“Don’t do it, Sophia. It’s too dangerous with two animals inside you. Your first shift should not be during a stressful situation like this one. If something goes wrong, it’d be a problem we don’t need at this moment,” Chase stated matter-of-factly in her head and continued to fight.

She bristled, hating how much sense he made. Her cat hissed, and her wolf growled.

He made a valid case for waiting. Still, maybe she could find a way to defend herself; she did have claws, and this guy didn’t know that she was now a shifter.

There was enough blood being spilled that she knew he hadn’t picked up her scent, and from what she could tell, hyenas weren’t as sensitive as wolves and cats. She stood, patiently waiting. The intruder came closer.

“Dr. Sophia Reese, why don’t you make this easy on the wolf and come with me now. We’ll let him go, and he won’t come to any harm.” The man had a loud voice with a whiny pitch to it.

“Really? What will you do with me?”

She watched the man and knew he was assessing her, so she hunched her shoulders and tried to look scared.

“You won’t come to any harm if you give us the experiment you’ve been working on.” He seemed to relax which made her want to pounce on his dumb ass.

“I don’t know what you mean, but I do know one thing. Chase is going to rip you all limb from limb.” She gave him a happy smile.

She prayed one of the animals inside her body was willing to come to her aid. She envisioned her fingers shifting. The man made a grab for her arm. Long, razor-sharp claws stretched out of where her nails would normally be.

Not wasting a second, she turned her body into the man’s, catching him unaware because of her sudden proximity and speed that, she had to admit, had impressed even her. Without a second thought, she buried her claws straight in his jugular, ripping his throat open when she yanked roughly on the soft flesh.

Blood sputtered and splattered all over her face. His shocked, wide eyes stared at her while his claws squeezed painfully into her arm. Fear that he might still hurt her engulfed her for a moment until she saw his large body slump to the floor by her feet.

Nausea rolled up her throat. She watched the man bleed to death.

“Sophia.” Chase’s growl snapped her out of her trance.

She jumped and turned horror-filled eyes to gawk at Chase’s human body. Since he shifted, she was able to see the multiple cuts and bites that covered him.

She tried to swallow down the bile threatening to come out, but her stomach recoiled. For her, it was one thing to say she would kill someone, and quite another to actually do it. She darted past the bloody scene, her sneakers squeaking, and slid over a pool of blood and almost fell on her ass.

Sophia made it to the attached bathroom in the lab just in time to lose all the contents of her stomach in the toilet. Her body heaved until all she could do was gag when nothing else came out.

Chase walked in a moment later in his jeans.

After she rinsed her mouth, he helped her clean her face. He used wet paper towels to get rid of the spots of blood that had splashed her when she tore the hyena’s throat out.

“Are you all right?” He spoke softly and caressed her cheek with a warm hand while his eyes took in her probably still green face.

“Yes, I…I’ve never done anything like that before. It was too much. All that blood, and something inside of me wanted to keeping going, to shred the man apart.” She was filled with alarm at the thought.

He pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment. His warmth helped alleviate some of the panic inside her. He bent down and kissed her lightly.

“Come on. We need to get out of here before any others show up.” He pulled her down the hallway and back to his car.

“I need to talk to my boss. We can’t just leave the bodies there,” she said.

“I’ve got that covered,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get you out of here.”

In the car, he buckled her in.

“Where are we going?” She leaned back on the headrest and closed her eyes, tuning out what had taken place a few moments before. She was too tired to dissect anything else for the night.

“To my house. It’s a little farther down from River and Julia, but they’ll be coming over in the morning to catch up.” He pulled out his phone and thumbed his keys.

She felt like she’d run a marathon and needed a week’s worth of sleep.

Sophia wondered who he was talking to on the phone. “I need a cleaning crew at the lab pronto. Multiple bodies. Mostly hyenas. One human.” After a pause, he said, “Yes, I said hyenas.”

She drifted, and the motion of the vehicle lulled her to sleep. The rest of Chase’s conversation was lost on her.

Her stomach was burning and she was starving, but she refused to leave the soothing bliss she found in her dreamlike state. Soon she was lifted, and she curled into the heat of the man holding her.

