Page 58 of My Fugitive Wolf
The sun set before the two of them woke. Samara tried to snuggle back into Kellen's soft fur, but a nudge from his nose forced her to pull away.
Kellen started to shift back to human. She'd never voluntarily shifted, so she was at a loss as to how to make it work without a fight or flight response. All she could do was watch. First the fur absorbed back into his body and became skin. Under his skin, muscles rippled as the bones beneath changed shape. She heard nothing that sounded like it would hurt.
It took less than five seconds or so, and like literal magic there he was, Kellen as a human lying on his side, naked. His eye color remained the same, the deep brown that she loved so much.
Propping himself on one arm, he reached out to stroke her fur with the back of his hand. "Picture yourself as human."
She could understand him but couldn't respond except with a timid yip.
"You can do it. It doesn't hurt, but it can feel uncomfortable the first time you try."
In her mind's eye she imagined what she saw when she looked in a mirror. Most days she only had a bathroom mirror to see herself, so a full body image was impossible. It didn't seem to matter. She kept that half picture of herself, and before she knew it, her fur disappeared, her joints stretched and rotated, then her muscles squeezed her bones back into place.
"I did it." She held up her hands so she could check to make sure she had all of her fingers, which she did. No more blue tinge anywhere.
He pulled her hands into his, reveling in the warmth of his touch as he placed both of her hands on his heart.
“How do you feel?”
Looking at the dark sky outside, Samara tried to untangle her senses. “It’s like the first time I shifted in the cage. The lights are too bright, the sounds are too loud, and even the air scrapes against my skin.”
"That will pass over time. You will get used to it. I hate to sound redundant, but how about up here?" He tapped her forehead.
"Right now, I don't hear anyone or feel anything except me."
"You don't sense two wolves inside you?"
Closing her eyes, she thought about when she was the wolf. "I did after I shifted. It was the same thing. Part of me would have jumped out of that window to get free. Another part of me wanted to run back into the living room and..."
"And what?" His concern grew sharper, his hand tightening on her.
"Jump you." She hoped her smirk said it all.
The heavy sigh that released from him was filled with what must have been unbearable relief. "Not in front of the others. I'm all for changing positions and a little experimentation, but exhibitionism isn't in my repertoire."
She kissed his nose. "Good. Me neither. But, you'll have to tell me more about those positions you're interested in."
"And on that note..." He rolled off the bed. "Your clothing is on the floor. Mine is in the living room. I'll close the door behind me."
She scooped up her knife, pants, and shirt.
"Samara."
"Yeah."
Steps halting, he hesitated before speaking. "Be careful. You still might not sense both wolves in human form because there's still silver inside you."
"I will. You'll be the first to know." She patted the side of the bed.
He didn't respond to her invitation.
"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling anxious.
"I...I think it would be best if you slept alone tonight. Just in case you start to shift again, or your grandfather's shadow starts to make you feel things you don't want to."
"Oh, no...no...no. Don't do this to me. Not now."
"I don't want to. It's just until you're sure you can handle two wolf shadows. This is unprecedented. We don't know what is going to happen."
