for anything from me but my acceptance. I'd already given them that. Ian, Ashley, and Kim were demanding the one thing I'd never learned how to do. They wanted me to trust them, to submit to them, and I wasn't sure how. All I could do was give in, relaxing so they could have complete control, and it seemed to be working.
Slowly - more than I would've expected - they pulled me apart and put me back together. I thought about how my own body felt. How I looked when I saw myself in the mirror. What it felt like to be me, ignoring all the bits I wanted to change. I'd managed to make it from human to wolf. I was halfway through this. To go back, I just had to let it happen.
The cold was the first thing I felt. The next were the hands, paws, and mouths on my body. Next came the twigs and dirt beneath my bare skin. A moment of panic hit when I realized I was naked before so many people, but that didn't matter. I had thumbs again! I could feel my tongue in my mouth and the toes on my feet.
Timidly, I moved my leg, almost surprised when it bent the way I expected - and that made Ian sigh deeply, rocking back on his heels. Ashley and Kim moved back next, still in their wolf forms. Lane's head was pressed against my stomach, his bulk shielding most of my body from sight. Seth held my head, but Trent and Pax were pressed close against my shoulders, offering me their warmth.
Then Kim howled.
Just her. This time, no one else joined in, but everyone seemed to know what was going on except me. I looked around, trying to see how many wolves were out here, only to be blocked by my daughter rushing in as a human to hug me tightly.
"Mom!" she gasped. "Are you ok? I know it hurts, but it's also kinda cool, right? Please tell me you're ok?"
"I'm ok," I promised, struggling to lift my arm because my body was so exhausted. "I'm also being pinned down by wolves."
"Because it's cold," Gabby said, then stepped back to shift again.
But Trent just leaned closer to lick at my arm. Without thinking, I burrowed my hands in the fur at his neck, doing the best I could to caress him. Every inch of me hurt. I felt like I had when the fever started to kick in, as if I would pass out at any moment. Thankfully, my savior arrived only a moment later, in the form of David carrying an armload of blankets.
"Here," he said, handing them to Ian. "Sam has more."
Behind him, Samantha hugged at least three different ones in her arms, looking around at the pack of wolves with wide eyes. "This is the pack?" she asked.
Roman moved behind her and shifted, then reached over her shoulder for a blanket, even as the guys worked to wrap me up in one. Sadly, I couldn't help much, but they didn't seem to care. Samantha, however, turned, realized he was completely naked, and almost dropped all of her blankets.
"Roman!" she hissed.
"Give me one of those," he said. "Nudity is necessary to change shape, Sam. Not a big deal." And he wrapped a blanket around himself. "And yeah, this is our family. All the people from Wolf's Run. They know you're our friend."
"I just made it clear what you did for us," Ian told her, but his attention was locked on me. "Ok, Elena, still cold?"
"Freezing," I admitted. "My feet are like ice, and I'm so tired."
"I got you," he promised, scooping me into his arms.
All I could do was curl into him, trusting that everything else would work out. My body felt used in a way I'd never experienced before. Like the hardest workout I'd ever had, but a million times worse. I felt like I could barely lift my head, but it didn't matter. I simply curled up against Ian's chest and let my mate take care of me.
No, my alpha.
Both. This man was all of that and so much more. They all were. My mates had refused to leave me. They'd run themselves into the ground trying to keep up, and they'd watched my daughter when I hadn't had the sense to do it myself. When I'd worn myself out, they'd all jumped in to help me shift back, and once I had, they'd shielded my body with