Strong hands undressed and lowered her into a warm pool of water, washing her and almost pulling her awake, but it was too hard to open her eyes.

Afterward, she was placed on a big, soft bed. She snuggled into the pillow and blanket, and Chase’s scent surrounded her. She sighed in contentment and allowed sleep to take over.

* * *

“Sophia.” Chase’s voice was low but firm. “Hmm?” She sounded more asleep than awake. “Wake up, love. You need to eat.” He kissed her ear, licking the shell, and she moaned.

She blinked her eyes open, and he smiled at her sleepy look.

“What? What’s wrong?” She sat up and peered around the room.

“You need to eat. Here, munch on this and I’ll bring you some other stuff after.” He helped fix pillows behind her back and set a tray on her lap. He brought her steak, chicken, and a bunch of side dishes. She gave him a sleepy look as she assessed the amount of food on her plate.

“I’ll bring more in a moment, but you need to eat that first.” He knew she’d eat that and more.

“Are you crazy? I couldn’t possibly eat all this. I’ll turn into a cow,” she grumbled but grabbed the fork and knife and cut into the steak.

She chewed through the entire tray full of food, and when he brought a second tray with fruit, chocolate cake, and warm bread, she dove through that as well.

After he took the tray away from her, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her with critical eyes. “How are you feeling?” He could see she had a hard time keeping her eyes open once her stomach was full.

“Sleepy…so tired.” She yawned and leaned back, closing her eyes once again.

Chase watched as Sophia slept. He needed to figure out how to help her cope with her new situation. At least she’d eaten enough to not have to bother her for a while.

He stepped into his kitchen and glanced from Julia to River, who both looked troubled.

“So? Do we know why she’s so tired?” River asked.

“Chase, she’s been sleeping for over twelve hours. This can’t be normal. Even I don’t sleep that long and I’m pregnant.” She toyed with her teacup as she spoke.

Chase didn’t want to divulge his mate’s business to anyone but saw the need to add some insight into Sophia’s situation. He’d already called in the pack doctor and asked enough questions to have a clear understanding of what was happening to her. She’d told him to call her if necessary, but he’d put that off unless things changed for the worse.

“Sophia has been through a lot. I think her body is finally shutting down and taking the rest it needs to handle the stress she’s been through.”

“Did she get hurt yesterday?” Julia’s eyes flashed.

“Not physically. I think she was shocked at how bloodthirsty the animals she has can be. It will take her time to come to terms with it.” He sat on a chair and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m going to talk to our guys to find out who in that lab has hyena connections.” Chase turned to look at Julia. “I’m going to ask you to stay here and watch her until we come back. I don’t want her to go more than a few hours without eating.”

“Of course, go and don’t worry about her. I’ll take care of sleeping beauty.” She turned to her husband, gave him a stern look, and then glanced back to Chase. “Be careful, both of you. I don’t want to have to explain to my sister why someone got hurt and make her feel like it’s her fault. So bring your asses back here in one piece.”

* * *

Sitting off to one corner at The Back Door with a couple of beers in front of them, Chase and River watched two of their pack members come toward their booth.

Being an hour past lunchtime, the bar was settling down from the throng of hungry patrons.

Riel and Seff slid into the booth across from River and Chase. Both were enforcers, but Seff tended to be a bit more strict and military, while Riel was a fun- loving guy who always got his job done.

Seff glanced from River to Chase and leaned forward on the table. “You needed to see us?”

“Yeah, first off, thanks for handling the clean-up at the lab. It got messy quickly,” Chase said. “Did you get the vials and papers on the table before you left?”

The men looked at each other. Seff said, “There was nothing on any of the tables or counters. It was spotless, except for the blood and guts slung around.”

“Oh no.” Chase dropped his head into his hands. Someone had taken her work. The one thing they were trying to prevent happened anyway. One good thing about them getting the data was they would leave Sophia alone now. They didn’t need her. That made his wolf almost giddy with relief.

Now, he just needed to find out who “they” were.

“Don’t worry about it. Instead, I need you to get some information for me. I want to know who’s in charge of the research facility, in front and behind the scenes. Shifter, human, witch, demon, everyone. I need this yesterday.”

