The very thing he never wanted to be.
And now he wouldn’t be able to go with his parents to wherever it was they were supposed to be going.
Would he ever see them again?
Panic gripped him, heart beating so hard he half expected to see it jump out of his chest any second.
What the fuck am I going to do? Where will I go?
A tearing sound shattered the calm of the room, and Cole looked down to see the sheet in tatters, fingers wrapped around the threads. He knew he should calm down, could feel himself spiralling out of control, but how? How did he calm down when inside him was a wild animal just itching to be set free?
A familiar scent caught his attention, and his head snapped up to see Logan standing in the doorway, staring at him.
“You’re awake,” he said softly, a touch of uncertainty to his voice.
Cole couldn’t make the words come, mouth clamped shut in case his fangs popped out. Wasn’t that how it worked? You got panicked or angry and then you shifted?
But Logan had said they didn’t do that. They went full wolf, which,oh god, was even more horrifying.
And yet it didn’t feel like it would be, not deep down.
And that was the most terrifying thing of all.
“Hey, are you okay?” Logan was somehow in front of him without Cole noticing him enter the room.
“Aren’t shifters supposed to have superior senses?” he blurted out.
Logan looked wary, hesitant. “Yes, but—”
“Then how did you manage to creep up on me? Why didn’t I hear you come into the room?” Cole saw the moment Logan realised. “Yes, I’m aware that I’m no longer human.” He sounded bitter to his own ears, even though he hadn’t meant it to come out like that. It wasn’t Logan’s fault, he was pretty sure of that, but who’s was it? Max’s for not letting him die? Because that had to be what happened. She wouldn’t have done it otherwise.
Fuck it all, he just wanted someone to blame.
Logan looked as though he desperately wanted to touch Cole but kept his hands to himself.
Just as well, because at this point, Cole had no idea how he’d react.
“I’m sorry,” Logan whispered.
“What for? Was it you who bit me?” Cole met his gaze, praying he wasn’t wrong. For whatever reason, he needed Logan to have upheld his wishes. As far as Logan knew them anyway.
“No.” Logan shook his head.
“It was me.” Max stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her belly, watching them. She wasn’t defensive or apologetic, just stating a fact. Cole kind of liked that.
“Why?”
“Because you were going to die. We ran out of time, Cole, and you never told me no. So I bit you.” She sighed, the long-suffering sigh of someone who’d had enough for one day. “I’m not sorry I did it. But I am sorry if it’s not what you wanted.”
“I—” Cole didn’t know what to say, how to answer that non-question, or even if he should. “I didn’t want to die.” That was the truth.
She offered him a small smile. “But you don’t know if this is what you wanted either?”
“Something like that.” He shrugged. It made little sense, but then, what did at the moment?
“For what it’s worth, Logan argued against it. He refused to give you the bite because you’d told him you’d never want it.”
Logan paled, gaze darting from Cole to Max, then back again.
