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“Don’t fight it. It might hurt, but it won’t last,” he said.
My knees weakened, and I was going down. My bones cracked. The sound was enough to make me want to throw up.
Bjorn scooped me into his arms and brought me onto the gazebo. Fur broke through my skin, and I screamed. It didn’t exactly hurt—at least, it wasn’t like any pain I’d ever felt before. It was more like a burn. A rip. A total transformation.
Bibi opened her shawl—leave it to my fairy dragmother to know exactly what to wear for my first shift.
Bjorn let me go, and I rose on all fours. Light gray fur blossomed over my skin, my face elongated, and…did I have a tail?
Yes. Yes, I did.
“I’m a wolf.”I’d dreamed of this so many times, not knowing why I’d had the same dream over and over, but it was no less shocking in reality than when Bjorn showed me my birth certificate.
“A gorgeous wolf who I thought was gonna break my hands a few minutes back.” Bjorn offered me his hand. I inhaled deeply. He smelled even more earthy like this. My senses were on overdrive. Everything was so intense I could barely comprehend what was happening. I needed Bjorn. I wished we were anywhere else but here, even though I was surrounded by everyone I loved. I had so many questions. So much I didn’t know. So many intense emotions were flowing through me. I was awolf.I bumped my head against his arm, and he took the invitation to run his hands over my fur.
“What do I do now?”I asked, only loudly enough for Bjorn to hear. I hoped. In this form, I could hear a mouse rustling through the leaves on the other side of the lake.
He tugged on his bowtie. I could sense his bear. He’d be joining us momentarily. “I’d love to take you for your first run in the mountains.”
“Take all the time you need,” Bibi said. “I’ll send everyone back to The Village, and we’ll start the celebration there. Hugo and I will wait here for you.”
Everyone headed away from the gazebo and back to their cars. Bjorn stripped out of his clothes and rambled over to me, all bear. His snout was against my fur. We took a moment, exploring each other in these unfamiliar forms.
I trotted over to the water, which lapped gently against the shore, reflecting the fire from the lanterns. It was so beautiful.“Everything is so different. I’m seeing colors I didn’t even know existed.”
“You said you dreamed about this. Is it anything like that?”
I looked back at him.“When did I say that?”
“That night in the forest. I’d thought you’d gone into hypothermia, but it was a pretty important piece of the puzzle.”
“What would I have done if I’d never come to work onThe Mating Game? This would’ve happened no matter what, right? Even though I’d been trained not to do it.”
“Not sure. It could be because you’ve spent so much time around shifters.”He took me into his big, bear arms. Even in our animal forms, he was still much bigger than me. I snuggled against him, and it felt so much like that night in the mountains. This bear would keep me safe.“Or maybe it’s because you finally found your mate.”
“Yeah.”I lifted my head and met his gaze.“I have a confession.”
“What could possibly be left after this episode?”
I laughed. “Right? So here it is. And this is a big one, and you have to promise not to hold it against me.”
“Depends on what it is.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”My body shuddered. “I never hated you, Bjorn. Now that I know what I am, I think I knew all along that you would change my life. It scared me, and now I understand why. Thanks for being patient with me. A lesser bear would have walked away from me long before now.”
“Can’t get rid of me.”He kissed the top of her head.“Deep down, you knew who I was. Your mate. And no amount of training, secrets, or chaos could ever keep us away from each other.”
* * *
