I took a deep swig from my beer bottle, as I sat lounging in an uncomfortable, plastic chair, my gaze trained firmly on McKayla. She positively glowed, as if I hadn’t just punched her father in the face a scant ten minutes ago. Her silly grin crested her cheeks sharply, hands wrapped tightly around a flimsy paper plate piled with pasta salad.
Just looking at her caused my eyes to ache, and I rolled my jaw absently as I watched her chat with her cousin.
The relief I’d felt when no one really reacted to my busting her father’s face still clung to my ribs, and I took another gulp of my beer. Apparently, his own family didn’t really want to associate with him; they managed to sneak in apologies with their congratulations. Knowing how everyone felt - that this man had done someone dirty - relieved the tension in my shoulders and lower back.
But the slight twinge of pain remained, and I frowned as I tore my gaze off my woman to peer into my beer bottle. I’d been working too much lately; McKayla had been complaining about it, but now that I was idle, I could feel what bad shape I was in. Everything was moving fast, and I just wanted it to be over. My brother was in jail; my house hunting was looking promising; my business was running slowly and smoothly. It was as if the universe had taken pity on me and didn’t want to swamp me with work during this critical time.
“You look unhappy.” I lifted my head as McKayla’s mom’s voice tickled my ears, and I winced slightly when my headache flared to beat against my eye sockets. The middle-aged woman frowned under furrowed brows, but I wagged my beer bottle in dismissal and heaved a heavy sigh.
“I’m not. I’ve just been working too much - it’s obviously taking its toll. This wasn’t exactly the first impression I wanted to make, either.” She smiled in understanding, and seating herself next to me, she gave a regal nod of her gold-capped head. It was very obvious to me whom McKayla took after, and I lifted the lip of my bottle to my mouth to drain the contents.
“McKayla’s father is a sore spot for us all, boy.” Firm and in control, McKayla’s mother watched me intently through ocean-blue lenses, and I sat up a little straighter, seeing the grave lines that formed around her mouth. “I’m not going to give you the whole ‘if you hurt her, I’ll kill you’ speech, but … take your time with things. Remember that you’re both still so young. That was my mistake- having McKayla so soon - and I don’t want you two to go through that.”
A slight smirk picked up the corners of my lips, and I let out a huff even as I nodded curtly. Everything I knew about McKayla’s mother flashed through my mind’s eye, but even without her warning, I would take things slow.
“I understand. It feels like it’s been much longer than two weeks -“Air clogged my throat, cutting me off, and I leaned forward to cough harshly into my elbow. My chest shuddered, windpipe raw, and my headache threatened to pop my eyes from their sockets with each strangled hack. Soft, aged hands held my shoulder, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose before a figure blocked the warn sun.
Forcing haggard, shallow breaths in and out of my lungs, I blinked hard to clear my blurred vision before McKayla’s long, smooth legs bent when she crouched down.
“Hey – hey - are you okay, Paul?” Her soft, concerned voice sent a wash of goose bumps down my arms, hidden underneath my shirt. I shook my head wildly. “What happened?”
“I’m fine, Babe - my beer went down wrong.” Rasping, I cleared my throat roughly while McKayla fixed a frown on her face, and her eyes narrowed into fine points.
“You weren’t drinking. Maybe we should go somewhere quiet.” Calling me out on my bullshit easily, McKayla’s tone hardened before she stood up. “Let’s go. We can use the spare room.”
“It’s not polite to - “Whatever snide, sexually tinged response I had planned, died suddenly as my stomach flipped violently. Pushing McKayla out of the way roughly, I hunched over my knees as bile, beer, and what little I’d eaten so far spewed from my mouth. A rash of exclamations and gasps floated to me on the breeze, but my brain spun in my skull and distorted everything my senses took in.
Crumbling onto my hands and knees, I arched sharply as my body tried to eject everything from my stomach. The mixture splattered against the backs of my palms and across my front, but I couldn’t think of anything at all, let alone my ruined clothes.
“Paul! Paul! Oh - shit… P -.” Fire shot down my spine, and a hoarse shout I didn’t recognize as my own drowned out McKayla’s panicked calls. Arching sharply, I squeezed my eyelids shut and ground my teeth harshly, as I dropped to my elbows in a puddle of my own vomit. Tears fell onto my shirt sleeves, sizzling into mist from the heat that raged just under my skin. I panted harshly, and dry heaved as the smell of my spew coated my nostrils and clung to my tongue.
“Fu -uck!” The blood curdling scream that was wrenched from my burning throat drowned out the sensation of my spine creaking and shifting. My ears rang; my fingers tingled as my nails dug into my palms, and I toppled over to writhe on the grass. Blood tainted the black behind my eyelids red, clogging my nose, and making breathing impossible.
