Page 2 of Warrior

Axel could not win this argument.I had to be at that funeral.I pushed back against the monster inside me, and agony surged again, cutting through my body like jagged teeth.

“It’s too soon to shift.Fight it,” Axel warned, his words slicing through the haze.

“No!”I bellowed as agony slid along my nerves, sizzling everything in its path, breaking, rebuilding, changing me from monster to human.No, not monster.Warrior.I could do this.I had to.I twisted against the restraints, straining to draw my legs up, but they wouldn’t move.

“She’s shifting!Tighten the straps,” Axel barked.

As my body mass shrank, the straps adjusted to my new size as King and Axel worked together.I focused on breathing, forcing air in and out of my lungs as I cussed silently, battling through the pain.

Finally, I won.

“That’s my girl.Rest,” King whispered, his words brushing against my frayed nerves like a balm.

I drew in a deep breath, my lungs expanding and contracting as I worked to steady myself.“I’m going to the funeral,” I ground out when I could speak.

“She’s as stubborn as you are,” Axel huffed, his tone half chide, half frustration.“Marinah, you could shift again at any moment.It’s dangerous for you to be around others, and not just for you.It’s dangerous for them.If you try to hold back the change, the pain will be unbearable.”

“I’m going,” I said stubbornly.“You took the pain, and so did the others.I can too.”

I didn’t want to argue, but Iwouldbe at that funeral.I closed my eyes, letting exhaustion pull me under as sleep washed over me.

∞∞∞

“Use my shoulder,” King coaxed as I lifted one shaky leg and slid it into the pants he held open for me.Such a simple task shouldn’t have been this hard.My brain felt like it was being commanded by two entities, and neither of them wanted help putting on pants.

King had seen every inch of me over the past two days, so I’d had to get over my embarrassment about being naked in front of him pretty quickly.There were bigger things to worry about than modesty.After sliding my right leg into the pants, I moved on to the left.Lift foot, aim for the opening, lower foot.It should have been easy.But I was sweating, and my confidence in making it to Boot’s funeral was already unraveling.Concentrate,I told myself.

King insisted on zipping the pants, even when I batted his hands away.The familiar red haze started to creep into my brain, swelling until it felt like it might explode, and then the pain seized me.

“Fight it,” King urged, his voice cutting through the fog of chemicals invading my body.

He pulled his hands back, giving me space to regain control.I needed fingers, not claws, to finish this task, so I focused all my energy on that.It took several minutes of sheer willpower for the human part of me to take charge again.Slowly, I zipped the pants the rest of the way, found the buttonhole, and slipped the button through.When I glanced at King, pride filled me over finishing such a simple task.He smiled and nodded, completely understanding how good it felt to win even a small battle.

One way or another, I was going to that funeral.Axel had warned me not to be stressed under any circumstances, and King was supposed to keep a shot of their wonderful knockout drug on hand just in case.Thinking about Boot’s death sent a pang of sadness through me, and I knew that grief would trigger the change more than anything else.

It was a bad idea for me to go, but I didn’t care.Boot deserved my presence.He had sacrificed everything for his son, and that deserved my respect.And more than that, Boot had been my friend.

King held up a black T-shirt, and I nodded.We didn’t bother with a bra.If I shifted at the funeral, it would only get in the way.

“You with me?”King asked.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I admitted, sinking onto the edge of the bed and leaning my head forward into King’s stomach.

His hand moved into my hair, his fingers gently working through the tangles.I couldn’t have made it this far without him.He hadn’t left my side in two days.

Whenever he stepped away to shower or take care of Shadow Warrior business, I became agitated, and the change started.Then Axel would have to give me another shot, and I’d pass out again.It was a terrible cycle, and I hated being this needy.It didn’t matter that both King and Axel insisted it was normal.I wasn’t the same person I used to be.Physically, I was stronger, and mentally, my internal warrior had zapped my fear.But moments like these reminded me how far I still had to go.

“You can do it,” King said softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.“I’ll brush your hair.It’ll help.”

His quiet reassurance soothed me, and I managed to lift my head and give him a tentative smile.He looked away, careful not to make direct eye contact, and I understood why.My beast didn’t take well to prolonged stares.It was another frustrating downside to my new life as a Shadow Warrior.

King lifted the brush, and I let out a long sigh.He’d been brushing my hair whenever things got rough, and sometimes, it was the only thing that calmed me.I should’ve felt guilty for putting him through this.A small, nagging part of my brain even wanted to blame him for what I was going through, though I knew it was a ridiculous thought.

The sad truth was my beast didn’t care.She was furious.Angry at the world and so full of rage that it scared me.What if I couldn’t control her?King said this was normal, though I had my doubts.He and Axel both assured me it would get better, that I’d learn to control the shifts and everything else that came with my new life.

King lifted the brush again, and I moved on the bed to give him space to sit beside me.He began pulling the stiff bristles through my hair, and I closed my eyes, focusing on my breathing exercises.

“How do you know I can do it?”I finally asked, my voice quiet.

---