Page 23 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

And from the growl that rumbled up from her chest, he was pretty sure that she had. When he felt her beginning to tremble in his arms, he knew that it was time to take a step back. He was about to do so when she suddenly pulled away from him, turning to look at him with a desperate look in her eyes. “Maybe I was wrong.”

The way she lowered her gaze and dipped her head pulled on Ray’s heartstrings and determination clawed at his insides almost as much as his wolf was clawing to be released. Clenching his jaw and tightening his hands into fists, he growled deep in his throat. Allowing his wolf to come forth just enough to call to Macie’s, he glowered at her, daring her to spring at him and prove herself wrong.

“Macie, it’s time to stop beating yourself down and be your true self,” he told her. “Show me what you can do, baby!”

Macie’s eyes widened then and the trembling grew stronger in her body. At first, her jaw clenched and then the pained expression crossed her eyes. Ray knew in that moment that he had gotten to her. He could see the way the claws started to erupt from her nail beds and when she opened her mouth to howl at the sky, he saw that her fangs had begun to protrude.

Watching her shift again was just as emotional as it had been the first time, though somehow it was even more beautiful. Though it was clear that she was in a major amount of pain, and it hurt Ray to watch, he did not take his eyes off her.

Even as she dropped down onto her hands and knees, growling and howling and whimpering in pain, Ray dropped down with her. He kept his gaze on hers even when she closed her eyes tightly shut, clearly feeling every ounce of her shift.

“I’m here,” he told her gently, “Don’t worry. It’s all going to be okay.”

It seemed to happen excruciatingly slowly, and Ray felt as though he could feel every ounce of her pain. He wished he could take it for her, that he could press himself against her and take it away entirely so that she could simply enjoy the connection with her wolf.

But he knew better than that. Every wolf shifter’s bond was forged in pain and anger and defense, and there was nothing he could do to ease the suffering of that. All he could do was remind himself that with every shift it got easier. Soon she would be able to shift as instantly as all the other wolves in the pack, and then it would be as simple as flipping a switch.

When she stood before him, a beautiful raven-black wolf, Ray bared his teeth at her. Seeing the slight confusion and continued pain in her beautiful charcoal eyes, he quickly shook off his human form, allowing his own gold-brown wolf to spring forwards.

The moment that he did, the pain disappeared from Macie’s eyes. It was replaced by excitement and joy. The elation that Ray felt in his heart the moment that his wolf laid eyes upon hers for the first time was so wonderful that it brought tears to his eyes.

Feeling like a pup for the first time in years he lunged at her, nipping and yapping playfully. In response, she darted beneath him, kicking his legs out from under him as she went. Together, they rolled and played, losing all sense of the human world and simply losing themselves in their wolves.

Though it felt similar to how he felt playing with any other pack member, there was something different this time. This time, Ray felt as though he never wanted to stop. He would have remained in wolf form for the rest of his life if only she would remain with him.

At her encouraging, the way she gazed at him and bounced from side to side when they finally broke apart and stood up, Ray followed her deeper into the woods. They ran and ran, frolicking through the trees until the sun finally started to light the horizon, painting the tree trunks around them in the color of blood.

They were just beginning to calm, both panting slightly with the effort of all their running, when Ray thought he heard the sound of paws pounding towards them. Instinctively, he stepped between the sound and Macie, prepared to protect her no matter the cost.

Lifting his head and parting his jaws, he smelled deeply the scent that was coming towards them on the wind. His hackles lowered slightly when he smelled the scent of another Silverdale pack member coming towards them.

Macie brushed up against him as though she were trying to comfort him to tell him that she was okay, that she didn’t need his protection. But he still did not step out of the way. Even as the large grey-brown wolf appeared from the trees and skidded to a halt before them, Ray did not budge an inch. The uncontrollable need to protect her that was coming mainly from his wolf was so bad that he almost lunged right for the newcomer on instinct.

It was only Macie’s shoulder pressed up against his own that stopped him.

When the newcomer finally started to shift, clearly preparing to speak, Ray finally eased off a little, barely noticing that he had been growling warningly at the other male wolf.

At a nudge from Macie, Ray started to shift back to his human form. Though he didn’t look back over his shoulder, he could feel her doing the same. The air around them both seemed to tingle against his bare skin as he glowered at his brother who now stood before him in human form.

“What’s gotten into you?” Ray demanded, “Running up on us like that!”

Ryan cocked his head to one side, his gaze flitting to Macie with a questioning glare in his eyes before he turned back to his brother and snarled, “Dash sent me. He’s calling every pack member in.”

Ray’s stomach clenched at that. “What for?”

“Pack meeting,” Ray said with a shrug of his shoulders. “He wants every able-bodied wolf in the meeting room as soon as possible.”

At that, he felt Macie tensing behind him, and the soft whimper that erupted from her throat set his teeth on edge.

“If I had to guess, I’d say it has something to do with the demon wolf that escaped,” Ryan continued, though the suspicion did not die from his eyes as he looked between Ray and Macie. Ray bared his teeth at his younger brother, just daring him to say a word about them being caught in the woods together.

As if he sensed the danger coming off him, Ryan took a step backwards and raised his hands as if in surrender. “I’m just the messenger.”

“Then go back to the manor,” Ray ordered aggressively. “We’ll follow once we’ve collected our things.”

Ryan looked for a second as though he was going to protest, then with a dip of his head he spun around and shifted midair before charging off, back in the direction of the manor.

More slowly, and without shifting, Ray started to follow. He only stopped when he realized he could not hear the sound of Macie following him. When he turned back to her, he found that she was standing with her arms wrapped around her chest, gazing at the floor with a pain-filled expression on her face.

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