Page 43 of Planet Wolf

Jadon leaned down to kiss me, his lips soft against mine. “You make everything wonderful.”

Did I? My stomach panged. Maybe it was my usual trouble or maybe it was just that nothing ever really went as planned for me.

* * *

My whole body hurt.I walked to the kitchen, once again awake before my mates—that had happened every day for the last week—and tried not to wince with every step. It was bad, the kind of pain that usually ended up with me having a seizure or being put in the hospital.

I wanted more to drink, thirst forcing me to seek water. I guessed I could have just taken it from the bathroom, but damn it, I wanted to drink from a glass like a civilized person. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, I couldn’t go a step further. What would happen to me? Would I get sent to a hospital? Would they treat me? Or could Alfie help me from home? He was out cold in the guest room tonight. I left Jadon and Carl in bed asleep. They’d started a rotating schedule I hadn’t caught onto yet. It wasn’t as easy as just moving them through; they had specific times they wanted.

I sunk to the floor, my legs unable to hold me. Carl would be up first. He always was, so he’d come to find me, and then I’d be okay. I just needed to wait.

That thought sustained me for ten seconds. That was the thing about pain. You could only ignore it for so long. I had to call one of them—Alfie, Jadon or Carl. I just had to have help.This really sucks. They were so excited because I seemed to be getting better, so my reversion to my former condition would be a huge disappointment.

As I sat there, the pain in my body only got tremendously worse. I couldn’t hold back the tears that streamed down my face at the cramping or the joint pain. The guys were in the other rooms, not far away at all, yet I was alone—and agony was only getting worse. How had I gone from the joy of yesterday, when Jadon and I had burned meat together trying to grill it, to this hell?

Footsteps approached, and I looked up to see Carl rush toward me, concern evident in the slope of his eyebrows. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling beside me and taking my hand.

I shook my head, trying to speak past the sobs that racked my body. “I... I don’t know. The pain, it’s really fucking bad,” I managed to choke out.

Carl’s eyes widened, and he shouted over his shoulder, “Alfie, we need you here, now!” He practically growled. “You smell wrong. I can’t... explain it.”

Jadon appeared beside us, and he reached down to stroke my head. “What’s going on?”

“It’s her pain. It’s too much,” Carl said. “And something else? I don’t know.”

Jadon took a deep breath. “What is happening?”

“I don’t know.” Carl shook his head. “Alfie will fix this.”

The healer suddenly appeared next to me on his knees. “Esther.”

“Fix this,” Jadon bellowed at him. “She’s in agony.”

“Yes.” He didn’t sound terrified or angry like Jadon. “She is. And that is unfortunately normal. Use your nose wisely, guys. What do you smell? You’ve scented it before. Esther, you’re going to shift.”

I’m going to what?I no sooner thought it than my body started to shake, a fine trembling starting at my muscles.Oh, hell, I’m going to have a seizure.

Alfie got down on his stomach. What was he doing? “Don’t fight it, okay? Let it happen. You’ve never been able to do it before, but you can now. And when you do, all this pain? It’s going to stop. Scream if you want to. Bellow at the top of your lungs, but you are about to become a Wolf, my love. Like you should have always been.”

“It’s like a miracle,” Carl said and kissed my head. That was the last thing I could think about. My bones cracked and my muscles stretched until they tore. He had said to yell, and I would have, if I hadn’t been pretty sure I was about to die. My throat closed up and then…

Everything looked different. Alfie lifted his head to look behind me. His hair was different, shinier, but also, he smelled like trees.How did I know that?I wasn’t sure. “It’s the vitamin. She’s never had enough to do this. Esther’s never going to make enough herself. She’s going to have to get it every day, but if she does, she’ll be able to do this.” He took a breath. “Her pain is gone.”

“Yes, but she’s terrified.” Jadon got down on all fours. “Esther, listen, you’re going to lose all sense of this soon. You’re just going to be a Wolf. That’s okay. Look for me. All of us, but if you can find me, I will take care of you. Somehow, you’ll know that. Alphas take care of the pack. You are ours. Don’t lose sense of that, if you can hang onto it.”

I had a second to wonder why he thought I wouldn’t be able to find him so that I’d have to look before I decided I couldn’t stay in the kitchen. I ran. I had to be outside. Every door in the house had what was essentially a doggy-door to get outside. I took one, and headed out toward the woods. Outside wassomuch better than inside.

Maybe I didn’t have to go back inside ever. I ran and ran as fast as I could. But I was alone. I didn’t want to be alone. Someone was supposed to be with me. More than one person. I had family, loves.

A mouth came down on my neck, stopping me from running. The Wolf who did it didn’t even seem winded. I took a breath. Oh yes, he was my Alpha. I whimpered. Was I in trouble? He growled, but it wasn’t with anger. He didn’t like that I thought I was in trouble. I lifted my gaze. Okay, everything was fine.

Someone bumped me from the side, another male. He was also mine. Yes, they both were. And then the third one arrived. Oh, thank goodness, I could breathe again.They are here. I ran and they followed, caging me in a bit, but it was nice, not stifling. We ran and ran.

Until I just couldn’t anymore. I collapsed on the ground. Catching my breath, my body trembled as it reshaped. What was happening? I whimpered and then cried. Seconds later, I was back in my human body.

Naked, I lay on the grass staring at the sky. The sun had come up again. It always did, which was an amazing gift. Tears rushed down my cheeks. Carl looked down at me from where he stood, essentially over me. “That was fast. Pain must be over.” He lifted me up. “What are the tears?”

These guys would never really understand weakness, even though they wanted to. “Overwhelmed, I think.”