Bruce was listening to him, his head cocked to one side as Laddin talked. Then he saw the solution. Hallelujah! The doors were electric. All he’d have to do was distract Bruce while the things closed on their own.
He found the button quickly and kept talking as he moved toward it. “I had a girlfriend once in high school. She was sweet, a mathlete, and smoking hot. I did all the things I was supposed to with her. I treated her well, I bought her flowers, and I listened when she talked. Good things. But I didn’t get into kissing her, you know? I’m freaky enough with this hand.” He held up his weird hand while tapping the barn door remote with his elbow. “I didn’t want to be gay too.”
The door rumble was loud—too damn loud. They both jumped at the sound. Laddin had hoped the noise would make Bruce shy backward from the doors, and he’d been right—for about half a second. And then Bruce leaped forward, trying to escape before the frustratingly slow doors closed.
Laddin jumped too, right in front of the wolf. He sure as hell didn’t want to have a repeat of their last human/wolf tumble. He couldn’t shift again so soon, so a bite would definitely kill him. He tried to be extra careful as he caught Bruce around the middle while still trying to grip the shock collar remote in his good hand.
They tumbled sideways. Laddin wrapped both arms around Bruce’s middle as they rolled. This was a “grind your teeth and squeeze as if your life depended on it” moment, and yet part of Laddin still noticed how soft Bruce’s fur was. And that burned-cherry smell was stronger up close. Even his human nose picked it up.
Nice.
Oh shit. Suddenly it wasn’t so nice as Bruce wiggled and twisted, his growl going through his entire body into Laddin’s. Why wouldn’t the guy quit? Laddin squeezed his eyes and his arms as tight as possible and held on.
One more moment. One more moment.
They were almost closed. Almost….
Then Bruce head-butted him. Laddin had no idea if the move had been intentional, but it was damned effective. Stars exploded in his vision as his temple took the brunt of the wolf’s skull. His grip loosened for a split second, but that was all it took. Bruce broke free with a hard jerk. Then he was on his feet and headed toward the door before the last few inches closed.
He was going to escape. Which meant he’d never return to human.
Damn it! Laddin had no choice now. He didn’t want to do it, but there was no other option. Even though he was still reeling, he managed to pull the shock collar trigger. He just prayed it would be enough to slow Bruce down.
It did. But what he saw would haunt his dreams. Bruce—that magnificent wolf—abruptly stiffened. His body jerked awkwardly in different directions, and his legs failed to support him as his back arched. But worst of all was Bruce’s yip, a high note cut off midsound. It was awful, and Laddin had to blink back tears at the sound.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he crawled forward. “I’m so sorry.”
Bruce’s eyes were fixed, his body still arched in apparent agony. He lay on his side, and his legs were curled awkwardly. Horribly.
It took a moment for Laddin to realize the truth. Holy shit. The collar was still frying him!
“No! No!” Laddin fumbled with the remote, looking for an off switch. There wasn’t one. He stabbed it again, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. The electric sound kept going. “Stop!”
It did—finally—though each moment felt like forever to Laddin. And that was nothing compared to what Bruce must have endured. Laddin rushed forward, dropping the horrible remote as he moved.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he kept saying as the last of the sunlight was cut off. The doors had finally closed, but that didn’t make a damn bit of difference if he’d killed Bruce.
The wolf was lying there twitching. His legs were rigid, his spine arched in horrible flexion, and his burnt-yellow eyes were glazed.
“Bruce, no. God, no. I’m so sorry.”
Laddin stroked the fur, his hands tingling painfully wherever he touched Bruce. Holy hell, this was not normal. He wanted to feel for a pulse, but where was the pulse on a wolf? He couldn’t find it, not through his tingling fingers. He couldn’t hear any breath either, not through the pounding of his own heartbeat. And he couldn’t stare into those accusing yellow eyes anymore either.
He tried to close the wolf’s eyes, but that was a lot harder than it looked like on TV. You didn’t just brush your hands over them and bam, the eyes closed. So he attempted to straighten out Bruce’s spine, trying to get the legs to release. The muscles were still twitching at random, in horrible spasms that wouldn’t end.
“I’m sorry,” Laddin breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
He continued to stroke through the fur, wondering if his hands were becoming numb to the tingles or if the electricity was fading. Time ceased to have meaning. Life narrowed down to the brush of his hand through fur and the desperate search for breath. He couldn’t feel if Bruce’s chest rose and lowered, not through the general twitching. And he couldn’t hear anything above his own pounding heart.
Was that a blink? Had Bruce’s eye closed and opened on its own?
Maybe? He didn’t dare hope. Except he did hope, and plead, and pray, all while staring into angry yellow eyes.
Blink! It was a blink. Bruce was alive!
“Thank God,” he breathed as his head collapsed down to rest against Bruce’s wolf chest. “Thank God.”
And now, with his head right there, he could hear the rapid beat of Bruce’s heart. It mixed with the steady pounding of his
