Page 77 of Stealthy as a Wolf

The combination of lust and their scents of pumpkin spice and rum was enough to make me drunk. A flush climbed my cheeks, and I blew out a harsh breath as I struggled to remember the goal was to actually shift, not see if I could actually orgasm without any of them laying a hand on me.

Though that might be a fun game to play later, I decided.

Shaking off the distractions, I rolled my shoulders, then cracked my neck side to side, like I was readying myself to go into battle. “Let’s do this.”

Grady squeezed my fingers, his piercing blue eyes darkening as he offered his support. Even though he didn’t say a word, I could tell he had complete confidence in me. No matter what happened, he would stand by my side.

A golden glow began to shimmer under his skin, power rising directly under my hand to tickle against my palm. I expected heat, maybe a flash of pain as it burned my skin, but the sensation barely registered when a wave of bright light washed over me, embracing me in a cocoon of warmth and love so pure that the backs of my eyes stung.

It was like his wolf was welcoming me as his mate.

The glow continued to grow, and I closed my eyes as a flash of light drenched the clearing. The solid flesh beneath my hand vanished, but not the essence that was him. As the wave of light faded, Grady’s presence retreated. Instead of skin beneath my fingers, I felt a brush of fur. A second later, a rough tongue licked me from chin to forehead.

“Ack!” I jerked back, my eyes flashing open to see a wolf with bright blue eyes sitting very obediently before me. The beast was massive, the tips of his ears almost reaching my shoulders, the size of his paws dwarfing my hands.

I cautiously ran my fingers over the edges of his ears, marveling at the fluffy texture, unable to resist burying my fingers in the thick fur along his ruff. It made me want to hug him close and cuddle him.

“You can’t think about it as giving over to your beast, more like embracing the predator under your skin.” Matty’s voice was so unexpected that I twisted to face him and nearly landed flat on my ass for my trouble.

He lunged forward, quickly grabbing my arm to steady me. He was so close that heat radiated from him. Feeling a pang of guilt for forgetting he was near, I glanced down…and my gaze snagged on his semi-hard erection, and I was unable to turn away when it began to grow under my very eyes.

Matty gruffly cleared his throat, and I gave a guilty start, shooting him an apologetic smile. For all of a second. Then I raised my chin, refusing to feel bad for getting caught gawking.

“It’s your fault anyway,” I muttered, waving my hand to indicate his still growing dick. Well damn, how big did that thing get? “You wave that anaconda around in public like you’re some kind of snake charmer, and you gotta expect people to look and be distracted.”

Laughter exploded out of him, and I was transfixed by the way it transformed him from strict, scholarly professor to hot, naughty teacher who would ask me to stay after class to do wicked, dirty things to me on his desk.

“You’re definitely the one with all the charm.” Matty’s laughter faded, hunger replacing the amusement, and he quickly closed the distance between us with long, determined strides. Ignoring his erection, he crushed me to his chest. My heart pounded like a wild beast, my whole body tingling as he slid his hand in my hair and fisted the strands, then dragged my head back.

My breath caught in my throat at being manhandled. After my violent past, I was afraid of even the slightest contact. But it was different with my men. It was like my body craved their touch, their rough caresses instantly making me wet.

I waited for him to ravish me, but he only pressed his lips to my forehead, and his whispered confession nearly destroyed me. “No matter what happens today, we are in this together. I don’t care if you shift or not. To me, you’re my perfect mate, beyond anything that I could ever have dreamed.”

Warmth filled my chest, the surge of hope almost painful, and a fierce determination took root.

I could do this, but not for them. The men didn’t care whether I was alpha or not. They didn’t care if I could shift or not. They just wanted me.

They made me see that I was worth more than my alpha abilities. I ached to be whole, no longer the splintered shell of a shifter, and the men deserved no less from their mate.

My men were in trouble.

They needed me to be strong.

Faster.

Better.

I wanted to be worthy of them, but the only way to do that was to find and claim the missing parts of my soul.

My wolf pushed at the undersides of my skin, my body feeling too tight, and the warmth turned into a burn. I gritted my teeth, embracing the pain. I refused to let the fear consume me.

Heat spread slowly from my chest, pushing outward, encasing my limbs. When it pushed up my neck, I tipped my head back, feeling it sear up along my jaw. I took one last, desperate gasp of air seconds before fire enveloped me.

There was a heartbeat of nothing but me floating in a bright golden glow, the sensations almost as comforting as a warm bath. Then it was like my wolf slammed into me with the force of a car, and I was flung outward, dropping to my hands and knees as I hit the ground with a jolt.

The disappointment was crippling, and I dug my fingers into the dirt…only to feel claws gouge into the soft dirt instead.

Claws attached to actual paws.

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