threw back his head and howled.
Alex skittered, startled by both the action and the sheer volume. Her ears, super-sensitive in this form, rang, and her throat ached with the desire to answer.
She could not drag her gaze from the man, big and bronzed and naked in the half-light, as the howl of an alpha wolf curled toward the slowly lightening sky. If she’d had human skin, it would have had goose bumps. As it was she shook herself vigorously to make the odd tingle go away.
Alex turned her gaze toward the buildings, expecting iii people to answer that call, but no one opened the doors am stepped outside. No one walked in from the side streets. Nu headlights blazed in the distance.
She turned to Barlow, ready now to reach for her humanity, to shape-shift into herself if only to ask him what hell, and she saw them.
Dozens of wolf-shaped shadows materialized from
Alex glanced at the empty village, then back at the approaching cadre of wolves. Huh. It hadn’t occurred to her that the whole town would spend the night hunting together. In her experience, werewolves were solitary. Of course she was starting to understand that Barlow and his wolves were nothing like the ones she’d known.
They loped across the expanse of snow and ice, even as the approaching dawn crept - up behind them, sweeping down like a tidal wave. The instant the sun touched their tails, they changed, tumbling end over end just as Alex had yesterday. But unlike Alex, they gracefully gained their feet, continuing toward the village on two legs instead of four,
The sun moved inexorably forward, changing each and every werewolf from beast to man or woman. By the time the pack ran into town, they were human.
Their faces reflected joy—Alex thought because of the night they’d spent in the woods. She understood now the ecstasy of running, the cool wind in her fur, incredible speed at her beck and call, feeling at one with the earth, the trees, the land—at home in a way she’d never felt before.,
Alex tensed. This wasn’t home. What she had experienced was the collective consciousness of this pack. It would fade; it wasn’t real, and she needed to remember that.
However, the joy of the others didn’t appear to be residual spunkiness from their nightly frolic.’ Instead, their happiness stemmed from Julian’s return. Every person came to him, and he set his hand upon them. A shoulder here, a cheek there, the top of a head, a pat on the back. Once he’d done so, they let out a sigh of utter peace and moved aside so the next supplicant could step forward.
Alex was so fascinated with their behavior and his, she neglected to keep her eye on the sun. Just as the last person was blessed by Barlow, and everyone turned to her, the rays of dawn cast over her face, and she shifted.
Julian waited for Alex to break and run—to burst into the grocery store, the bank, the café and try to find something, anything with which to cover herself.
But to her credit, she didn’t. She straightened from
four legs to two, either refusing to be embarrassed by her nakedness or not embarrassed at all. If that was the case, she was adapting to being a werewolf much quicker than most. Even Alana—
Julian frowned. Alana had needed help to adjust; she
hadn’t quite fit in. They’d fallen in love while Julian in- structed the shy, sweet young woman in the ways of the were wolf world.
He pulled his attention from the past into the present where his people stood naked in the dawn’s hazy light. No one cared. They were pack. They had nothing whatsoever to hide
“I told you to shift,” he murmured. ,“If you’d have listened, you could have grabbed some clothes before I ca them.”
“I’ll shift when I want to,” she said. “Or when I have Not when you tell me to.”
He’d been right about her defying him. And about enjoying it.
“Besides,” she continued. “They don’t have clothes:
don’t have clothes. Why should I have
Alex skittered, startled by both the action and the sheer volume. Her ears, super-sensitive in this form, rang, and her throat ached with the desire to answer.
She could not drag her gaze from the man, big and bronzed and naked in the half-light, as the howl of an alpha wolf curled toward the slowly lightening sky. If she’d had human skin, it would have had goose bumps. As it was she shook herself vigorously to make the odd tingle go away.
Alex turned her gaze toward the buildings, expecting iii people to answer that call, but no one opened the doors am stepped outside. No one walked in from the side streets. Nu headlights blazed in the distance.
She turned to Barlow, ready now to reach for her humanity, to shape-shift into herself if only to ask him what hell, and she saw them.
Dozens of wolf-shaped shadows materialized from
Alex glanced at the empty village, then back at the approaching cadre of wolves. Huh. It hadn’t occurred to her that the whole town would spend the night hunting together. In her experience, werewolves were solitary. Of course she was starting to understand that Barlow and his wolves were nothing like the ones she’d known.
They loped across the expanse of snow and ice, even as the approaching dawn crept - up behind them, sweeping down like a tidal wave. The instant the sun touched their tails, they changed, tumbling end over end just as Alex had yesterday. But unlike Alex, they gracefully gained their feet, continuing toward the village on two legs instead of four,
The sun moved inexorably forward, changing each and every werewolf from beast to man or woman. By the time the pack ran into town, they were human.
Their faces reflected joy—Alex thought because of the night they’d spent in the woods. She understood now the ecstasy of running, the cool wind in her fur, incredible speed at her beck and call, feeling at one with the earth, the trees, the land—at home in a way she’d never felt before.,
Alex tensed. This wasn’t home. What she had experienced was the collective consciousness of this pack. It would fade; it wasn’t real, and she needed to remember that.
However, the joy of the others didn’t appear to be residual spunkiness from their nightly frolic.’ Instead, their happiness stemmed from Julian’s return. Every person came to him, and he set his hand upon them. A shoulder here, a cheek there, the top of a head, a pat on the back. Once he’d done so, they let out a sigh of utter peace and moved aside so the next supplicant could step forward.
Alex was so fascinated with their behavior and his, she neglected to keep her eye on the sun. Just as the last person was blessed by Barlow, and everyone turned to her, the rays of dawn cast over her face, and she shifted.
Julian waited for Alex to break and run—to burst into the grocery store, the bank, the café and try to find something, anything with which to cover herself.
But to her credit, she didn’t. She straightened from
four legs to two, either refusing to be embarrassed by her nakedness or not embarrassed at all. If that was the case, she was adapting to being a werewolf much quicker than most. Even Alana—
Julian frowned. Alana had needed help to adjust; she
hadn’t quite fit in. They’d fallen in love while Julian in- structed the shy, sweet young woman in the ways of the were wolf world.
He pulled his attention from the past into the present where his people stood naked in the dawn’s hazy light. No one cared. They were pack. They had nothing whatsoever to hide
“I told you to shift,” he murmured. ,“If you’d have listened, you could have grabbed some clothes before I ca them.”
“I’ll shift when I want to,” she said. “Or when I have Not when you tell me to.”
He’d been right about her defying him. And about enjoying it.
“Besides,” she continued. “They don’t have clothes:
don’t have clothes. Why should I have
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