Riel’s brows lifted at the request while Seff looked like he had been expecting it.

“Any particular reason?” the younger wolf queried.

River jumped in to answer. “Yes, my sister-in-law is the head researcher and top geneticist. Way too smart for her own good since she figured out how to suppress the shifting gene in our DNA.”

Seff had a look of stunned disbelief.

“Why the hell would she do that? Is she crazy?” Riel burst out unthinking.

“My mate,” Chase stated, “was trying to do something nice by giving Julia the choice of changing back.”

Seff stared at his leader, unwavering. “There’s something else, though, isn’t there?”

“Yes. In the process of separating the DNA strands she…had an accident. Sophia is now a dual shifter. She has two different female animals inside.”

With their collective indrawn breaths, he knew they were taken aback.

Seff seemed to recover first from his shock. “Two different breeds? And are they both alphas?”

“Yes. Apparently, the pure cat and wolf strands bonded with her DNA so seamlessly, it’s like she was born a pure-blood shifter. Both animals seem to be getting along. I’m not sure how long that’s going to last, though.”

His fear was that the stress on her body by her new physiology would kill her. The animals inside her were powerful and drained a lot of energy.

“So you’ve mated this woman?” Seff asked.

“Yes, her name is Dr. Sophia Reese. You’ll both get an e-mail with her file so you can acquaint yourselves with her information.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck and thought of Sophia’s exhausted form. She was pale and had already lost weight.

“Don’t worry, Chase, we’ll find out what’s going on at the lab right away.” Seff grasped his forearm.

“That’s all we have for now. I’m sure someone in that lab knows something and I want to know what’s going on.” He growled and fisted his hands on the table.

All three men nodded.

River cleared his throat and caught their attention. “Sophia is presently with Julia at Chase’s. Chase and I will be taking turns with the women, while we dig around to find out more about these hyenas and hopefully find out who’s behind them. Call either of us as soon as you know anything.”

Chase’s cell phone went off. He saw Julia’s name and accepted the call immediately. “Julia?”

“She’s awake. She’s saying she’s feeling better, but she looks pale, Chase. I fed her again. It seems that hunger is the only thing that wakes her. She’s fighting off sleep until she sees you.” Julia’s panic came through the phone line.

“I’m on my way.” Chase shut the call off and dropped the phone in his shirt pocket. He looked at the guys, wished them luck on their search, and reminded them this was their priority.

“One last thing, Chase,” Seff said, holding him from leaving. “In the lab last night, there was a smell of a shifter we’ve never come across before.”

“What?” Chase asked. How could that be?

“Yeah,” Riel added, “We have no idea what type of shifter had been there.”

Chase gave them a worried nod and hurried toward the bar’s front door. Someone new was in his town and he needed to find out who and what they wanted.

* * *

“Where is Chase?” Sophia frowned, trying to clear her mind from the wave of exhaustion calling her back to sleep. She wondered what the hell was wrong with her body.

“He went to see what he could find out about the research lab and try to figure out who could be behind the attempt on your work. He’ll be back really soon, baby girl. Are you still hungry?” Julia sat by the bed holding her hand.

Sophia smiled at her sister’s use of the childhood pet name for her and shook her head at the question. “Yes, but I need a shower. I need to get rid of this sleep before it overwhelms me again. Give me a few minutes, and then we can have some coffee or something.” She felt marginally better standing. She stretched tired muscles and headed to the shower for a nice, cool soak.

After the shower, she was less sleepy and finally felt she could function without dropping into an exhausted heap. She dressed in shorts and a tank top that she found lying on the bed, along with new underwear.

She made her way to the kitchen and finally took in the house that belonged to her mate.

Glancing around, she realized the house fit with him, and it really was Chase’s space. It was clean, open, and uncluttered. The furniture was for comfort, not show. She fell in love with it.

And who was sitting on the sofa with her back Sophia? She breathed in a new scent as the person on the couch did the same. The woman turned with a smile. Tryx!

“OMG, girl,” the baker extraordinaire said to Sophia, “you’ve changed so much already!” She rushed around the furniture and gave Sophia a hug. “How are you feeling?”

