Page 164 of Second Chance Mates

The next morning, Ava is covered in sweat from head to toe. Strands of dark hair clung to her beading face and her lips part, trying to draw in air. I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. I watched her all night in case anything happened. But she slept like a rock.

I admire the mark on her neck once more, but it doesn’t quite fill me with the delight I expected. The red blotches around her skin look sore and unsettled. It churns my stomach.

It was too soon. I shouldn’t have done it at all.

Fuck.

Terror settles in my gut like a punch. I hear her grunt beside me as she rests in our bed. Her arms shiver harshly, but her eyes are clamped shut. A tear rolls down her cheek. Then another. And another.

“Baby?” I whisper, but she doesn’t react to my voice.

She grits her teeth at the same time her eyes squeeze shut. I hear the sounds of screams in my mind, and I flinch. I scoop her up in my arms and rush down the stairs.

Gemma. Something is happening to Ava.

I take her to the infirmary without a second thought and place her down on an empty bed, but her head rolls. “Ava. Ava. Look at me.”

Her eyes don’t even twitch.

Gemma rushes over behind me and presses a hand to her forehead. Ava’s body vibrates aggressively before she opens her mouth and releases a blood-curdling scream.

A slash of pain hits me square in the chest, and I clench my jaw in an attempt to ignore it. My eyes water at the sight of her thrashing against the bedsheets, her cries becoming louder by the second. The distress on her face shatters my soul into pieces.

“We need to get her outside!” Gemma exclaims. I stare at her, deeply confused. “She needs fresh air. She’s burning up.”

My arms slide around her body as I take us outside. She squirms against me, and I push all of my calming abilities into her body, but nothing works.

I’m right here. Okay? I’ve got you.

Gemma guides us towards the grass, and I kneel with her still in my arms. She jerks to one side and then another until she bursts through my strong hold and rolls onto the grass.

Holy fuck. She rattles. I’ve never seen a body react like this.

I rush to her side in a panic. “Leave her,” Gemma calls out.

My head turns to her with weary eyes. I’m not going to leave my mate when she’s having a seizure.

Lucy appears beside us. “Shit. What’s happening?”

“Do something, Gemma,” I say through gritted teeth. “Use a sedative. Something. She’s going to hurt herself.”

“Wait.” She holds up a hand.

I groan in frustration. “For what? She’s hurting!”

My gaze lands on my mate's strained face, and I try to cuddle her into my chest with no support. Her body doesn’t stop moving. Those tears don’t halt for a second, and I’m breaking all over again. No. I need to do something.

Gemma is right beside me and yanks me back. “I said leave her!”

I open my mouth to shout back, but the mark I left on Ava’s neck last night starts burning red and bright until it’s glowing like gold. I shield my eyes from the unexpected flash—we all do.

Another deafening scream leaves Ava’s mouth. When I glance at her, I watch as her neck snaps at an angle that makes my heart slam into my chest. Her arm bends at an awkward angle and then her legs and her stomach. A groan mixed with a scream fills the air, and birds start flying from the trees.

All of her clothes begin to shred onto the floor, and she shifts into the most beautiful white wolf I have ever seen. Her fur is lined with gold strands that shine against the sunlight. I stare in shock. My wolf howls at me to move closer. He spins and claws at my insides.

But I can’t. All I can do is stare in awe and satisfaction.

A tingling sensation shoots through my body when Ava’s wolf opens her eyes. They’re dark yet ringed with a deep honey colour that glows when she looks right at me. She stands boldly on her four paws and takes a moment to look down at them, admiring in astonishment.

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