Chapter 36
SKY
“Tonight’s the full moon,” Fletcher announced, prancing into the living room with a bounce in his step. He always got excited about full moon runs.
I made a face. “Okay. Have fun.”
For the past several months, I’d made up lies for why I didn’t want to shift beneath the light of the full moon.
I was full of excuses, from bellyaches to migraines, to simply not wanting to go.
Knowing Fletcher would have a rebuttal, I mentally began flipping through my list of “I don’t wanna’s,” but Adam didn’t give me the chance.
“No, Sky. You’re coming with us tonight.” His tone left no room for argument, even though I really wanted to argue.
I frowned at him and sat up a little taller in my seat.
I opened my mouth, but he held up his hand.
“Hear me out. It’s early enough in your pregnancy that you can still shift safely and without worry, but you need to be able to trust your inner-wolf in order to fully heal.
I know that you’re afraid of losing control, but I’ll be right beside you.
I won’t let that happen, Sky, I promise. ”
I looked down at my hands. Damn it. Hit the nail on the head. How was he so damn good at seeing right through to my soul?
“Do we have to? Can’t we wait until next month’s full moon?” I whined, but both Adam and Fletcher shook their heads.
“Every month deeper into your pregnancy, it will get riskier for the baby. It’s safest to do it tonight. It won’t be nearly as bad as you’re imagining, I’m sure. You need to stand up to your fear so that it doesn’t keep holding you hostage.”
“But what about Gracie? Doesn’t she own all the territory around here?” I asked. Last I knew, I was on the Rubydawn Alpha’s shit list for trying to kill her son. She probably still hated me. Not that I blamed her.
“We actually bought the house, and the acreage it sits on, from Gracie when we moved here years ago, so don’t worry. No one’s gonna come after you. Besides, they’d have to get through Adam first, and Adam’s a pretty imposing wolf.” Fletcher grinned and winked at me.
Adam chuckled. “I am one of the largest wolves in the pack.”
“And you know what they say about big wolves…” Fletcher’s eyebrows waggled.
I snorted, but my cheeks flushed hot. “God.” Both of them burst out laughing. I stood and went over to them. “Can we just get this over with? And promise me we won’t eat any baby bunnies?”
“No baby bunnies, got it.” Fletcher gave me a thumb’s up.
With a groan, I stood. Guess I wasn’t getting out of shifting tonight. Might as well grin and bear it. Ugh.
Truth was? I hadn’t shifted or even let my wolf close to the surface since that day.
The day I’d almost taken a life. The memory still ran on a continuous loop in my mind sometimes at night, when I lay awake between my sleeping mates and let my thoughts run wild.
It had scared me. Not just that I’d lost control of my wolf, but that I’d lost control of myself too.
My humanity had slipped between my fingers like sand. I’d nearly become a monster.
“Sky?” Fletcher gently squeezed my shoulder. His voice was gentle, a melodious ripple of sound that somehow calmed my suddenly anxious mind. He offered me a small smile. “Everything is gonna be okay. We won’t let you fail, okay? We’re right here with you, every step of the way.”
I let them lead me outside into the backyard with its open view of the woods beyond.
No neighbors for miles—that’s what Adam and Fletcher had wanted when they’d moved to Greymercy, to start a new chapter of their life.
I was thankful for that. It meant that no one would be caught in the crossfire if my beast went rogue.
Adam and Fletcher stripped and shifted, the magic crackling in the air like static.
My skin twitched as my inner-wolf perked up from his place deep inside of me, as if realizing we were standing beneath the pale light of the heavy full moon.
I bit the inside of my cheek and stared at my mates as they approached me, and I realized…
I’d never seen them in their animal forms before.
Adam was magnificent. A massive tawny-furred wolf with dark guard-hairs and angular features, he cocked his head and looked me in the eye. It wasn’t dominating, but he didn’t look away either. His golden eyes burned with Alpha energy and my wolf shied back with a whine.
I dropped my gaze to Fletcher, the smaller, sturdier lynx at the wolf’s side. Fletcher’s bobtail gave a wiggle as he chirped at me, a feline trill that sounded so unlike any house cat I’d ever heard in my life. It made me smile. Even his animal voice was soft-spoken.
Fletcher rubbed against my legs like an overgrown tabby, then pranced forward a few steps with another chirp.
Adam stood tall with a steady swish of his bushy tail.
He never looked away from me. I knew what he wanted, what they both wanted—to see me shift from man to beast, for me to submit to Adam on four paws instead of two feet.
I couldn’t explain the anxiety that twisted my insides into knots, my hands fisting at my sides as I tried to breathe through the waves of panic gripping me.