Sophia shrugged. “Other than being tired, I’m okay.”

Julia walked up behind her, a tray with mugs in her hands. “Just you wait and see what your new cousin brought with her.”

Sophia followed the two into the living room and to the sofa. The grandest sight she’d seen in a long time greeted her, on the coffee table.

A large spread of delicatessens covered the glass top. Sweet breads, donuts, cream cake, sliced meats, rolls, did she mention donuts? There was also a huge variety of cheeses. Yum.

Sophia sat in front of the table and dug in. “Sorry if I’m being rude,” she said, “but since this shifter thing, I’ve been constantly starving. It’s like my body can’t catch up with the energy it needs.”

Tryx glanced at Julia. “That’s to be expected,” Tryx replied. “Your body is still adjusting to the changes. Until your metabolism finds its balance, you’ll probably be craving food.”

“No shit to that,” Julia said. “I never ate half as much as she has. She could give River and Chase a run for their money when it comes to cleaning out the fridge.” The girls laughed.

Tryx grabbed a piece of sliced roast beef. “I thought this smorgasbord might make a good snack for everyone.”

“I fully agree,” Sophia agreed. Everyone was quiet, ignoring the elephant—well, wolves—in the room.

Finally, Tryx said, “Sophia, you know there’s a lot of great things about being a shifter. Shifting itself isn’t the only thing.”

“She’s right,” Julia continued, “you can smell who’s around you without looking. Oh, and your glasses. You don’t have them on.”

“I didn’t even realize I wasn’t wearing them until after showering. It’s better than Lasik. And free,” Sophia added. “So, I’ll admit it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“And,” Tryx threw in, “you know when you’ve met your true mate by smell. No questioning, no dating needed. You’re already perfect for each other.”

Sophia asked, “Concerning mates, Tryx, why haven’t you taken a mate?” She rationalized that if Tryx had someone to help her in the bakery, the woman wouldn’t have to work so hard.

Tryx blushed and looked down. “I’m holding out, hoping to find my true.”

“Wait,” Sophia questioned, “what happens if you don’t meet him? I mean, how do you find one person in seven billion? You’ve been alone all these years?”

Tryx snorted. “All these years? How old do you think I am, lady?” Sophia’s eyes widened. Did she just insult her new friend?

“Sorry,” she said. “I—”

“You’re fine, missy. I’m just giving you a hard time,” Tryx replied. “Lighten up, girl.” She snatched up a piece of cheese. “To answer your question, I haven’t been alone all this time. For several years, I was with a human male.

“The man, Ernest, was an angel. He’d do anything for me. I loved him even though he wasn’t my true mate. We enjoyed each other’s company and he made me laugh. He was the next best thing to a true mate.”

“What happened to him?” Julia asked.

Sophia threw a grape at her sister. “Julia, you don’t ask people questions like that. You’re being nosy.”

Tryx laughed. “No, it’s fine. It happened a long time ago. You’re right to wonder how old I am. Shifters age differently than humans. Ernest died in his sixties from heart disease. That was about twenty years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Tryx,” Sophia said. “Are you looking for someone else?”

The baker shook her head. “No. It hurt so much when I lost Ernest that I didn’t want to go through it again. Plus, no one in Black Meadows does it for me.”

“No hot and bothered from anyone?” Sophia asked? She couldn’t believe she was asking such personal questions. Normally, she barely talked to anyone. She liked this type of interaction. Too bad she discovered that so late in life.

Tryx laughed. “No. No hot and bothered. Barely a ‘warm and interested.’ Who knows what will happen in the future. Maybe I’m not destined to meet him. You two are really lucky and the whole town is thrilled. You will make us stronger by controlling the men. Of course, the men don’t know that, but the women do.” She gave Sophia a wink.

Sophia gave the women a quizzical expression. “You both know these animals in my body are new for me, right?” Both ladies nodded. “Besides the general shifter stuff I already know from Julia, what else should I be aware of?”

Julia and Tryx shared a look.

Tryx turned to her. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“You know, biological stuff that’s embarrassing to talk about.” Sophia rolled her eyes. The “old” her would never, ever bring up a topic like this, but the “new” her had no problem with it.

