I can’t concentrate.” She turned her paw over in surrender, unable to settle into a transformation.
“We need to keep moving,” he snapped at her.
How was his comment helpful? As if she weren’t aware they needed to get out of there. “Then help me.”
“No.” He shook his head.
Was that a double no? “What?” Why was he being so difficult? He claimed they had to get out of there, but wouldn’t assist her so they could.
“I’m not going to change you back. He’s turned you into a spoiled princess. The most basic skill of a shifter is being able to transform at one’s own will. Not to be dependent on others doing it for you. I’ll be carrying you most of the way, and you can’t even morph so we can keep moving.” His condescending tone grew worse with every word.
Who the hell did he think he was, speaking to her this way? He used to treat her with respect. She’d show him. Spoiled princess? The nerve!
Her long, elegant limbs became graceful legs. She breathed deep as she lifted from the ground. Energy burst from her every cell. A buzz tingled all over like atomic fusion–that was what VanWolf called the excited state of the Shunu transformation.
She landed in the snow. The cold bit into her bare feet, cramping her muscles. She slipped on his pants and boots, then wrapped his coat around her. Wind whirled up under the fabric against her skin. She slid his shirt under the jacket and pushed each arm inside a sleeve. One by one, she fastened the buttons, then secured the jacket. She placed the sack on her shoulder.
“There are gloves and a hat in the bag.” If she didn’t know any better she’d say he smiled. Of course, that was impossible because wolves don’t have facial expressions.
She reached in to remove the items and covered up.
Cathen pulled up alongside her. “Let’s go.” Back to his pushy self.
From where she stood, the train tracks below weren’t visible. A smokestack rose near where they had fled. Did that mean the train had yet to leave? Maybe they wouldn’t take VanWolf with them. Nor would they leave him behind alive if he couldn’t escape. No, he’d find a way out. He had to.
Alexia climbed and sat astride the Shunu Cathen’s back, grabbing onto his thick coat of fur. Dark red liquid slid down his side to his front leg. She followed the trail to the gash in his shoulder, running along his neck. As her finger pressed the wound, he growled, then clenched his jaw.
“That hurt.” He spoke through gritted teeth.
Any moment he could pass out from the loss of blood. “Why didn’t you tell me you were injured?” She leaned into his pointed ear.
“It’s irrelevant.” He leapt upward, covering yards in a single stride.
Men. “Stop and I will heal you.”
“We don’t have time for that. For all we know we have two more weres on our trail,” he grumbled.
“But we have time for you to become incapacitated and for me to nurse you along the way?” What could she have been thinking, that his plan made more sense…
He growled. “I’d prefer you not use magic on me.”
Her healing ability wasn’t magic, exactly. “I will heal this when we stop, and I’m not listening to any more of your nonsense about it.” Somehow, she was deeply connected to matter on a cellular level. She could speed the natural process in the body to heal. Yet she couldn’t explain how. She wasn’t versed on the workings of all the nuances, nor did she have anyone she could ask about how it worked.
As they descended the other side of the peak, Cathen’s breathing labored. At the basin, pristine water sparkled. His predator body moved gracefully through the untamed forest, avoiding branches. The snow ran deep, requiring considerable effort as his paws sank into the white powder.
“No speaking. The risk of an avalanche on this side is high.”
That was his way of telling her to be quiet.
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