Keeping Secret (Secret McQueen) - By Sierra Dean Page 0,69
the light, and not an ounce of fat between them.
“Have you ever done this with another king?” Callum asked.
“No, you?”
“Never.”
“Should be interesting,” Lucas said, his smile wolfish and a touch crazy.
“Count of three.”
“One…” The moon broke out from behind a puff of cloud, bathing us all in a cool, silver light.
“Two…” The entire circle dropped their robes. I wanted to cling to mine, but it seemed stupid to be the only one clothed in a crowd of butt-naked shapeshifters.
“Three.” Lucas spoke last, and when the final vowel slipped past his lips, he exploded.
First I thought Eugenia had turned from cabins to launching her magic at other wolves. A yelp escaped my lips, and then I realized what was happening. Lucas’s skin tore apart at seams that shouldn’t have been there, shredded by the tendons and muscles expanding under the surface. His beautiful face cracked, pushed outward by shards of bone forming into a hideous snout. Lucas’s jaws opened, too big for his face now, and when the skin fell away, he yawned wide, exposing a mouthful of teeth that would make even the deadliest predator wet himself. All of what had once been my Lucas was gone, and in its place was a massive wolf, its coat gleaming golden blond in the fire.
This had all taken mere seconds.
New magic hit then, a wave of it slamming into the circle like the aftershock of a nuclear bomb. I was taken to the ground as the magic burned my skin, but it wasn’t a human scream coming from me, it was an animal howl.
The shift took me hard. I tried to focus on the scene in front of me, three dozen wolves toppled simultaneously by the change, the power of two Alphas making it impossible for them to resist their animal forms.
I struggled, but the magic clawed me under. I was trying to surface, trying to grab at humanity, but the wolf inside me was done listening to my rules. I’d kept her buried deep for decades, and she wanted out. Now. Her kings were calling her. A pack command was too great. It mattered more to her than my desire to stay human.
Her king had said come.
And by God she would obey.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I screamed, but it was pointless.
I fought, but one simply cannot fight against themselves.
My spine cracked, driving me to all fours, and my shoulder dislocated, twisting backwards. This torturous buckling was mirrored by my hips until my legs were bent in the wrong direction. Fingers and toes grew and burst from my skin, not as bones but as claws. I screamed again, and my jaws split the moment I opened my mouth, turning my wailing into a wet gurgle.
I expected it to hurt because the memory of past pain told me what was happening should be excruciating. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t fun, but the discomfort wasn’t unbearable. And once I stopped fighting, it went faster, with more fluidity and grace.
Seconds ticked away, and when I opened my eyes, the world had gone grayscale.
I tested my feet, unaccustomed to using four of them, but the wolf was riding me now and not vice versa. She had control, and she knew what she was doing.
Free, she whispered.
Yes, I suppose she was.
Lucas—his wolf form as beautiful as his human form—came to me then and rubbed his head under my muzzle. He gave a bark, as if to say I told you so.
I nipped his cheek. He flashed his impressive teeth at me.
The pack shook the last dregs of humanity off themselves and went about smelling and licking and play-biting. I sat back on my haunches and watched, amazed I could still understand it from a human perspective. I guess I should have been grateful to my wolf for letting me ride shotgun.
Run, she commanded. Must run.
I got to all fours again, my body a coiled spring, tense with energy. Callum yipped at Lucas, and the two kings took off, running with an uncomplicated joy into the woods. My wolf howled, a high, pure, thrilling sound. One by one the pack joined us, until we all sang in chorus.
Then we ran.
My claws dug into the soft ground, tearing up chunks of moss as I charged forward. Wolves streamed past me. So many wolves, and all of them so big. Their coats were a rainbow of grays to my new eyes. We followed Callum and Lucas, but everyone did it in their own way, chasing zigzag paths through the underbrush.