“Have you shifted into one of your animals yet?” Tryx asked.

Sophia gasped at the thought. At the lab, she so wanted to shift to help Chase. Since then, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Let’s do it!” she said jumping to her feet, food forgotten.

Julia slowly stood. “I don’t know about this, Tryx. I didn’t do so well with my first shift. Maybe we should wait for Chase.”

Tryx put a hand on Julia’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t have shifted so soon, Julia. Your body wasn’t ready yet. Why your wolf pushed so hard, I’m not sure.” The woman took a scared looking Julia into a hug. “Plus, you weren’t prepared for what would happen. Sophia is more than ready to do this.”

Sophia nodded in agreement. She was so ready. Julia stepped out of Tryx’s embrace.

“You’re right. Sophia is ready. Chase keeps saying her conversion was like she was born a shifter.”

Sophia hugged her sister. “I love you, little sis. You know that.” There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her sibling. Hell, she’d given up the past six months of her life to find a way to stop exactly what she was getting ready to do. Ironic.

Julia sniffed. “Yes, I know. Now stop making me cry and let’s get this done. Damn hormones.” Julia laid a hand on her tiny baby bump.

Sophia snorted at that comment. She knew damn well hormones weren’t the underlying factor. Can you say Drama Queen?

“Okay, I need to undress, right?” Sophia asked.

“If you don’t want to ruin your clothes, sure,” Tryx replied.

Julia pulled a blanket off the sofa. “Lie on the floor and cover up.”

In seconds, a naked Sophia lay on her back, too excited to stay still. “Now what? How do I start it?”

Tryx’s eyes widened and a sour smell floated in the air. Sophia took that scent to be fear.

“What’s wrong, Tryx? I’m okay,” Sophia reassured.

“No, it’s…” Tryx glanced at Julia. “To start, you just think about your animal and let them do their thing. But, Sophia, you have two animals. I don’t know what will happen.”

Understanding shone in Julia’s eyes. “We’re not doing this. Not without the alpha.”

“Oh, this is such bull crap, and you know it,” Sophia spit out. “I’ll be fine. I can’t be the only person who ever had dual shifters.”

Both ladies looked at her with their brows raised.

“Okay,” she conceded, “never mind. Just stand back and let me handle this.”

Sophia closed her eyes and focused on the entities within her. As her conscience turned inward, an image of a golden lioness and grey/tan wolf appeared in her mind’s eye. They lay beside each other looking up at her like she was a freak.

Could she talk to them in her mind? Only one way to find out.

Hi, gals. How’s it going?

Two snuffs blew in her face.

Guess that means you’re both doing great. She studied the two before her. Look, ladies, I don’t know how you want to handle this shifting thing. We’re in uncharted territory here.

A word entered her head in a low whisper, and she instinctively knew it was her lioness speaking.

Choose.

Whoa, hold on a minute. I want both of you. Will one of you get mad if I pick the other? I mean, Julia hated when Mom let me go first because I was older.

Two more snuffs peppered her face. She swore she could feel the moisture on her skin.

This time, the wolf spoke. We don’t have penises to argue over whose is bigger. We work together like females do.

Well, she knew who the feminist was in the group.

Great, let’s get this going then.

Her heart rate picked up and her pulse pounded in her ears. Oh shit, she forgot to ask Tryx if this was going to hurt.

* * *

Suddenly, the animals were gone from Sophia’s mind. Had they abandoned her because she wasn’t a real shifter?

Blackness surrounded her. The only thing she could hear was the blood pumping against her eardrums. Then the first sting hit her. Maybe a bit more than a sting. More like getting hit by a Mac truck.

Sophia sucked in a sharp breath and bit down on her tongue to keep from yelling out. Another Mac slammed into her.

Soft, warm hands cradled her cheeks. “Don’t fight it, Sophia. The first time is hardest. Let it happen. Let it roll through you like standing under a waterfall.”

A waterfall. What a beautiful image compared to the pain rocking her body. She took another breath and imagined herself under the falling water, naked. And Chase was there, walking toward her, naked, too. And his rod was not for fishing.

