“Let it just happen. For me, it starts as a tingle at the base of my spine. Then it moves up my back and spreads out to my limbs from there,” Ethan explained, as he pulled me into the circle of his arms and pressed me against his warm chest. “The experience is different for everyone, but not sodifferent that you won’t recognize the symptoms of the onset for what they are once they begin.”
I’m not going to lie. Ware or not, I was freezing my ass off. But Ethan, despite the cold, was warm. More than warm. Within his comforting embrace, I tuned into that steady heartbeat and allowed mine to sync with his as I reveled in all that delicious body heat.
After some time, I could feel something starting to happen in my toes. But after a few more frustrating seconds, I wondered if it was frostbite setting in and not my change like I’d hoped.
“I can’t do it, Ethan!” I whined after another couple of frustrating minutes where nothing manifested.
“You can,” he promised, gently placing his chin on the top of my head. “You just have to give it time. Don’t concentrate on changing. Concentrate on the world around you. On the sights, sounds, and smells.”
I was grateful none of the guys were here to witness my shameful lack of shifting. Not to mention my nudity. That would have been hella awkward. That thought alone was giving me all kinds of anxiety, as I knew sooner or later, we’d all have to see each other in the buff if we were going to go on pack runs together.
Driving that paralyzing thought from my head, I did what Ethan had suggested and cleared my mind of all worldly concerns, instead focusing on the natural world around me. My shivering and shaking calmed down a bit and I was able to hear things I’d never heard before. Like the hoot of an owl speaking to her mate. The creeping of a small animal through the brush. The munching of another as it grazed on something tasty.
Again, that feeling in my toes began to happen. Like the tickling of a butterfly’s wings, it fluttered up my calves and then spread up my thighs. Trying not to panic, I let it happen. When it reached my knees, I could feel my skin start to stretch and burn a bit.
Just when my spine began to tingle like Ethan had mentioned, a loud horn sounded in the background and my whole shift ground to a halt.
Gasping, I broke out of my trance and looked up at Ethan. “What was that?”
Whatever it was, it had destroyed my concentration and knocked me out of whatever shift I was about to experience. Strangely enough, I felt deflated, disappointed, and completely exhausted, though nothing had actually happened.
Again, the sound of someone laying on a car’s horn rent the quiet of the night. It lasted for a full ten seconds before it paused, then it bleated obnoxiously again.
Visibly angry, Ethan stepped back and handed me my clothes. “I don’t know what that nonsense is, but we’re about to find out.”
Once we were haphazardly dressed, my mate took my hand and walked me briskly back to the cabin. As soon as we cleared the wood line, I spotted an oversized red Ford F-350 parked outside, steam belching from the exhaust.
Afraid that my stalker might have found us, I nuzzled against Ethan’s side and said, “Do you know who that is?”
Silent for a few moments, my mate finally answered, “Yes. It’s Logan. My older brother.”
Ethan
Millie didn’t press me for details. Because she was my mate and could read me, my face and the tenseness of my body already said it all.
Squeezing my fingers, she smiled hopefully up to me and asked, “That’s a good thing, right? You called him and he came. Come on, introduce me. I’m dying to meet him.”
I wish I had her enthusiasm. There was just something so unsettling about my brother Logan. I’m not sure if it was my resentment over his abandonment, or our long-term estrangement, but there wasn’t any natural bond between us like there was with the rest of the guys I’d been raised with. Shit, my blood was less kin to me than any of them. Including Gavin, who I’d only known for a short time.
Deciding I couldn’t act like that child Logan always made me revert back to, I squeezed my mate’s hand in response and relented. “Okay, I’ll introduce you to my brother.”
I approached the truck carefully, though I could easily smell who was driving it. I’d never mistake the unique scent for anyone else. You never forgot the smell or the pain of family, it would seem.
When Logan noticed our approach, he cut the engine and popped the cab door. Stepping out, he gave me a hard, long look before his attention traveled over to Millie. His gaze landed on her form with obvious appreciation and I had to do everything in my power not to growl a warning to stay the fuck away from my mate.
“Logan,” I called out in greeting, trying to force some affection into my tone, though you would have been hard pressed to find any.
“Ethan,” my brother’s gravelly voice responded in equal measure.
We awkwardly stood there in a trio before Millie held out her hand and replied, “Millie Summers. It’s so good to meet you, Logan.”
Logan’s rigid stance somewhat relaxed at my mate’s attempt at softening this otherwise stressful moment. “Nice to meet you, too, Millie.”
The man shook her tiny hand in his massive paw, his eyes running up and down her curvy frame.
Fighting the urge to rip her hand free of my kin’s, I said with a touch of bitterness, “I’m surprised to see you, Logan. You never returned my call. I thought you weren’t coming.”
The face that reminded me so much of my father’s—swarthy, angular, handsome—quickly tensed back up. “I didn’t think I could make it. Then things changed, and I could.”
