I turned in my seat to face him. “Why are you sorry?”
“You know why,” he whispered. His cheeks had a pink tinge to them, and he glanced away, not meeting my eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was embarrassed.
“Jake, I—”
He was gone and out of the car, clothes shoved onto his seat in a blur of movement, and by the time I pulled myself together to follow, Jake had already shifted.
We weren’t talking about this, then.
He padded around the car to my side, bumping his nose against my hip. I’d always loved Jake in wolf form, his light grey fur thick and soft under my fingers as I buried them in it. Like most shifters, his eyes were the same blue-grey they were in human form, but they gave nothing away. He bumped my hip again, impatient.
“Fine,” I murmured, sliding my hand along his back. “But don’t think this conversation is over.” As much as I dreaded the prospect of Jake not returning any of my growing feelings towards him, we’d always been open with one another, and I felt dishonest keeping this new development to myself. I’d rather deal with his rejection than keep secrets from him.
No matter what happened, we’d always be best friends.
And if that was all he wanted, then so be it.
Jake bumped my hip again, harder this time, scraping at the ground with a paw.
“All right. I’m coming.”
I undressed quickly, dumping my clothes on the front seat like Jake had done, then grabbed his keys and locked the car. Key safes were dotted about the trees surrounding the car park for this very reason. All with the same code only the pack members knew. I locked Jake’s keys away and closed my eyes, letting my wolf rise to the surface.
As easy as breathing.
I embraced the pain as my bones broke and realigned. Sharp and all consuming, it was over almost before it had chance to register, leaving me with a buzz of energy zipping along my veins.
Wild and free.
That was how I felt in my wolf form.
All my emotions pared down to the basics, which usually gave me an hour or so of peace from everything going on in my head.
And it did this time, too. But it also had another side effect that I hadn’t factored in.
Stupid.
All my senses were heightened in this form.
My gaze zeroed in on Jake. On the way his muscles moved under his fur as he paced back and forth, waiting for me.
Lean.
Toned.
Strong.
His earth-forest-pack scent called to me, drawing me closer and closer, until I stood almost nose to nose with him. Everything about him screamed pack, family, home, like it always did when we shifted.
But underneath all that, something new and exciting thrummed through my body. Basic and raw, primal and bone deep.
One word filled my head.
Mine.
