I heard Kane chuckle, felt him move up right behind me. “I don’t remember little Ainslee having fucking claws,” he said in amusement. “She takes after her animal side more, it seems.”
I knew they would try to subdue me again. They were taking me from my mate. They were taking me from my home.
Not going to happen.
Kane went to grab me, and I ducked and turned, running back to the fight... back to my mate. I stumbled but righted myself almost instantly, panic and fear making my steps sloppy. Although I knew they wouldn’t hurt me—not physically, at least—they were causing me pain by taking me away from Luca.
But I wasn’t fast enough. I felt massive arms lock around me, hauling me back against their chest. “Ainslee,” Kane grunted. “Fucking hell, girl. Put your claws back.” He turned with me in his arms. “We are only trying to help.”
God, how could he say that as I heard Luca’s and Adryan’s roars echoing throughout the forest as they fought?
I have to get to Luca.
I screamed and kicked out, but I was not nearly as strong as he was, my body half his size. I saw Sebastian rising up, his teeth bared and a grimace of pain on his face.
“She kicked me so fucking hard in the balls.”
Panic seized me over and over again as Kane hauled me away from the fight. No-no-no. I have to get back there.
And as that pain and anger and intense emotion filled me, I felt something snap in my body.
Something was wrong... with me.
My emotions were a living entity within me, my fear so consuming I couldn’t breathe. I was dizzy, nauseated, the world tilting beneath my feet.
I heard more enraged roars and snarls.
I felt something break within me, this pain encompassing every part of my body. I heard a crack, and then another crack, excruciating agony spearing from my hands to my limbs, down to the follicles in each strand of hair.
“What the fuck?” I was vaguely aware of Sebastian talking.
“What the hell is happening?” Kane was the next to respond, his voice close, but everything started to fade away as the agony became too much.
I heard screaming, realized it came from me, and cried out harder, my throat burning. Something was terribly wrong. I felt it right down to my very marrow.
I was let go, my body crumbling to the ground, because it hurt too much to stay upright.
“Gods!” I cried out. “What’s happening?” My voice sounded weird, distorted. Not my own.
I was on my hands and knees, fingers dug into the earth, dirt under my nails. But my eyes widened as I looked down at my hands.
No, not hands. Paws.
No, not nails. Claws.
This changing overtook me so powerfully after that there was no trying to understand what was happening.
My bones broke and contorted, morphing and twisting. My skin was peeled from my body and replaced with fur. I felt myself crying but couldn’t stop myself, could no longer scream.
And then there was a burst inside me, flashes of light in front of my eyes, my vision twisting and blurring before becoming sharp.
The pain ended, and I felt... power.
I slowly rose, no longer a human, my wolf finally emerging. I inhaled slowly, tipping my head back and taking it all in, everything so crystal-clear and perfect.
A twig snapped behind me, and I slowly turned around, seeing Sebastian and Kane standing side by side, both wearing identical shocked expressions. Although they were bigger than me, stronger, they both took a step back in unison. They shook their heads, their confusion coating the air in a sickly sweet aroma.
I heard Luca roar out again, and my wolf rose up in response, howling to the moon, an answer that I was coming. I didn’t know how much help I’d be, or if I’d be a hindrance, but I had to try... something, anything.
Sebastian held his hands out in surrender and took a step toward me. I instantly bristled, peeling back my mouth from my teeth, saliva dripping off my fangs. I’d never felt so violent before. Is this how protective Luca felt where I was concerned?
I growled low, feeling a strength I’d never experienced before coursing through me. He stopped, hands still out ahead of him, but when Luca roared again, that’s when I turned and ran, headed toward my mate.
I may not know how or why I was able to shift right now, but my only priority was getting to Luca.
My head pounded, all these new sights and smells, my surroundings so amplified, it was almost too much for me to process.
Although my human side was very conscious of everything around me, I felt my wolf had a little bit more control. Was this what it felt like when my father and brothers shifted? Was mine more diluted and my human more present because of my hybrid state?