Breathe, Sky, Fletcher’s voice fluttered through my mind as if carried there by the breeze, though the forest was still. Relax and let it all come out.
After what seemed like forever, I felt the shift begin, that all-too-familiar feeling of being split in half, of trading skin for fur, of magic enveloping me and wrapping me in a tight embrace only to break me to pieces and put me back together again.
In moments, I stood on shaky legs—all four of them—on the lawn, my sides heaving as I panted for breath. Adam moved to my side, his muzzle nosing at my cheek and ear, sniffing my fur. I whined softly and tilted my head, submitting to my Alpha. He licked my face.
Then he broke away and trotted several paces towards the woods, to stand next to Fletcher near the forest’s edge. I hesitated, glancing back at the house, the lights still on inside although no one was home. Adam barked, the sound like a gunshot in the silence, and my attention snapped back to him.
He wagged his tail, then turned and slinked between the trees.
Fletcher came bounding over, little stub tail wiggling as he rubbed against me.
Then he, too, ran into the woods. My ears flicked back, taking in the sounds all around me.
Not wanting to be alone, just in case something happened, I hurried after them.
I caught up quickly. I wasn’t a small wolf, despite being an Omega. It might’ve been the Alpha-Omega bond, the connection River and I shared in the womb for nine months, that gave me my stature and my size. I wasn’t sure. In the end, did it really matter?
I brushed up against Adam, who still dwarfed me. He shoulder-checked me and picked up speed, and soon, the three of us were flying through the woods at breakneck pace. My paws devoured the earth, as if I were built solely for this purpose.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but I felt something inside of me break loose.
Like the glass around my heart finally shattered, and it felt like it could beat again.
Free. I felt free. I broke loose from my shackles, releasing myself from the prison I’d been trapped in—possibly the cage I’d locked myself in.
Each stride felt like coming home, and my heart yearned to sing to the moon, to let it hear my call.
Adam bumped me and jerked his muzzle to the left. I slowed, following his gaze to where a young doe was grazing. As if realizing she was in danger, she went stiff, looked around, then took flight, bounding away with long strides.
My inner-wolf yipped as we took chase.
We raced along after her, but stayed far enough behind to watch her leap through the woods, all powerful grace and smooth, sinewy muscle, but this wasn’t a hunt to kill. It was one to admire the beauty of the forest—and that’s when I smelled it.
Too-familiar, sharp and bitter in my nose, I pulled up short and nearly tumbled head-over-tail. Something inside me sparked, like flames threatening a wildfire, and I bristled with a low growl. I was only vaguely aware of the pressure of my mates at my side as my twin’s shadow fell over me.
River stood there, tall and broad and guarded. His two-toned eyes were cold. His ears flattened against his skull and his tail flagged high over his back. He bared his fangs at me as he snapped at the air. His teeth clicked audibly as they snapped together.
A warning.
The warning he’d given me so many months ago slammed back into my mind, and I shivered.
Not with anger, but with fear. It washed over me, leaving me cold and prickly all over.
That quiver turned into a full-body tremble as I stared River down, locked in place and unable to look away.
Would he kill me, like he’d promised he would?
Would I bleed out beneath the pallid light of the full moon?
Adam stepped between us with a growl of his own.
I froze, my heart hammering. Fletcher gently tugged at my scruff, pulling me away from the confrontation, but my mind screamed that River was dangerous. I backed away, shaking like a leaf, but I wasn’t able to pull my eyes away from my Alpha.
Adam and River growled and snapped at each other. Adam was bigger, much bigger, but River had always been vicious when he was angry, and that scared me more than I wanted to admit.
I held my breath, but instead of a fight, River shot me one last look, then turned and disappeared between the trees.
I sank to the forest floor, my legs refusing to support me any longer.
Panting hard from the adrenaline dump, I lay there in the middle of the woods all while being comforted by licks and nudges from my mates.
After what seemed like an eternity, I could stand again, and we made our way back home. The minute we reached the backyard, I collapsed in the grass, shifting back with a soft sob. I wrapped my arms around myself and buckled over, crying softly.
Fletcher was immediately at my side, soothing me. “Hey now, shh…” Normally he would’ve been the one I resonated with, the one I gravitated towards when I felt so disconnected and scared, but right now, I wanted Adam.
Pushing Fletcher’s hands away, I crashed into my Alpha. My savior. My protector. Adam was tall and strong and solid against me, everything I needed in that moment. He hummed low, running his long fingers through my hair as he spoke to me.
“Everything is alright, baby,” he assured me. “You did very well, all things considered. I’m proud of you, Sky.” My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I only held on that much tighter. Fletcher came around to hug me from behind, and in that moment, I felt loved.