agony as I dug one clawed hand into the earth and the other into Jaxson’s
palm.
The alpha turned and dropped to a knee beside me. He pressed his free
hand into the small of my back, and his power sent wave after wave of relief
through my body. His touch was warm and cold at the same time and felt like
the ocean rolling across my skin.
I shivered in delight as much as I shook in pain.
The scent of the forest around us mingled with his signature, and in my
daze, I couldn’t tell one from the other. My skin was more sensitive than it
had ever been, yet somehow, I couldn’t feel where his hand stopped and my
own skin began.
For a moment, we were one together beneath the stars—Jaxson, the wolf,
and me.
His hands held me steady as I pitched and bucked, and his power drove
through me, pushing me forward to the end. I gasped as my spine cracked
and fur erupted around my back. And finally, sore and spent, I staggered
forward on four clumsy paws and howled—a long, mournful cry that echoed
with relief and release, agony and ecstasy.
I’m free.
The world was new.
My human senses paled in comparison to my out-of-this-world wolf
perception. Hundreds of strange and exciting aromas hung in the air. Some I
could pinpoint. Mushrooms. Moss. Different types of trees. Others I only had
a vague idea of.
Suddenly, I had my nose against the ground and was sniffing. Shock
rolled through me. I didn’t have control.
I was supposed to think differently, but wasn’t I supposed to be in
control?
Apparently not. I was out of the driver’s seat, and someone else
was