Hot damn, she liked where this was leading.

She felt her body racked with the pain that went along with it, but it was dulled back to the point she could handle it. The power of the mind was amazing. But still, she’d probably never shift again. Her pain tolerance was the size of her big toe.

Next she knew, she was looking up at Tryx and Julia. If she’d had her phone, she’d snap a photo of their faces and post it. They were so damn funny. She laughed, but it came out as a snuff.

What the fuck? She jumped to her feet, all four of them. Oh my god, she yelled in her excited mind. She had shifted into a… Wait, she wasn’t sure what she was. Her two front legs were a golden color, but they weren’t cat paws.

Mirror. She had to find a mirror. Bathroom. Go.

Her body moved so gracefully. She tried to watch how her feet didn’t trip over each other. After hitting the recliner, she decided she didn’t need to know. Her animals did and she was happy with that.

In the bathroom, she put her front paws on the counter and looked into the mirror. Well, her guess was that she was a lioness-colored wolf. Had a wolf ever had golden fur?

The bathroom light came on. She didn’t even notice it was off. Wow.

“You’re beautiful, Sophia,” Tryx said. “I’ve never seen that color before on a wolf.”

She smiled and glanced in the mirror. Shit, that was scary looking—all those teeth. She made a mental note not to smile in wolf form.

Outside, vehicle doors slammed shut. She heard the crunch of gravel as the visitors walked. Amazing.

“That must be the guys,” Julia said, rushing out. Her sister stopped and turned to her. “Umm, don’t come out yet. Let me tell Chase. He won’t hurt a pregnant woman.”

Sophia snorted. Chase would never hurt anyone unless they deserved it. Shifting did not fall in that category.

While the two women went to greet the men, she sneaked to the corner and peered around. River was kissing his wife as she held the door for Chase who was jogging to catch up.

Automatically, she dropped to a pounce position with her head lowered to the ground and butt in the air. She wiggled with anticipation. Waiting.

As soon as Chase was at the door, she tore from around the corner and launched into the air. Her mate caught her from reflex alone. His expression was confusion.

She took the moment to kiss him, which displayed in slobbery licks up the sides of his face. Then, she wiggled out of his hold and zoomed out the door.

Running as fast as she could, she made for the forest. The feelings flowing through her were incredible. She’d never felt so alive, so a part of the planet around her.

She glanced back to see if anyone was following her. Whoa—what was that? She wiggled her butt. OH MY GOD. She had a tail! Turning her upper body, she wanted to get a better look at it, but it kept moving out of her sight. She stepped toward it and it moved again. Dammit. Turning more, she almost got a good look until it slipped out of her vision again.

Shit. She’d look at it later. Time to go on.

Everything had a smell. Grass, dirt, air, dead leaves, pine needles, trees…bugs? She skidded to a stop and studied the tiny creatures scurrying at her feet. She heard their scuttle over the ground.

She dipped her head down until her snout hovered over the animals. Then took a deep breath, which was a mistake.

The small critters, very light in weight, went straight up her nasal passages. She stumbled backward, immediately sneezing several times. Dizzy from the sudden onslaught, she fell to a sitting position. Sitting for a wolf, which was partially standing up to her.

Laughter came from behind her. Her head whipped around, a low growl emanating from her chest. Her eyes scanned the trees, searching for the culprit. She hesitated sucking in another breath to catch the smell.

Then there he was, in all his wolfy glory. Her mate. Chase. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth. She recognized that as his gorgeous smile.

Springing to her feet, she jumped at him, nipping at his shoulders and bouncing around. In her head, this time, she heard Chase’s human laugh.

“Calm down, my love.”

No way, Jose. She bowled into his center, taking them both rolling to the ground. Then she was up and sprinting away.

“Catch me if you can!”

A devilish feeling entered her mind from Chase’s thoughts. “Challenge accepted, little one. To the victor goes the spoils, which will be your body going to me.”

“If you catch me.” She was already out of sight of him. She knew he was back there, following her scent. That made her run faster.

Dodging trees and soaring over downed logs, Sophia felt as though she were flying.

What was that?

