“Mac is forcing a shift on Noah, sharing his energy. The process is painful and draining. Only our most powerful leaders can affect another wolf’s shift.”
Debra kept her hand on Slade’s shoulder. Slade found himself stroking Noah’s now-furry back. The process took days or minutes; he couldn’t rightly tell. The moment the changes reached Noah’s stomach, the offending metal popped out, like the bullet Slade found the last time someone shot Noah.
This was what his lover faced all those years. Alone. He’d taken out five hunters on his own.
Mac’s skin erupted into fur in patches, only for the patches to recede, though the dense hair on his arms, legs, and chest nearly rivaled the thickness of his wolf’s fur. Both were black. Various parts of him shifted, showing a wolf’s ear one moment, a human’s the next.
Slade glanced down. The changes reached Noah’s thighs now, creeping down his legs way too slowly. At last, with Noah fully wolf, a fully human Mac let go, collapsing onto his back in a bed of crunching leaves.
Ignoring Mac, Debra ran her hands over Noah’s body, letting out a relieved sigh. “He’s going to be all right.”
“What about Mac?” Of the two, Mac looked worse off than Noah at the moment.
“He’s plain wore out. Alpha wolves have a lot of pride. Best to never mention seeing him like this.”
Slade shifted his gaze away from Mac to find himself staring at a sixty-something woman’s naked body. He opted for Noah’s face.
Debra chuckled. “Modesty is the first thing to go when you live with shifters.”
Noah whined, calling Slade’s attention back where it should be. Noah lifted his head enough to swipe his tongue across Slade’s naked belly, then collapsed. Slade shivered.
“Is he going to be all right?” Slade asked Debra. “That shot would’ve killed a human.”
Debra gave him a bittersweet smile. “In times like these, I’m thrilled to be more than human.”
Slade nodded toward Mac. “Can all alphas make someone else shift?”
“Not all. Mac’s notanalpha. He’sthealpha, the leader of all known US packs.”
Really? “He’s not all arrogant with power.”
“Not his way. Besides, posturing doesn’t impress us wolves. Now, we need to get Noah back to Sam at the compound.”
“How?”
Two naked men approached with a stretcher. Slade helped them load a blood-soaked Noah.
Noah opened his eyes, fighting to sit up.
“Shh…” Slade ran his hand over Noah’s ruff. “’S okay. You’re going to be okay. Rest now. I’ll see you soon.” Then, he kissed his lover’s wolf form on top of his furry head.
This time Noah’s whine sounded less pain-filled.
Slade watched them leave.
“Go back to the car and wait for Mac,” Debra said, following behind the stretcher-bearers. “Don’t let on about seeing his weakness. Business as usual, okay?” She winked and faded into the woods.
Wait a minute. Without a guide, no way would Slade ever find his way back to the road. With one last concerned glance at Mac, still lying on the ground, he grabbed the ruined jacket and crashed through the undergrowth after Noah’s aunt.
He needn’t have worried about Mac. Four shifted wolves waited at discreet distances, keeping watch over their leader.
Not an alpha,thealpha.
With a lot of effort, Slade managed not to comment when Mac met him at the car an hour later. “How’s Noah?” Mac opened the driver’s side door.
Slade held up his cell phone, huddling in the driver’s seat under a blanket he’d found in the back since he’d sent his shirt with Noah and his jacket was drenched in blood. His jeans too. He managed to remove some of the blood from his hands with snow melt. Brr... Not something he'd want to do again. “Sam says he’s wiped out but doing fine.”Thank youperched on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed down the impulse. Also, a thank you to the cosmos for allowing cell service on the clinic side of the compound.
“If you look in the back, you’ll find an extra shirt or two, and maybe a jacket. Help yourself. Gonna get mighty cold when the sun goes down.” Mac joined Slade, finding another complete uniform. Once dressed, he collapsed into the passenger seat.
