Page 21 of Under the Moonlight

When she lifted her feline face to his, he met her aquamarine eyes with pity. The terror inside them added to the guilt he already felt. If only he’d killed Pax sooner, he could have saved so many lives.

By the time Greer joined them, it was over. She’d taken the time to get her shirt back on and compose herself. She gasped as her gaze locked on her best friend and Xander waited for the recoil, for her to scream and back away like he’d seen so many loved ones do when faced with the reality of a shift.

Jill stood on all fours with her long tail swishing behind her, her clothes in a ragged pile around her. She lowered her head, and Xander saw tears fall to the hardwood floor.

Xander turned his attention back to Greer. She’d covered her mouth, her brown eyes wide as she stared at her best friend. She took one step, then two until she kneeled in from of Jill. She cradled Jill’s furred face and lifted it to hers. She rested her forehead on her best friend’s.

“I am so sorry,” she choked.

Xander stood back as Jill wrapped an arm around Greer, her paw resting on the opposite shoulder. Jill nuzzled her short face into the crook of Greer’s neck and the two of them sat there, motionless except for the rise and fall of Greer’s shoulders with each silent sob.

Xander felt as though he was intruding, especially when he heard Greer whisper, “I love you. No matter what.” She kissed the end of Jill’s nose with a wet laugh. “Besides, I kind of like this look. Brings new meaning to the terms cat in heat.”

It sounded as though Jill snorted, but it was cut off by a scream as Jill shifted again.

Greer stumbled back and Xander bent over to help her to her feet. He wanted to keep her there, proud of the way she’d accepted her best friend’s new existence. Also, a little jealous. He wanted to feel that unconditional love from Greer. The acceptance. It had only been a few days, but he wanted to belong to Greer.

And he wanted her to belong to him.

When Jill’s body finally stopped twisting, she huddled on her side in the fetal position, naked and shaking.

Greer rushed forward and yanked the quilt off the bed, spreading it over Jill. She wrapped her body against her friend’s back, spooning her as Jill cried.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

Xander cleared his throat. “I’ll get you some water. I always need a tall glass after I shift.”

He left the two women alone and stopped off in his room to grab another shirt and a pair of sweats for Jill. By the time he came back with the water and the clothes, the two of them were on the bed. Jill’s head rested in Greer’s lap as she stroked her hair, humming a tune he couldn’t place.

He set the clothes on the edge of the bed and held out the glass. “You can put these on, if you want.”

Greer took the glass from him as Jill moaned, “I hurt everywhere. I don’t even want to move.”

Xander tried to be reassuring, but he remembered the first time shifting. It was brutal. “It gets better. Pretty soon, you just have to think about it and you’ll change.”

“I never want to do that again.”

“I’d demonstrate, but then I’d have to get naked,” Xander jo

ked.

Jill released a weak snort of laughter.

“You’re not getting naked,” Greer said sternly.

Xander quirked an eyebrow at her and she scowled at him. With a grin, he pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it aside. “One thing you’re going to have to learn about shifters, baby, is we are not a modest breed.”

Greer tried to get up and stop him when his hand went to his pants, but Jill wrapped her arms around her waist, holding her there. He had been hoping some teasing would make Jill feel better, but Greer’s almost possessive reaction to him undressing was delicious.

By the time he’d dropped his drawers, Greer was struggling to cover Jill’s eyes, bent over with laughter. Jill pulled at her hands and Xander was relieved to see the wide smile on her face.

“Come on, I was assaulted and turned into a were-cougar! The least you can do is let me ogle your boyfriend.”

Greer’s face turned tomato red and he took the opportunity to slide smoothly into his wolf form. He wasn’t exaggerating when he’d told Jill it got better. His transition now was fluid and swift.

Greer released Jill and took a step toward him. Jill watched in the back ground, but Xander only had eyes for a hesitant Greer, who held her hand out to him. Xander knew that although she had feelings for him, seeing him in wolf form like this wasn’t easy. Jill had been her best friend for years; they’d only just met.

Attempting to put her at ease, he jumped up on her, his paws hanging over her shoulders and ran his big thick tongue over her cheek.

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