But I still know that I need to keep her safe, which means it’s time to shift back.
I transform first, so I can walk her through the process. The change comes quickly, with no time to feel pain. When I’m back on two feet, I feel my clothes return and realize one crucial thing.
Rowan doesn’t have the rune I do.
“You can’t shift yet,” I say, trying to explain why, but her wolf doesn’t give me the chance.
Apparently, these two are one of a kind because thestubborn beast narrows her eyes and calls the energy back inside her.
It’s not fluid. It’s not painless. I see the ripple of agony in her multi-faceted eyes as fur recedes, bones snap, and the sound of her body contorting makes my own spine ache in sympathy. Still, she doesn’t falter. There’s no hesitation. Just Rowan, taking the pain head-on like she was born for it.
And then she’s standing there, naked as the day she was born.
For one suspended heartbeat, she doesn’t notice. She even arches a brow at me, hand cocked on her hip with dangerous confidence. “You were saying what now?”
That’s when the realization hits her.
Her gaze drops, her face pales, and a screech shatters the night, so sharp it probably wakes the dead.
I don’t mean to laugh. I really don’t. But Rowan is shrieking like a banshee in the middle of the damn forest, sprinting for the tree line, and her glorious, round ass is flashing like some kind of moonlit beacon. It’s almost too much to take in.
“Quit looking at me!” she yells, diving into the bushes. Branches snap and scratch at her porcelain skin as she tucks herself deeper into the undergrowth, which only makes the situation worse.
In her scramble to cover herself, she moves with all the grace of a drunken fawn, and then suddenly goes quiet. The silence is alarming enough that I take a cautious step forward, only for her to shout again. “Damn it, Cade. You could’ve warned me!”
The corners of my mouth twitch, and despite herfury, I hear the laughter hiding in her voice. She wants to be angry, but the absurdity of it all is winning.
Right on cue, Liz blurs into the clearing, nearly bowling into a tree in her rush. “Where is she? What did you do to her?”
From the depths of the bushes, Rowan’s arm shoots skyward like she’s signaling for rescue. “I’m right here. Safe and…naked. Some clothes would be nice.”
Liz glances over at me, and it doesn’t take long for her to understand and join in with her own chuckles. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry, please!” Rowan calls after her. She sits up just enough to glare at me, dirt streaked across her cheek, hair tangled with twigs, yet somehow still managing to glow with wild beauty. “If I get ants in my butt crack, Cade, I swear you’ll never sleep soundly again.”
“Noted,” I rumble, trying not to grin. I tug at my shirt. “I could give you this.”
“Don’t you come any closer.” Her cheeks redden, and I want to press the topic, especially since we need to talk, and her being naked isn’t going to get that done. I know I wasn’t the only one who felt the bond back there. I sensed her reactions, and I’m not going to soon forget them.
But Liz returns, a piece of clothing in hand.
“Iris gave this to me.” She tosses the oversized dress at Rowan, who turns her nose up at it, but the vampire just shrugs and adds, “You told me to hurry.”
“I meant…argh. Fine.” She holds the pink material over herself and shakes her head. “A muumuu. A motherfreaking muumuu.”
I clamp down on the laugh threatening to rip free as my wolf’s chuckles echo through my head.She’s ours. Every wild, furious inch of her.
“Rowan,” I start, voice rough with the effort it takes not to grin, “it’s not that?—”
She lifts her chin, eyes blazing. “Finish that sentence, and I swear I’ll maul you the moment I figure out how.”
And I have no doubt that she will.
Iris huffs into the clearing with Archie draped over her shoulder. She waves a hand as though we should be proud that the world likely just heard her granddaughter screaming bloody murder. “Well, at least you’ve got good lungs. Prescott women always do. Handy for both surviving and calling for supper.”
Archie bolts from her shoulder and launches himself at Rowan. They share a moment of connection that makes my jealousy flare. The way he goes to her without hesitation and the way she clings to his small rodent-like body… It’s not fair, and the need for her to touch me like that is almost too much to bear.
Suddenly, more than anything else, I want that. I want her to turn to me and my presence to ease all her worries.
