Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“Last night. After you called,” Sloane mumbled.

“Last night?” Dex put a hand to his head. Veggies and hummus were all well and good for Sloane’s Human side, but not for the Felid inside him. He needed meat, protein, and more than the packet of sliced chicken Dex had left him in the fridge. “Fuck. Sloane, you know you’re not supposed to attempt shifting. The doctor said so, and it’s in the packet. To make matters worse, you do it when there’s no one here to perform postshift trauma care? With no access to the right foods? What were you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I need to fucking heal, and if that’s the quickest way to do it, then it’s a risk I’m willing to take!”

Sloane’s ferocity surprised Dex, and he took a step back. His partner’s pupils were dilated and his fangs slightly elongated. Fuck, what the hell was going on? It was like Sloane was having trouble controlling his feral side. Dex could see it. He could see the Felid inside Sloane staring back at him from behind glowing amber eyes. Could the meds be doing this? The recovery packet the doctor had given them specifically instructed Sloane not shift while he was healing, especially while on his meds.

“Okay, take it easy. It’s me.” Dex held his hands up in front of him and swallowed hard, aware of the telltale signs. “There’s no hurry for you to heal, Sloane. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Sloane snarled, his fingers flexing against the sheets and his nails starting to grow. Fuck. Oh fuck.

“Sloane, you need to breathe. Calm down.” Dex slowly edged away from the bed. Why was this happening? Sloane had never lost his grip on his Felid side. Not to mention he’d yet to fully recover from his first attempt. “Please, Sloane. Your body’s not healed from the first try. Who knows what a second attempt will do?”

There was no reply from Sloane. He was gritting his teeth, his face red, and his muscles straining.

“Sloane, you need to stop.”

“I can’t.” Sloane lowered his head, his fierce gaze on Dex.

“Why?”

“To protect you!”

Dex gasped as Sloane let out a roar, his body starting to shift. What the hell was Dex supposed to do? He’d never faced a Therian who’d lost control of his Human side, much less an Apex predator. Quickly, he backed up against the far wall, cringing as Sloane’s cries of agony filled the room. Sloane tore at his clothes, pulling his T-shirt and pajama bottoms off before his mass shifted, bones popped, and fur pierced his skin. Dex reached into his pocket and with shaky hands placed a call.

A gruff voice answered. “What do you want?”

“Ash, you have to help me.” The panic in his voice must have been clear, because Ash’s tone instantly transformed from its usual gruffness to concern.

“What’s going on, Dex? Talk to me.”

“It’s Sloane. He’s shifting, but it’s not… not normal. He tried last night but couldn’t complete the transformation. Then we got into an argument, and it’s like he’s lost it. I don’t think he’s in control. How is that possible?”

“Hide.”

“What?”

“Hide somewhere he can’t get to you. I’m on my way. I’ve still got my key to your place.”

Ash hung up, and Dex shoved his phone in his pocket. Where the fuck was he supposed to hide? When he moved his gaze to the bed, he stilled. There was no time for hiding. The huge black jaguar lay in the center of the bed, his tail thumping against the headboard. He sniffed the sheets, then the air before his gaze landed on Dex.

“Sloane?”

Sloane let out

an angry hiss, baring lethal fangs. Fangs capable of piercing a man’s skull. He jumped off the bed and howled when he hit the floor, falling over onto his right side. Dex’s instinct was to go to him, but he caught himself before Sloane could notice. There was no telling how much of his partner was in control. Had it been any other feral Therian, Dex would have done whatever was necessary to neutralize the threat. But this wasn’t any feral Therian: it was his partner, his best friend, his lover. Dex didn’t want to hurt Sloane, but what if Sloane tried to seriously hurt him, or worse? Dex quickly shoved the thought aside. He’d figure a way out of this. He had to.

Sloane twisted and craned his neck to look back at his right leg, hissing at it. When he stood, his leg trembled, and he ended up balancing on his other three legs. It wasn’t enough to slow him down. He hissed at Dex and limped toward him.

Okay, calm down. You can do this.

The THIRDS Therian-Human Relations class had prepared him for this. Sort of. Oh my God, no it hadn’t! The class had taught him about bonds between Human and Therian agents. It hadn’t taught them what to do if their partner went feral. It wasn’t something that happened. Any problems with a Therian agent’s psych evals were immediately addressed, and as far as Dex knew, Sloane’s evals were unquestionable.

Dex quickly considered his options. Sloane was hurt, which meant his response time wouldn’t be as quick. There were several postshift trauma care kits with sedatives around the house, none of which were within his reach right now. Awesome. The bathroom was too far away for him to run to, and it was behind Sloane, so that was out of the question. He’d never make it to the closet in time, and it would mean taking the chance of turning his back on Sloane, which was a big no-no. There was only one option. Slowly, he edged toward the bedroom door, backing away through it and into the hall with his hands in front of him. Sloane watched his every move but remained still. If Dex could make it downstairs, he could hide in the pantry or the basement. Hell, even jump on the counter. Jump. With Sloane’s back leg still weak, his partner might not be able to jump as high as he normally would.

There was a series of growls and screams from downstairs, followed by a roar that reverberated through the house. Ash.

Dex made the mistake of glancing toward the stairs, and he paid the price. He was knocked onto his back by Sloane’s heavy mass, and he banged his head hard against the carpet. Quickly, he tried to scramble back, only to have Sloane claw at him. Dex rolled out of the way, though not before the tips of four razor-sharp claws brushed his forearm, leaving behind a painful sting and tiny beads of blood. Shit, Sloane had clawed him! There was another roar from Sloane when a huge body landed over Dex. Ash stood over him in his lion Therian form, his amber eyes following Sloane’s movements. Some sort of hissing contest followed with Sloane looking mighty pissed off as a result.