Unstoppable (Their Shifter Academy #6) - May Dawson Page 0,34
of me, something deep and snarling and dangerous when my pack was threatened, felt very differently.
The shift had always been hard for me. I always had to work for it. But now my muscles began to swell, began to change.
Fear flooded my chest as I dropped to my knees, then my hands slammed into the snow. I caught a glimpse of the guys’ worried faces, and then my back arched.
I let out a gasp that was a half a sob of pain as my claws ripped free of my fingers, the flesh healing as soon as the claws were free. The strange sensation rippled through my face, the tug at flesh and skin that turned suddenly into pain as bad as being hit with a crowbar. Then the pain faded, replaced by a burst of adrenaline, and I had a mouthful of sharp teeth and I was snarling as I looked up and found the bear.
I roared back as I leapt in front of the guys. I barely managed to look at them, focused on the bear, but I heard Jensen’s “Oh shit” dully, as if at a distance.
The bear swiped at me with its paw and I dived in, snapping at its leg. When the bear tried to wrap both its arms around me, I was already sliding between its legs, coming up on the other side. It whirled, too late, and I slammed my weight into it. The bear fell over with a thud that echoed through the forest.
I went to leap onto the bear, ready to tear its throat apart. Pack. I’d do anything for my pack.
But the bear was suddenly rolling away frantically, kicking up snow with its powerful legs as it raced through the woods.
“Hey, Maddie.” It was Jensen’s warm voice. He knelt next to me, reaching out a hand. “Hey, it’s me. It’s all right.”
I shifted back and then found myself lying in the snow, my clothes in tatters. Jensen scooped me up while I was still shaking from the change, cradling me against his chest, and Rafe gathered up the shreds of my parka to cover me with. He was already unzipping his own coat.
There was a distant whining noise, and I turned my head, trying to listen to it more closely.
Rafe paused with his hand on his zipper, watching me listen. “What now?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. We didn’t know anything about this world; we desperately needed Silas.
Two enormous, all metal snowmobiles breeched the trees. One had no rider, but Silas was on the second, the wind ruffling his blond hair.
He came to a stop, jumped off and frowned as he took in how Jensen was holding me. “What did I miss?”
“Maddie can shift again and she scared off a bear. What did we miss with you?” Jensen said without missing a beat.
“Ran into some old friends and took their vehicles. We should be in Quorum in an hour.” He gave me a worried look. “Good thing, or Maddie will get cold.”
“Maddie will survive,” I told him.
“Can you two shift?” Silas demanded, looking from Jensen to Rafe.
“We haven’t had a lot of time to test the theory,” Rafe said impatiently. “How did you get lost?”
Silas looked back at him blankly. “I didn’t say I got lost. Are you going to try?”
Rafe’s jaw was tight, and suddenly I had the feeling that Rafe didn’t want to try—he didn’t want to get his hopes up, he didn’t want to fail to shift all over again.
But Rafe nodded curtly. He never shied away from what had to be done.
Jensen set me down carefully on my feet. Then he took a step back gave himself a shake.
The look on Jensen’s face grew strained, and I knew he was already trying—and it wasn’t working. He closed his eyes, tension rippling across that handsome face, muscle cording in his neck.
He opened his eyes. Rafe was still attempting to shift, his brow furrowed beneath dark hair that waved in the breeze.
Jensen couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face when he shook his head. Then he rested his hand lightly on my back and said, “I’m glad you can shift, babe.”
I knew he meant it, and I also knew he was probably trying really hard to be a good person—to be happy for me when he was upset for himself.
“If my abilities came back, then yours must eventually too,” I said.
Rafe opened his eyes, his own expression aggravated. “Well, we don’t know that. You’ve always been something—”