The war on Eli’s face was obvious as he resisted displaying the eagerness that filled him. Finally, he shrugged. “I guess that’s okay.”
Katie appeared behind him, eyes smiling as she looked at me. “That sounds exciting. Just think, Eli, you’ll be able to turn into a wolf whenever you’d like. Who do you know who can do that?”
The corner of the teen’s mouth twitched, but he kept his expression bored. “Whatever.”
I motioned for him to follow me, hoping Katie would stay behind, but she didn’t. We went into the pasture behind the main barn, and I turned to Eli. “You need to understand the importance of controlling your shift. Outside of shifter havens, humans can hunt, and they often can’t tell the differencebetween a shifter’s animal and just an animal. It’s why we try to only shift on our property here.”
Katie frowned. “I’ve reached out to the nearest shifter haven, Shifter Alley, but it’s several hours away. The man I spoke to said he’d pass my number along to the wolf pack that lives there.”
“The Alley has a good pack. Very progressive. They might take Eli in. A lot of packs care too much about bloodlines.” I snorted, clasping a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “It’s one reason I wasn’t adopted by a wolf family.”
“You’re adopted?” The teen’s brow furrowed.
“All my brothers except for Declan were.” I gave him a knowing glance. “I was older than you when I finally found my home. We don’t always know what fate has in store for us.”
He huffed. “Fate? You believe in fate?”
I grinned. “Most shifters do. But I’ll tell you more about that another day. The first thing you need to do is learn control.” I studied him, narrowing my eyes. “Usual lesson plans for that start with meditation, but since you’ve already shifted once, we might need to fast-track a little.”
“Meditation?” He sneered.
“Yup. It’s important to center yourself and to know the difference between you and the animal inside.” I sucked in a breath. “I’ll still show you some meditation exercises to work on in your own time, but you also need to understand how to shift so if you do it by accident again, you can shift back.”
“I already did it once. I can do it again.” Eli jutted his chin out.
“You might find it a little harder to do on purpose.” I motioned for him to step forward. “Why don’t you give it a shot?”
He strutted a few feet away from us, a smirk on his lips. Nothing happened. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force the shift. His body strained with the effort, and I let himcontinue for a few minutes before giving him instructions, my voice pitched low.
“Relax your muscles. Picture your wolf. Remember how it felt to be in its body. The way the ground felt beneath your paws. The wind in your fur.”
“This is stupid.” The teen kicked at the ground, his jaw tense. “Feel the wolf? It’s ridiculous.”
“It takes time to get used to it.” I studied Eli. “You’ve only been in your wolf’s form once, so it’s hard to remember what it feels like. I can help force your shift to give you more experience. But you need to use that time to notice the differences between forms.”
I glanced over at Katie, who was watching us, her gaze curious. “You may want to turn your back for a minute. I don’t want to rip my clothes.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and reached for my belt. Her eyes lingered briefly on my bare chest, and I fought the urge to puff it out. It wasn’t until I undid the belt and button on my jeans that she turned away, cheeks flushed.
I shifted, and before I could stop my wolf, he padded over to Katie, pushing his head against her hand. She started, then tentatively stroked my fur, a small smile playing with her lips. “This is amazing. You’re lucky, Eli. You get to do something so cool.”
The boy’s cheeks reddened, but he drew his shoulders back as his gaze studied my wolf. I pulled away from Katie, despite my wolf’s protests, and faced Eli. I pushed out my wolf’s aura, calling to his animal half.
Eli gasped as his body changed. Forcing a shift was uncomfortable, but he needed to spend time in his wolf form, and not just when his emotions were high.
It took several minutes as his human half fought it. Most shifters grew up knowing they had an animal half, so they didn’tfight the change. But Eli’s mind still clung to the idea that he was only human.
Finally, his wolf stood in front of me, legs shaking. I nudged him with my head and gestured toward the pasture. His wolf followed me eagerly, but I started off slowly, giving him a chance to get used to having four legs beneath him.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Katie waving to us with a wide grin spread across her face. The pull to her was strong, but I pushed it down, forcing my wolf to continue moving away from her. As much as I wanted her, I knew I couldn’t have her. She deserved so much more.
Katie
Luke’s wolf dwarfed Eli’s and radiated a calm the teen didn’t have. Eli jumped around, occasionally stumbling, as if learning to walk all over again. Luke trotted along beside him, his movements fluid.
When they disappeared from sight, I turned back toward the barn. I didn’t know how long they’d be gone, or where they’d return. But I wasn’t worried about Eli being alone with Luke. Luke had been patient with the boy, and I knew instinctively that he was trustworthy.
I paused, hand on the gate, as my mind wandered. The image of a shirtless Luke flashed through my head. I bit my lip. Hopefully, the trust I felt wasn’t simply a by-product of my attraction to the man with the smooth muscles and smattering of dark chest hair. I wondered what it would feel like to run my hands over his skin.