Off to the side, a squirrel jumped down from a tree. Both animals inside her zeroed in on it. The little thing swallowed hard, then ran for its life.

Sophia peeled rubber trying to gain purchase to chase. Her animals chanted: gotta have it, get it, get it, get it. She wasn’t sure what they’d do if they caught it, but if they ate it, she’d throw-up for days.

The small animal leapt for a tree, its feet grabbing ahold of the bark and scampered up.

Not a problem, her cat said. Her animal jumped for the tree.

What the hell are you doing? Wolves don’t climb trees.

We aren’t a wolf was the reply. Oh, so they were a lioness?

No.

No? What were they then?

We are that which has no name.

Oooh, how Voldemortish of you.

Just before her canine paws touched the tree, her feet morphed to that of a cat and strong claws dug into the bark and wood.

Holy shit! She clung. Not only that, but raced up the trunk after the critter. Sophia had forgotten about the squirrel already, too entranced with everything happening to her body.

The small animal skittered out a thin limb and jumped to another tree. Sophia came to a sudden stop. Even her adrenaline-filled companions knew they couldn’t go out on that limb.

That’s when she looked down.

Bad move.

A wave of dizziness hit her at how up she was. Thirty feet maybe? Enough to kill her if she fell. Sophia wrestled for control. She had to save them. Her cat and wolf fought like hell.

“Sophia, stop,” Chase said in his human voice. She almost looked down at him, but changed her mind. Her mate probably wouldn’t appreciate puke landing on his head right now.

“Sophia, don’t fight your animal. Let her take charge. She knows what’s she’s doing.”

But, but…

“Do you think you’re the first wolf to get stuck in a tree?”

Yeah, she was thinking she probably was. She took a mental deep breath and stepped back. She’d trust her companions, until proven unwise. Her body descended while she held her breath.

A couple yards off the ground, her animal, whichever was in charge at that point, pushed away from the tree. The claws changed back to wolf paws in time for her mate to catch her again.

Her weight and momentum carried them backward and to the ground. She gave him a wet lick up the face and raced off. He didn’t really catch her yet. And she had a head start while he collected himself and shifted.

This was the most fun she’d ever had in her life. Even her childhood couldn’t measure up to this sense of freedom. No wonder Julia was okay with staying a shifter. If Sophia would’ve known, she wouldn’t have wasted these past months locked up in the lab, looking for a cure.

She slowed when she came to a creek. The embankment was rather steep and she wasn’t sure about getting we—

A heavy weight slammed into her and she tumbled down the side along with another body. Her nose told her it was her mate. Oh yeah, she’d almost forgotten about him in her elation.

With a huge splash, she and Chase landed in the water, drenched from head to paws.

She got to her feet and shook her body like a canine would.

“Great,” she said to his mind, “now I’m gonna smell like wet dog all day.” She was sure he heard the playfulness in her tone.

He did. “Well, then,” he said, “maybe you need to clean up better.” At that, he jumped toward her, making her skip deeper into the water to not get squished.

“Chase!” she hollered, “this is not funny.” But her animals thought it was. They recognized his wolf as her mate and the alpha of the pack. But he’d better not try to push the alpha thing too far or she’d have to bite his ass. Which sounded like a rather good idea.

He snapped his head up and eyed her. “You smell too edible, my love. What are you thinking? Hmm.”

She laughed. “You haven’t caught me yet.” She doggy paddled to the other side and climbed the rocky mud wall only to be promptly mushed to the ground.

What the—

Teeth clamped down on her scruff, pinning her. A scorching heat seared her veins, feeling so delicious.

“No teasing with that smell, love,” Chase said. “I will hunt you down and take what I want. And you will love it.”

Oh God. She could come on the spot with the power of his words swirling in her. Except as a wolf, that seemed weird. Did animals have orgasms? She never thought about it before, for good reason. Sex would be confined to human form only.

The pressure on her back let up.

“Come,” her mate said, “let me teach you some things.”

She balked. Her animals knew what everything was. Her cat got her out of the tree, so…

“Well,” he said in her head, “she didn’t warn you not to inhale deeply when a pile of ants were under your nose.”

