The shift is subtle at first. A slight uptick in her pulse that makes my wolf's ears prick up. Then it builds. Her scent sharpens with fear and her body tenses against Killian's chest, muscles coiling tight.
Nightmare.
Regina lets out a soft whimper. The sound from my strong mate is so small, so fucking helpless, that it hits me like a punch to the gut. My wolf surges forward, snarling at an enemy he can't fucking see or fight.
The others react before they're even fully awake. Pack instinct, maybe, or the fated mate pull that's been riding all of us since we found her. Even Micah, still mostly unconscious, reaches out to rest a hand on her ankle.
We're all doing it on instinct. Closing ranks around our mate. Surrounding her with warmth and presence and the bone-deep message that she's not alone.
She's safe.
We've got her.
My wolf is pacing now, frantic with the need to do more. And then he has the worst idea in the history of ideas.
Shift, he practically demands.Shift and curl around her. We're bigger and fluffy as fuck in wolf form. We could cover her completely, keep her warm, protect her from everything?—
No fucking way.
She's afraid of wolves, dumbass,I tell myself, forcing my wolf down like I'm stuffing a thick blanket into a shoebox. I'm practically bursting at the seams with wolf that wants to flop over Regina and snuggle on her and maybe squish her a little bit.
If Regina weren't traumatized, she'd love it.
But sheistraumatized. And the last thing she needs is to wake up from a nightmare about claws and teeth to find an actual wolf wrapped around her.
So I stay human. We all do.
It's harder than it should be. My wolf keeps pushing and I have to actively fight the urge to let the change take me. My skin feels like it's on fucking fire. Then it starts to itch, which is somehow worse. I squeeze the meat between my thumb and forefinger until my hand throbs to distract myself.
No wolfing out. Not right now.
When I'm feeling more human-brained again, I crawl up from my spot at her feet, careful not to jostle anyone. I wedge myself into the pile properly, pushing Killian aside.
"Fuck off," Killian growls under his breath, but he's still asleep and I'm not, so I win.
I press my body against Regina's back and wrap my arms and another blanket around her, cocooning her. Turning her into a perfect little witch burrito. Being kind of thick has its perks—I run hot as fuck and there's more of me to cuddle. Regina gets a built-in weighted blanket and a space heater in one package, and I don't even have to be a wolf for it.
Suck onthat, pack.
"We're here," I murmur against her hair, kissing the scar behind her ear. "You're safe, pretty witch. Nothing's gonna hurt you."
She can't hear me. Not consciously. But maybe some part of her knows, because the tension in her body starts to ease. Her heartbeat slows. That sharp edge of fear fades from her scent, replaced by soft contentedness.
Fuck yes.
Nightmare status?Demolished.
Chapter 4
REGINA
I sleeplike the fucking dead.
At some point I woke up just enough to realize I was surrounded by four very awake, very restless wolves trying way too hard to stay still. Someone's stomach was growling. Someone else kept shifting positions every thirty seconds. I'm pretty sure Killian was literally watching me breathe.
"Downstairs," I mumbled. "All of you. Please."
They went, reluctantly. Good boys.
