Primal Law

And she could very well end up next to him.

Muscles, bones, and tendons began to stretch and pop. The pain was excruciating and she screamed on and on while Jax desperately tried to soothe her, to no avail. Now she knew firsthand why a wolf shifter could go crazy.

Don’t let me end up like Raven. Please.

Her screams became canine yelps. The hand clutching Jax’s shirt became a paw, the rest of her body following. Reshaping until she lay in Jax’s lap, his fingers buried in her fur.

Fur.

“Here, baby. Let me untangle you from these clothes.” He helped free her and she looked up into his smiling face. “Wow, aren’t you beautiful? You’re a silver wolf like me, but not nearly as big.”

Everyone gathered around, beaming and agreeing with her mate, whose blue-gray eyes were shining with pride.

Beautiful? She was completely freaked. Scrambling, she climbed off his lap and stood trembling on four slender legs. Frantically, she tried looking down at herself, and behind at her bushy tail. She tried wagging it, and it worked.

Oh, shit!

This couldn’t be happening. Not yet. She wasn’t ready.

Panicking, she scrambled backward, her first instinct to run. But the awkwardness of suddenly having four legs to control instead of two, plus the shape of her new form, trying to get used to redistributing her weight, was too much of a challenge all at once. Her legs tangled and she went down in a heap and sat up with a whine of distress.

“Kira, you’re all right,” Jax soothed, crouching beside her. Gently, he stroked her ears. “Easy, baby. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

That was fine for him to say. He was already used to this. Tentatively, she stood again and looked around at the gathered group. Fear rose once more to override his words, and she did what came naturally—she pressed against his side and glared at everyone else, giving a low, ominous growl.

“Let’s leave them alone,” Mac said to their friends. “Come on.”

They followed her back into the building, and Kira breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, she felt better now that everyone wasn’t staring. She took comfort in her mate’s presence, strong and solid, easing her fright with his touch. She looked to him as he continued to stroke her face, her ears.

“See? You’re fine. Try taking a few steps for me?” Standing, he moved back a few feet. “Just this far. You can do it.”

She studied the distance doubtfully, the scant space stretching like a mile. But she moved one paw forward, placed it on the ground. Then another and another, until she’d moved all four and taken her first real steps. A tiny bit of excitement began to bloom in her chest and she smiled at Jax. Or thought she was smiling, but wasn’t sure.

“That’s it,” he praised, beaming. “Now the rest of the way.”

She did, slowly at first. Then a bit faster, until she’d covered the ground between them in no time. Arching a brow, he issued a challenge.

“Pretty good, but see if you can catch me.”

He took off at a jog, not anywhere near as fast as she suspected he could run, but enough to test her new abilities. The predator in her exulted in the prospect of a chase, and running down her prize, and she bolted after him.

And promptly tripped over her gangly legs and went rolling, getting grass in her nose. Sneezing, she jumped up and spied her quarry making his escape—laughing, the jerk!—and she took off again. This time with much more success.

With every stride, her new wolf gained confidence in her control. Still, no one was more surprised than Kira when she caught up to Jax, gathered herself and leaped, and took him to the ground. They landed in a heap, his breath rushing out in an umph. Rolling, pulling her upper half onto his chest, he started laughing in pure joy. It was impossible not to be affected, and she licked his cheek.

“Not afraid anymore, are you?”

Hesitating, she realized she wasn’t. Still a bit overwhelmed, but not scared. Because her mate was here, and he’d take care of her. She shook her head and he smiled.

“Good. Now, watch this.” Slowly, he stripped off his clothes and then . . . he shifted. A handsome wolf, larger than her, stepped forward and greeted her, licking her muzzle.

You’re gorgeous, my pretty mate.

Stunned, she blinked at Jax. You can hear me?

Loud and clear! Cool, huh? I guess Ryon isn’t the only one who can do this after all—mates can!

She thought about that. Yeah, it’s cool. Wonder if we can do this in human form.

I think so. We’ll try it. Are you still in pain?

Not anymore. How do I change back?

Later. Let’s run first!

But . . . you don’t have your abilities back.

I do now—or at least I can shift. I think it was tied to you somehow. I felt my wolf return when you changed.

What about the Timebending thing?

Don’t know. I can’t feel it, though. Unconcerned, he ran around her, nipping at her flank and dancing around.

Watch it, buddy. I’ll bite back.

That might be sort of fun, he teased.

He took off and she raced after him, surprising herself with the happy bark that came out in place of a laugh. Too frigging weird!

She tried to keep up with him, but started to fall behind. Running on four legs for a prolonged period was going to take some adjustment, and his stride was quite a bit longer than hers. She managed pretty well, leaping over rotting logs and dodging trees, but winced when she occasionally hit a sharp pebble in the trail that hurt her paws. Those would need some toughening up.

At one point, he glanced behind to see her struggling and stopped, waiting for her to catch up. When she did, he greeted her with affectionate licks to her muzzle—canine kisses. Nice, but strange.

When they started off again, he slowed to stay beside her, keeping their pace at more of a leisurely trot. Now she had the opportunity to marvel at how her senses were overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and smells, all made much more sharp and clear because of her new status as a shifter.

It was like she could see each leaf on the bushes and trees. Smells hit her nose, those of other animals who’d been this way, or were hiding nearby. Her wolf half catalogued them for future reference, and she knew she’d recognize each of them again when she encountered them.

They reached Jax’s spot by the stream, which she thought of as theirs, and took a long drink. Afterward, she stared at her reflection. A wolf with blue eyes and creamy fur tipped in black and silver stared back at her, pretty enough to be on any nature postcard.

See? I told you. His voice in her head was so happy. Proud. You’re stunning.

Thank you. You’re awfully handsome yourself. Sidling close to him, she nuzzled his face. This is amazing.

And the best part is, I never have to be alone again.

You’ve had your friends, your pack.

It’s not the same as a mate.

I suppose it wouldn’t be. Neither of us will be alone.

It struck her how fortunate she was to have Jax to help her through the transition. He’d been alone, no one to ease his fears the way he’d done for her. It made her love him even more.