Shaw (Alpha Geek #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,39

you matters. The way to get to a shift will be the same, no matter what.”

Poppy knelt down on the forest floor, sitting back onto her heels. Shaw did the same, facing her. He had been to the cabin before, but it was different now that he was a shifter. He could hear all of the small animals, scampering away in fear of the two predatory animals that had now invaded their space. It even smelled completely new. Shaw could smell the hint of humidity emanating from the ground. It hadn’t rained in a few days, but the layers of soil under his feet were still moist from the storms.

He was positive he had the scent of a few rabbits, a fox, and the oddly sweet scent of decaying leaves. It was mixed in with the smell of the growing trees, the undergrowth, and something else.

Something he couldn’t quite place.

If he had to describe it, it was the distinctive smell of freedom. He didn’t know how he knew that; he just did. The voice in his head told him that it was indeed the scent of freedom. The kind of peace that came with being entirely surrounded by nature, with the space to roam and run, to hunt and lay about amongst the trees and other wild things.

“Okay, so I guess the first step will be to clear your mind. Close your eyes.”

Shaw did as she had commanded him. She placed her palms on her thighs, and he imitated the movement.

“Take a few deep breaths and listen to the quiet. If you focus hard enough, you should be able to hear a voice inside of your head, calling to you. That’s your animal. When you hear it, let it take over you. Give over control to it. Just remember that you’re safe. The first few shifts will hurt, but your body has changed to accommodate it. So just breathe easily. I won’t shift until you have, to coax you through it.”

Shaw nodded but remembered that they both had their eyes closed. “Thanks for helping me,” he said instead with a quiet voice.

She didn’t have to help him. Especially not after everything he had done, after all of the trouble he had caused.

“Breathe in deep, Shaw. Listen.”

He did as she asked. With every lungful of air he took into himself, he discovered a new forest smell, a new sound. It was a little much. Actually, if he was honest, it was downright overwhelming. Especially with Poppy right there in front of him, smelling as delicious as all of the other things in the woods.

Focus, we want to run now.

Shaw was nearly startled by the voice ringing out in his head. But he had heard it before. When he had been healing from his injuries, from the serum, that voice had been there. With his mind, he reached out to it, assuring the animal that it was all right to come out. If it wanted to run, it could.

Finally.

He wasn’t too sure what happened or how the change came about. All he knew was that his skin and limbs were on fire. The pain was deep and searing. It tugged him in all kinds of directions. He was vaguely aware that Poppy was right there beside him, murmuring all sorts of nice things to him. He leaned into the pain, accepting it as a payment for becoming a shifter.

After all of those years of wanting to be something different, someone different, it was finally happening.

“That’s it, Shaw! You did it.” The excitement in Poppy’s voice was palpable.

Shaw opened his eyes, and he noticed that he was much changed. Where his legs and arms had been, he now had long, thick, and powerful paws. He even felt his tail—the one at his backside—flicking happily.

He was a tiger.

And not just any kind of tiger. His fur was a creamy white color, and his stripes were brown. He hadn’t just turned into a tiger or any old animal. He was an endangered species. He had known he had a tiger in his mind, but it was an entirely different thing to be the animal.

“You’re magnificent,” Poppy was laughing with tears in her eyes. “You did so well. I’m going to shift now, too. And we can go and run through the woods together. After that, I’ll shift back into my human form and help you leave the shift. Nod that beautiful head of yours if you understand.”

Shaw bent his head forward and bounded like the