Darkness swallowed me, numbing every sense, as I drowned in my own blood, and I didn’t try to stop it. I knew somehow, through the pain, that I couldn’t do anything to help myself. That was the only thought that would stick to the empty board that had become my mind.
Just let go.
A droning buzz that slowly grew louder drew me out of my blackout, and seconds ticked by before I realized it was McKayla humming softly. Her off-key notes and flat tone were the most beautiful music I’d ever heard, and I grabbed onto it like a lifeline. I climbed into full consciousness and, struggling to fight the tendrils of sticky darkness that wanted to bring me back into the abyss, I followed her voice.
Blood crusted my lids, and a fierce stinging assaulted my eyes while the smell of it seeped into the crevices of my brain. Looking around blearily, I blinked hard before softness touched my skin to gently clear my vision.
Something was wrong - different. Staring up at McKayla as she hovered, like an angel, I could see the deeper highlights and lowlights of her hair. I could see the freckles dotting her nose that I had never seen before. I could see the tiny, green pigments in her irises that gave her that true, ocean blue eye color.
“You’re so beautiful.” The words sounded in my mind, but all that came out of my mouth was a low, hoarse bellow. Above me, McKayla cracked a watery smile and gave me a huff of a laugh that tickled my face even while relief overtook hers. I jerked in surprise, once I finally managed to process that I had made that sound, and I looked down at myself, to find a thin coat of brown fur.
I had fur.
I had fur.
“Paul …” The cautious call yanked at my attention, and I whipped my head around to watch McKayla sniffle back her watered eyes and clogged nose harshly. “Are you okay?”
Instead of trying to reply, I turned back to my quivering, weak body, and I shuffled my limbs experimentally. My bones ached, drawing a low groan as my muscles burned in protest, but the sensation caused the dam the break in my mind.
Realization flooded my brain, and I pushed myself up onto my paws as the numbness clutching my chest slowly ebbed into joy. Wordless grunts and chuffs burst from my throat, and I bounced on my front paws. A smattering of chuckles swept through the air, drawing my attention to the large crowd that stood around the yard a good distance away.
There was so much to see, so much to feel, but a flicker of gold caught my gaze out of the corner of my eye. McKayla sat on her knees, her dress completely ruined with dirt and sweat and stomach contents - but I had never seen anything so beautiful. Her smile beamed bright, darkening even the sun that hung high above us, and I waddled unsteadily the few feet towards her to bump my head against her chest.
I have hair on my head. The thought came swiftly, shockingly, and I was caught in a whirlwind of pain and disorientation as it sent me spiraling into the shift back to human form. Confusion clouded my mind, and I gasped for air while my mate’s solid, grounding grip wrapped around my upper body.
I lifted my hand, automatically to touch my scalp, leaning heavily on McKayla, as questions started piling up on top of each other in the thin space between my brain and my skull.
“How – what – h - how…?” She felt so soft, so safe, cradling me to her, and my rasping mumbles seeped into the valley between her breasts. For a long few seconds that felt like minutes, there was nothing but silence, and an aged, crackling voice finally sounded to break it.
“You probably had a dormant gene. It’s common in human-shifter pairings, but it doesn’t usually activate.” I groaned softly and closed my eyes to savor McKayla’s hands rubbing my aching back. “I’ve heard of it before. You won’t have an inner beast like us, but you can shift.”
I got the feeling that the rough, male voice was addressing more than just me, and a ripple of excitement settled in the atmosphere. Soft, trembling lips pressed against my crown, and I sluggishly wrapped my arms around McKayla before her voice reverberated through me.
“So, his dad was a shifter?” Honestly, I don’t care how it happened, just that it did.
I had to call Jon and let him know. I bet he’d lose his shit.
“I doubt it - maybe his great-grandparents. I almost wish my son was here, so he could see what he left behind. I’m not a big fan of that other woman, you know.”
“We know, Grampa. You made sure everyone knows. Don’t spoil this for the kids, now.” Multiple pairs of hands I didn’t recognize helped me up, supporting my sides and back as McKayla held me to her chest. Laughter - real, genuine laughter - encircled me, and my feet dragged heavily against the grass until I dropped into a lounge chair.
“It’s okay, Paul. Everything’s okay. Just rest.” A light blanket was placed around my waist, and McKayla settled between my legs, causing the fabric to chafe my skin. I heaved a ragged breath and slumped against the reclined back, to soak up the sun and do just as my woman demanded of me.
Sluggishness plagued me, shuttering my eyelids tight, but I wasn’t tired.
I was invigorated.
I was validated.
I was a bear shifter.
END