Page 29 of Wolf's Whisper

"What?" I bewilderedly asked, looking around at my companions.

"Ssssh,' Ashleigh hushed me, pulling me closer to her.

"What?" I asked again, a lot quieter this time.

"Coyotes. And a lot of them," Danny whispered from the other side of me, as she slowly unbuttoned her coat and dropped it on the ground. On her other side, Darren was pulling off his pants as Regan suddenly lost his shirt.

Was this really the appropriate response to Coyotes? Stripping? What was it with this group, couldn't they just keep on their freaking clothes? I thought they were cold?

"JP is going to stay with you, guard our bags, please?" Ashleigh whispered in my ear as I forced myself not to look down at her bare shoulders and the rest of her curves. There was obviously something going on here and I almost knew what, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"What is going on?"

"I-I-I'll explain, just be q-quiet for a moment," JP stuttered as he collected the scattered clothes from off the ground and stuffed them in a small bag.

Come on brain, you can figure this out. Coyotes, and a lot of stripping... Could this mean?

"Wait!"

"Shhhh!"

I lowered my voice again. "Wait, does this mean what I think it means? Are you all going to shift?" They seriously weren't all going to run out into the storm, right? That was just madness.

"Right on the money," Darren grinned as he demonstratively unbuckled his belt.

"Why?"

"We'll tell you in a bit," Danny muttered as she shed her shirt and was now only wearing a set of panties and a bra. She wasn't going to take those off, was she?

A stern, deep, voice suddenly caught my attention. "Let's do this quickly and smoothly. We don't want any unnecessary complications. Usual formation. Regan, you’re in the lead. Darren and Danny, from the flanks. Ash, you and I will back up Regan."

I stared at astonishment at Aspen, as his commands send shivers down my spine. Was this really the goofy guy I shared my camp with?

"Let's get it done, alright."

His voice was huskier than usual, his biceps flexing under his shirt as he directed the rest of the group.

I felt my wolf stir inside my chest as she was drawn to Aspen once again and I was overcome with a strange desire for him.

"Let's move!" he commanded the group, and as they all nodded his head in agreement, I suddenly realised what was going on.

Alpha.

The group jogged towards the entrance of the cave. Regan seemed to inspect the sky, and with a nod, he seemed to approve whatever it was that needed approving.

I turned back to Ashleigh, still not sure what exactly was going on. Before I could speak to her, the cave was suddenly filled with a noise I would recognise in my wildest nightmares.

The shift.

The nauseating sound of joints popping and bones cracking made me cringe and buckle down into the ground. I covered my ears with my hands, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep the muffled groans and cries out as my new friends were in hellish pain.

I managed to glance at JP, wondering how he was taking the living nightmare, but he looked surprisingly unfazed. He was just staring at Danny, his eyes glazed over a little. I wasn't sure he was even here.

He must've felt my eyes prickle on his back, as he turned his focus from the redhead to me. A meek smile appeared on his face as he gently touched my hand.

"You'll get used to it," he said, with a remarkably clear voice. "I always count down from hundred in intervals of seven. It helps me stay calm."

I frowned my forehead, not exactly sure what he meant.

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