“I won’t ever let you go,” he repeated, the volume plunging so low I couldn’t hear him. But I didn’t need to hear to know what he’d said. Red was a grubby veil over my vision, except for two round spots where Jesse’s eyes glowed bright gold through the gloom.
Beautiful.
Mine.
Connection snapped in my chest…and then kept on snapping.Crack, crack, crack.Pain blasted through me—a nuclear bomb detonating in my chest.
It wasn’t going anywhere.
It wasn’t going anywhere.
Jesse stared at me, his eyes like amber set on fire. He wasn’t going anywhere, either.
Morecracksfired in my ears, and I realized the sounds weren’t gunshots. They were my bones breaking.
The pain wasn’t going anywhere.
So I let it go through me.
Dropping to all fours, I threw my head back and screamed. My voice climbed, soaring up and up and becoming a howl. My bones shifted and snapped, bursting from my skin like one of those nature films showing plant roots shivering over the ground in fast-forward. Blood poured down my arms, only to disappear as fur sprouted in its place. I lowered my head and watched through the crimson veil as my fingers elongated, forming into canine paws tipped with vicious-looking black claws.
The pain raced up my neck and exploded in my mouth, but I was ready for it this time. I didn’t fight as it reshaped my jaw, replacing my human teeth with rows of incisors andlong, conical canines. My face warped, my skin bubbling as my nose grew into a snout. Scents bombarded me, the bite of snow floating under layers of rich, potent soil and sharp green leaves. Animal scents flooded my senses, every squirrel, deer, and bird distinct.
Abruptly, my vision sharpened. Colors burst into view, and it was like that night in the park when I’d attacked Welch. Everything was brighter and bolder, every line pure and perfect. I stared at a tree ahead, wonder spreading through me. I’d always hated Boy Scouts. Had never understood how anyone could enjoy sleeping in a smelly tent and walking half a mile to the shower block just to piss.
Now I got it. The forest was magic. Trees soared around me, every leaf tipped with light from the rising sun. Snow lay in thick, fluffy piles. Dew glittered like diamonds on leaves and fallen logs. Water dripped somewhere…
I turned toward the sound. Something clicked in my head, and I knew the source of the water was a half-mile away.
The wonder inside me blossomed into something as bright as the sun.
Joy.
An enormous wolf with brown fur and bright yellow eyes stepped into view. Jesse opened his jaws and gave me a fangy grin.
The connection in my chest tugged hard, pulling me into him, and it was the most natural thing in the world to rub my whiskers down his flank and let his scent flood my nose.
He tolerated it for a second, then bumped my head away with his and circled me, his gaze assessing. He went round and round a few times, leaving footprints in the snow and checking me out like someone on a used car lot looking for flaws or something.
But the wholeforestwas waiting. I’d just shifted into a wolf, for Christ’s sake, and he expected me to stand still? The third time he circled me, I darted forward and bit his tail.
He whipped around, his teeth pulled back and his glowing eyes wide with shock.
And the chase was on.
A barking laugh spilled from me as I bounded away, my claws digging into snow and dead leaves. He caught up quickly and smashed his body into mine, knocking me sideways. Without thinking—without any effort at all—I landed on my feet and kept going. When I glanced at him running beside me, he gave me another broad grin.
I yipped and ran faster, my blood pumping and a steady stream of joy careening through my veins. Side by side, we crashed through the forest and leapt over half-frozen streams. Branches snapped, and animals scurried from our path. When I scented a deer, I tore after it, chasing it over fallen tree trunks and clumps of shrubbery. It was fast, though, and it had the benefit of being an actual wild animal. After several minutes of the hunt, it launched itself from a big rock and soared over a leaf-strewn creek. I attempted to follow, but the rock was coated in a thick layer of melting ice, and I slipped and went crashing into the water.
I came up sputtering and found Jesse literally howling with laughter on the bank.
Asshole.I exited the water with as much dignity as I could muster, then stalked to him and shook out my fur, spraying water droplets everywhere.
He snapped his jaws in my face, startling me so badly that I staggered backward and landed on my ass in the snow. Then he took off again, his barks of laughter echoing back to me.
Grinning, I jumped to my feet and raced after him.
We played for hours, running and exploring. He taught me how to catch rabbits, and we ate them standing side by side, crunching through the bones. Which,gross, but it wasn’t somehow. Afterward, he licked my face with his long, barbed tongue, making me squirm like a toddler getting baby-wiped by an overzealous mother. Eventually, I wriggled away, and he swiped at my tail as I danced out of reach.