If an animal could blush, hers would be right now. “Oh. You saw that?”

He gave her a lick up the side of her furry face.

“Yup. Funniest damn thing I’d seen in a long time.”

A growl came out her throat. “Shut up! It’s my first time.”

“Exactly, love.”

For the next several hours, he showed her the best way to stalk prey and hunt, put names to the new scents she experienced, and let her run after butterflies.

With an exhausted breath, she plopped onto the ground in a patch of sun. She was pooped. Chase settled and snuggled up to her.

“Enjoying being in nature in your shifted form?” he asked.

She glanced at him. “I’ve never been so elated in my life. Never felt so free, so in tune.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad. You are absolutely stunning. The entire pack will be in awe of you.”

That tweaked a bit of uneasiness in her stomach. That whole thing about being the center of attention, again.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“You should see you how I see you. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before.”

“How so?” What was so different about her? Well, except the whole cat paws on a wolf body thing climbing the tree.

“Your animals—for lack of better word—have melded. You have a wolf body, but you’re able to maneuver like a cat,” he said.

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s huge,” he answered. “Cats are much faster than any other animal. You noticed I didn’t catch you when you were running.”

“I just thought you were letting me get away to prolong the chase.”

“Okay, you can think of it that way.” He winked at her. He laid his head on his paws and stared at her with big, round puppy dog eyes.

She started feeling antsy and uncomfortable under such scrutiny. But he was damn adorable.

“It’s okay, love,” he said. “I’m just staring at your beauty. I can’t get enough of you. It’s like I want to squish you into my body so I can have all of you with me every second of the day.”

Aww. She was going to cry. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her before. Growing up, she’d always been the geeky kid—short, overweight, glasses slipping down her nose, constantly reading a book, knowing all the answers on tests.

But now, she was like everyone else, in a way.

Another good thing—she was, for the first time in her life, a natural blonde.

You’re welcome, her cat purred.

“I have something to confess,” Chase suddenly said. The worst went through Sophia’s mind. He cheated on her already, he didn’t love her, he didn’t want her around anymore. She got a wet slap on the side of her face.

“Stop thinking about whatever you’re thinking,” he scolded. “It’s not bad.” He sighed. “I just want you to know that before you were a shifter, I wanted to get to know you as much as I do now.”

“Oh,” she said, “’get to know you’ as in nonstop sex for days?”

“God, woman. You make me sound like a hound dog,” he complained. “But, maybe, yes, sex crossed my mind a time or two…hundred.”

She laughed. Men. She asked, “Then why didn’t you say something?”

“Because every time I entered a room, you’d walk out. I thought you hated me for what happened to your sister.”

Memories of Julia’s attack came back. That seemed so long ago. A different lifetime.

“No, Chase,” she said, “I never hated you for any reason. In fact, it was the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“I left the room because I was so attracted to you and knew you’d never want to spend time with someone like me.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re freakin’ perfect.”

“Not compared to your last runway model girlfriend.”

“Oh, her.” She heard the resignation in his voice. “She was a nice person, but not my type. I had to attend a human function for networking and somehow River came up with her for a date for me. He said it wouldn’t look good if I went alone.”

“But I saw her with you another time,” Sophia said.

“We hung out for a couple more days and figured out we weren’t a match. She wanted the glitz and glamor. I wanted simple and easy. Plus, she was way too skinny. She looked horrible to me. Skeletal.”

Sophia had to agree with that. “So you’re saying I look good to you?”

He nosed her under her neck. “More than good, baby doll. More like scrumptious. How many times have I eaten you?”

Heat shot to her face. Thank God, he couldn’t see the blush. He laughed, though.

Chase went on. “What I’m trying to say is you’re the one for me, Sophia. My true mate. I want you to be with me till the day we draw our last breath.”

Both her animals sighed in her head. “You are the only one for us. Always have been since the night I saw you at the hospital.” Her stomach growled.

Chase laughed. “Your stomach is either agreeing or telling us to get our butts home for dinner.”

She gave him a big lick and took off in a sprint. “Last one home has to go ‘downtown’ first.”

Her mate gave chase, but didn’t seem to mind coming in second place.