Page 132 of Caelum

But there was no denying she was shivering. And that her skin wasdoing something strange. I'd only noticed it because my senses were hyper-alert because of her. The small hairs on her arms all appeared to be doing a Mexican wave of their own. Up and down, up and down, up and down. Nobody had that much autonomous control over their bodies. But apparently, she did.

I choked out a cough when I felt her do something next. No, I didn’t see it, I felt it.

Deep inside me, the soul that would overtake them all made a keening sound. Whatever she was doing, it was like she was connected by a live wire to my Were.

Before I had a second to catch my breath, to process what the hell was happening, to deal with the bewildering realization that somehow whatever she was doing was touching me... my Were rammed at the barriers of my human skin.

Wasn't the first time, and I felt damn sure it wouldn't be the last that my body attempted to make the shift.

I didn't have the energy to call out for her to stop. Instead, I hunkered down, gathered my reserves around me, and tried to maintain control.

It was hard. Fucking hard.

Sweat broke out of every single pore, and I felt, as well as scented, a metallic tang of blood when I bit through my tongue as the jittering pain began to quake through me like a natural disaster.

I had no choice but to stumble to my knees, digging my hands into the earth to try to control myself. But there was no use. I wasn't in control.

She was.

She was doing this to me.

The next moment would forever be stuck in my memory. Glued there by a woman I didn't even like, but who, somehow, gave me the greatest gift of all.

One second I was there, crouched over on the ground, a man just waiting to be given full access to all his powers. And the next?

There was a bear—a grizzly, no less—and that beast was me.

SIX

EVE

There had been quite a few moments in my life where I’d questioned my sanity. Most of those occurred before I crossed Caelum’s gates. I'd never been certain if I was possessed by the devil or if there was just something seriously wrong with me...

Okay, that was a slight lie.

I truly had believed I was possessed, but ever since coming here, what I’d learned hadn’t exactly put me at ease.

Now, after having been assured a number of times that only a walk through Caelum’s gates would finalize matters, allow the Weres and Hell Hounds of this world to shift, Dre, one of my least favorite people in the universe, had just turned into a bear.

A huge bear.

If it had been Stefan or any of the others, well, aside from Samuel, I wouldn't be too scared. But Dre disliked me as much as I disliked him. I could only imagine that his bear felt exactly the same way.

Would that make me look tasty to him?

Goodness, I hoped not.

Rubbing my brow, I tried not to scamper backward because that had to be a submissive reaction and I didn't think that was wise with the bear lumbering around in front of me. He’d take that as a sign of weakness, and all of a sudden, I'd be the bear’s dinner.

But although I didn’t retreat and stood firm, it didn't stopme from freaking out inside. Inwardly, I was a rush of nerves, and who could blame me?

The craziest thing though? I really wanted to stroke him.

Dre’s beady black eyes in his bearskin held none of the beauty of his human form, but that didn't mean they weren't pretty in their own way.

I almost snorted at the idea of anything about a bear being pretty, but it was true. Yes, he was huge, and yes, his claws could probably rip my insides out within a second, but he was just standing there, looking at me as hard as I was looking at him.

I realized then that Dre was as astonished as I was. Considering he never shut up, he was deliciously quiet now. In fact, I could probably come to appreciate a silent Dre if it meant he had to turn into a six-hundred-pound bear.

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