meantime, I have all my guys home, and I’m excited to spend a relaxing night with all of them.
After a quick shower, I leave my exhausted men to find the rest of my guys all watching a football game on the big screen. They’ve got enough pizza, wings, chips, and beer to feed a small army and are all absorbed in the game.
Charlie, Illren, and Ren are all snuggled together on one couch. I still can’t get over the idea that Illren can sometimes be physically affectionate with his clan brothers. If anyone else ever tried to touch him, they’d get stabbed. Terrance is in his armchair, with his feet up and his eyes closed as if he’s drifting off to sleep. And Enzo looks so cute—and a bit overwhelmed—sitting between the big Winters brothers on the other couch. I wonder if he’s ever had “guy time” like this before.
I sneak in and take a spot next to Rook on the end of the couch. He puts his arm around me and gives me a quick kiss before tucking me into his side. I stay there, happily watching the game and making all of the men explain the rules to me until Oliver and Parker both finally wake up. They pull in chairs from the dining room and tackle the rest of the food.
Once the game ends, I get everyone’s attention before they scatter. “Hey, so I was thinking since we all have the night off, we should do something all together.”
“Want to see a movie or something?” Oliver asks.
“Actually…” I bite my lip and wring out my hands. I don’t know why I’m so nervous to give them my suggestion. I now have everyone’s complete attention, and it makes me blush. “I was thinking maybe we could go over to Wulf’s place. I think I’d like to try to shift again where I can be in the water, but I don’t want to try it alone. Will you guys go swimming with me?”
The men all seem surprised by the request, but not a single one of them hesitates to jump up and get their stuff. We all pile into several cars and head across town to Wulf’s warehouse. I change into my bikini top and a long shirt that goes down to my thighs. It feels strange not wearing bottoms, but if I’m successful, I’ll have a tail, and I don’t want to ruin the pretty bathing suit Oliver gave me.
I’m the last one out of the bathroom, and even though I knew it was coming, I’m not prepared for the sight of my entire clan shirtless. Damn. I stumble to a stop and gulp as I take in the sight of them. I don’t even bother to hide the fact that I’m checking them out. How could I not? Honestly. I’m clan with the hottest men in Detroit.
A couple of the men chuckle. “Need to take a picture?” Rook teases.
I shake my head. “More like a wall calendar. I could sell it and live off the profits forever.”
The guys all laugh, and the tension is broken. We all head over to the pool, and the guys jump in. I sit down on the edge of the pool and take a few calming breaths while I swish my legs in the water. Like last time, the water seems to welcome me, and a lot of my nerves melt away.
The men give me space, and it’s Rook who stands in front of me. “You nervous?”
I nod. “A little.”
He smiles and places his hands on my knees. “Most wolves don’t shift their first time until they’re around ten or twelve. It’s natural to be nervous. But once you do it, you’ll probably find that you love your alternate form. Did you notice it before?”
I bite my lip and look away as I shrug. “To be honest, I didn’t really think about it. As soon as I shifted, my compulsions were broken and my darkness took over so fast.”
Rook turns my chin back toward him, and I hold my breath as I meet his eyes. “You don’t need to be ashamed of anything that happened.”
Oliver steps up beside him and smiles softly. “And you don’t need to fear the darkness ever again. I can feel the magic in you. There is nothing dark about it.”
“Letting out your siren now will only make you feel at peace,” Wulf says, pulling himself out of the water to sit on the deck beside me. “She’s been contained for too long. It’s not healthy for a shifter to never shift.”
“And you remember how much you loved the water before?” Oliver asks.
I look at him and blush. I loved a lot more than the water the last time we were here. Oliver can tell what I’m thinking of, and his face turns as red as mine. Rook and Wulf shoot us questioning glances, but we’re not about to explain it. Oliver clears his throat and says, “You told me the water was calling to you, that it felt alive. Imagine how it will feel when you’re in your shifted form.”
“You were meant for the water,” Parker adds, smiling at me from just behind Rook.
All of my men surround me, and it gives me the boost of confidence that I need. “Okay. You’re right. I can do this.” I take a deep breath and try to concentrate. “It’s just a tail.”
I shake away my nerves and blow a slow breath out of my cheeks as I close my eyes. “I was angry and panicked last time I did this. I’m not sure I know how to do it now.”
Rook runs his hands up my bare thighs. “Just concentrate on your siren.”
“Like I can concentrate at all with you doing that?” I mutter.
The guys laugh, but Rook removes his hands. I try again to focus. I close my eyes and picture what I looked like before. The beautiful teal tail. The scales that ran up my arms from wrist to just below my elbow. Even my sharp, clawed hands. And then I think of my siren. I pull her to the surface with me and give her a mental nudge.
