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His wolf made a sound almost like a snort, but he turned.

I pulled off my shirt and my pants. I tugged off my bra. I shimmied out of my underwear. I reached for the change.

Oh, fuck, that hurt worse than I remembered. I let out a noise as I felt my bones begin to crack, as I felt the fur forcing its way through my skin.

Vincent turned back around, and when he saw me, he shifted back. I was doubled over, breathing hard. He knelt next to me, putting one strong, large hand on my back. “Hey, hey, remember this is who you are, omega,” he said, his voice soothing. “Remember, you are not shifting into a wolf, you are a wolf.”

I grunted. Easy for him to say.

“See her,” he said in a low voice, hand stroking down my spine. “See your wolf. Merge with her.”

And then, somehow, I got it. No one had ever said merge before. It had usually been about surrendering or letting it out or relaxing or breathing or whatever. Merging was different. It was active, not passive. It didn’t ask my skittish and frightened and repressed wolf to do all the work.

The shift burst through me, and I snapped into wolf form. It wasn’t fluid like Vincent’s shift, but it was instantaneous and painless.

And Vincent, seeing I was in wolf form, shifted, too.

My wolf capered off into the woods, freed after too much time cooped up and locked away. I had to admit that I felt as if some iron band that had been tightening around my midsection had suddenly snapped.

I picked up my feet and started to run.

Vincent kept pace with me.

We ran and ran and ran.

When we got back, an hour later, we shifted back and dressed.

He was zipping up. “Trying to look at me naked?”

I felt myself flush. I had sort of forgotten about that, all wrapped up in my wolf self. Wolves didn’t wear clothes. But now, I was looking at his chest, and he was… Vincent had always been…

I looked away, shaking myself. “No,” I muttered. “No, sorry.”

He was next to me, slinging an arm over my shoulders. “Teasing. I was trying to see you naked, obviously. Entire point of this whole thing.” Laughing, he gave me a little squeeze and then loped off through the woods towards his cabin.

“Same old Vincent,” I called after him.

“What did you and Opal used to call me?” he threw over his shoulder. “The man slut?”

“Yeah, but I’m off limits.” I was going after him. “We’re practically siblings.”

“Totally,” he said, and I could hear that he was grinning. “Don’t mind looking, though.”

I caught up to him. “I’m going to hit you,” I said conversationally.

“You’re very nice to look at naked,” he said to me.

“Hard,” I said. “In the face.”

He laughed. “Seriously, though. The run was good? For your wolf?”

I nodded. “Your shifting trick really helped.”

“Good,” he said. “Good, I’m glad I could be of service, a little. Totally earned me a peek at you, don’t you think?”

“I am going to hit you.”

OPAL