Shelter Me (Sawtooth Shifters, #6) (13 page)

Unless I was so far removed from my wolf they couldn’t recognize it in me.

Delaney, the only human here, stopped dead in her tracks when she came around the corner. It was a shame she was human, she would’ve made a great wolf, always a little on edge. She couldn’t speak, and many days, I felt like I had no voice, either. I couldn’t tell what she signed to me in the shadows, her hands flailed wildly, repeating the motion.

“I’m fine.” I backed away from her. “Has anyone shifted yet?”

She shook her head.

I should’ve told her what was wrong. She knew it was something. My head was in my hands, sweat trickled down my forehead.
Wrong
didn’t begin to describe it. This is what I’d wanted my whole life. To run as a wolf in Sawtooth Forest. But I’d been questioned and judged the entire time I’d been here taking care of X. These wolves didn’t trust easily, and neither did I.

We needed each other.

“Tell them I’ll be down in a minute.” Everyone was on edge for this shift. X had healed completely from the Christmas night battle, and he insisted on getting revenge on his attackers. He wasn’t the only wolf that had been attacked, and there was a huge score to settle.

Delaney ran down the stairs. Guess I wasn’t getting an Oscar for that performance. It needed work, in all forms. I stood at the top of the stairs, lurking in the shadows I’d been dying to break free of. Everything seemed normal.

“Stop worrying, angel,” Shea assured Delaney, taking her in his arms and kissing the top of her head. I loved it when he did that. She was his mate. Well, she was human, so that made her his girlfriend. “This is what we do. We’re wolves. We’re still here. We might have wounds to lick, but we always come back stronger.”

It might not have helped her, but it gave me comfort.

X was the only one who noticed I came back in the room. No surprise there, everyone was tangled in their own drama. X’s older brother, Major, was busy with his mate, Cass, and her daughter. Cass had been cold to me ever since I got here, and I had yet to figure out why. X turned to me, his eyes lit up. He’d been standing by the door, tail wagging in anticipation.

After tonight, I’d finally see him in his human form. My tail wagged at the thought of it.

I wish they’d hurry up
, he said. Wolves could understand each other no matter what form they were in. Delaney would’ve heard something totally different.

“It’s almost time.” I sank to my knees and roughed his fur. His scent overwhelmed me, this close to my own shift. Earthy, spicy, and hopefully mine.

He wriggled free, staring at me with those incredible golden eyes. His brothers all had them too. They were gorgeous, with their long, dark hair and rippling muscles. There weren’t any pictures around the house, and I could only dream of what X looked like.
You understand me
, he whispered.

I nodded.

X pushed his snout into the crook of my neck.
You’re gonna shift. I can smell it.

My skin stretched to the absolute limit. I had an overwhelming urge to run, hide. I’d had to do it all my life, find a place to take cover. No one had ever known my true nature. It would cost me my freedom.

My skin ripped my secret free. Brown fur blossomed over my arms. Long, black claws replaced my fingers as they retracted into paws. Shifting always terrified me. It was one of the reasons I’d studied veterinary medicine, desperate for the answers that no one would give me. When the moon reached its full beauty, my skull snapped, and there was no more hiding what I was.

I knew it
, X said, smothering me in kisses
. I can’t wait to run with you.

For the first time, I welcomed my shift.

“Holy shit.” Major whistled low, approaching us. He stopped short of touching me. I wasn’t sure of wolf etiquette in Sawtooth Forest, but it would’ve been as welcome as if he’d grabbed me in a dark alley. “Can’t say I’m totally surprised, but it’s still a shock.”

“There was never a good time to tell you.” My voice sounded different when I was a wolf. Like it was made of the same things that built the forest, it had grit. “Things have been crazy since I got here.”

Shea approached, clutching Delaney’s hand. He stopped next to his brother. “I knew there was something different about you. You knew too much about us. But, hey, welcome. You may have noticed, we need she-wolves like whoa.”

“Yeah, and we don’t have any.” Cass slid her arms around Major’s waist. She’d shift next, her scent overpowered me. “Who the hell is she? I don’t remember a Chandra growing up.” Her expression hardened, and she pulled Major back with more force than I expected. “We’ve had an enemy under our roof the whole time. Is she one of the Montana wolves? What has she done to X?”

“I’d never hurt him.” Even if I was an enemy, harming a wolf would go against everything that I stood for as a veterinarian. There was no right and wrong, just healing. “I’m one of you. You’ll see tonight. I’ll fight.”

“No,” Major snapped. “If you’re a Sawtooth she-wolf, we can’t send you into battle.”

“Please.” All this time, waiting to run, and they were going to hold me prisoner?
Hell no.
“I’ve never been able to run the forest. Free.”

“See?” Cass raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have a chance to say anything else, her back arched dramatically, and she fell to all fours, her shift in progress.

Watching her transform was truly a thing of beauty, even if she hated my guts. Her brown fur was tipped with gold, and her body was sleek, power rippling below the surface. Her breath was noisy, and now she didn’t hesitate to come over, check me out. X growled at her, and she nipped at him. Good thing for her it was playful, because I would’ve torn into her.

I had to get a hold of my emotions if I expected to survive this night.

“Not convinced,” she sniffed, but returned to Major. He was seconds away from his own transformation.

Connie, the woman Cass hired as a nanny for her daughter, came in the room. I’d never been happier to see her. She’d have my back. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Chandra’s my niece.”

A collective gasp formed over the wolves. Like a bubble, everything threatened to pop.

Cass’ daughter, Emma, came over wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, burying her face in her fur.

“I don’t trust you, either,” Cass growled, stalking over to Connie. “You tortured me when my husband was alive, and the only reason I gave you a second chance was because Emma loves you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

“She’s my aunt.” My heart pounded. X stayed by my side. He knew something they didn’t. “My parents left the forest when they found out they were pregnant. They didn’t want to sell me. When it was time for me to mate, they wanted me to have a choice.”

Cass’ body relaxed. “That I can understand.” Her tone softened. “You have a lot to prove to us, Chandra.”

I approached her, adrenaline speaking louder than experience. “I’ve been taking care of X like he was my family. Dropped my life to make sure your pack was taken care of. If that didn’t prove anything, you need to think about your priorities.”

Cass growled, but I stood my ground.

X returned to my side. The heat from his body comforted me before he came into view. “Knock it off. The last thing we need is more fighting, especially between ourselves. You don’t have anything to worry about, Cass.” He looked at me, the gold in his eyes like flowing lava. “Because Chandra’s my mate.”

C
olorado Shifters:

Lion and the Doe

Doe and the Hunter

Cougar and the Lion

Doe and the Pride

The Night Songs Collection:

Because the Night

Night Moves

We Own the Night

Silent Night

Cirque Macabre:

The Fire Dancer

The Spotlight Series:

Secondhand Heart

The Trouble With Bree

Too Many Reasons

The Escort:

No Strings Attached

Please visit
www.kristenstrassel.com
for more information!