“Oh please, like you’ve ever had anything dry cleaned before,” she says with a snort. A small grin appears on her face, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You said only shifters who have gone through the change can mate, what does that mean for…us?” She pauses. “Not that I’m ready to mate with you right now! I’m not saying I’ll never be ready to but… You know, just so I have all the facts?” she adds, stumbling over her words. It’s obvious, the idea of us mating makes her nervous.
“Pru, it’s okay. I know you’re nowhere close to being ready to go through the mating ceremony, and I can wait. I’ve waited fourteen years, what’s a couple more months,” I reassure her. If I had it my way, I would mate with her on the next full moon.
Wait, the full moon is tomorrow. Maybe that’s a little bit too soon…
“Ryker, I may never be able to shift, remember? So that means—”
“We might never get to complete the bond,” I finish for her, cursing the gods as I do. How could fate be this cruel to me? To us? We have waited so long to find each other, and now we might never get to really be together.
“Okay, there is only one thing for us to do.” Pru takes another step back and puts her hands on her hips, a look of determination on her face. “You need to teach me how to shift.”
16
Pruitt
“You need to relax,” Ryker says for the four hundredth time.
“If you tell me to relax one more time, I’m going to hit you.” I keep my eyes closed as I snap at him. We’re standing in the woods not far from the house. Ryker is trying the best he can to explain to me how to “call upon” my wolf. So far it’s going fantastically. I’ve spent the past hour of my life having someone tell me to dig deep and picture my wolf. Then picture it taking shape where I stand. Oh, and I mustn’t forget the most important part—I have to relax.
Good God, how is any of this relaxing? I’m trying to call upon an animal that is caged deep, deep inside of me. Oh, and I just found out the only family member I’ve ever known is dying of an aggressive form of cancer.
But sure, let me just relax.
“It’s cute you think you’re fast enough to actually hit me.” He chuckles, and although I can’t see his face, I know there’s a cocky smirk on it.
“I did outrun you yesterday,” I remind him. “That was insane, by the way. I’ve never moved so fast in my life.”
“It was pretty amazing, which is why I know your wolf is in there and trying to break free of the binding spell. Well, that and the vicious growl you let out after I kissed—”
“Yep! I know who you kissed, there’s no need to bring it up again!” I crinkle my face at the memory.
“It proves your wolf is still awake inside of you, aware of her surroundings. She’s just, for lack of a better word, stuck.”
“Okay, how do we get her unstuck?” I ask, throwing my hands up in frustration. “Because we’ve been at this thing for a while, and nothing is happening.” Unable to stand it any longer, I open my eyes and look at him.
“I think our next step should be to go see Esme. She was the one who bound your wolf in the first place, she may know how to free it.”
“There’s nothing else we can do ourselves?” I bite my bottom lip. “I’m just not comfortable with asking a witch for help.”
“You’ve already met Esme, you know she’s harmless.” Ryker seems almost offended that I would feel this way. “Plus, she’s the high priestess of her coven, and arguably the most powerful witch on this side of the country. If anyone’s going to be able to help us, it’s her.”
“Okay, fine, set up a meeting with Esme.” I reach over and take his hand in mine, tracing the black and gray rose that sits there. “You realize how crazy all of this sounds, right? We have to go see a witch to free my wolf, the same witch who bound it in the first place because some evil werewolf wants me, and that’s only because he couldn’t have my mother.” I barely believe the words as I say them.
“It’s still not as crazy as my mate coming back to life,” Ryker says. “That will always be on the list of craziest things to happen to me. It will also be on the top of the list of best things to happen to me.” Ryker lifts my chin with his free hand, so we’re looking at each other. “I still can’t believe you’re here. I’m afraid if I’m apart from you for too long, you’ll disappear again.”
“Is that why you slept in the chair again last night?” I ask him.
“I don’t like being away from you, even when I’m asleep,” he answers simply.
“I don’t like it either,” I admit. When I was on my walk with Addison, I wanted to turn around and go back to him. I kept thinking I wish he were here so I could reach out to him. Just holding his hand makes me feel much calmer, and I needed that when Addison told me about her cancer diagnosis. “To be honest, it’s scary how much I don’t like it.”
“Like I told you last night, we’re meant for each other. We aren’t meant to be apart. When we are, our wolves tend to fight against it.”
I lean up on my tippy toes, so my face is closer to his. “I don’t think it’s just my wolf
