Raven inhaled slowly. She’d be fine. She just had to wait it out. Then a horrible thought struck her, destroying the tiny foothold of comfort she scraped out. “That means I know the killers.”
“They knew you were on the case. It’s a logical assumption that you’d be at the crime scene. They were probably waiting for you.” Rylan’s reasoning did little to calm her building panic.
Her skin grew warm again, itching as the animals at her core roused. Then she had the awful, sinking realization that she knew what they’d given her.
The symptoms fit.
If right, she’d have a lot more to worry about than just her injuries. “They injected me with a serum to jumpstart a shift. The animals are waking and want out. And I have no power left to hold them back.”
She resisted the urge to scratch. She’d seen that reaction before...in the infected. Right before they died by scratching the skin and flesh from their bones.
Rylan swore, but Jackson narrowed his eyes as if dissecting her statement. “Shifting is either active or dormant. You either can shift or you can’t. You don’t know until you hit puberty.”
“Even if you weren’t born a shifter?” No one spoke. So not reassuring. She risked a glance up at him, uncertain how her beasts would react to seeing him in her territory.
“I don’t believe they meant to kill me with the serum.” Not again, she wanted to say. “I think someone grew suspicious, wanted to know what I am. If I’m human, I would pass an uncomfortable night. If I’m a shifter, my animal would gain dominance.” She met their gazes, real fear stealing her breath. Shifting was one thing she didn’t know if she could heal from. She always understood if she tried to shift, it would killer her permanently.
Jackson took a step toward her, and an animal in the darkness charged forward, slashing out with a claw. Each swipe tore her insides raw. She bent double at the agony, unable to stifle her whimper. “Don’t. Your nearness is making it worse.”
Jackson thankfully paused, then shook his head. “A full shifter should have a calming effect.”
“You’re forgetting she’s an alpha. Her beast will want to fight for dominance.” Rylan sounded grim. “She can’t transition. She’s infected with more than one strain of animal. If she shifts, we can’t predict what will happen to the other animals.”
She waited for the denial or derision, but Jackson appeared unconvinced. “The closer contact to a dominant shifter, the calmer her animals.”
“Don’t.” But Jackson took one arrogant look at her and stepped closer. She glared at him from where she was sitting at the side of the bed, unable to find words as she reacted to his nearness with a need to both crawl closer to take what she wanted from his body and conversely to rip out his throat for daring to approach her.
She fisted her hands, pressing them hard against the mattress. Her nails throbbed, the skin of her fingertips tight as if ready to split. Then she forgot everything, nearly swallowing her tongue when he stripped off his shirt. “Wha-at are you doing?”
“I can’t change into a wolf, but the scent and touch should help.” He slowly advanced, and she gulped.
Heat burned along her veins. Her body felt too small. She stretched, straightening her spine and her joints popped. She tried to settle inside herself, but her bones didn’t seem to fit under her skin anymore. Despite the fear of the transition, her injuries slowly mended as the animals rose to the surface.
“You’re making it worse.” In answer, the big doofus dropped the shirt he held. The urge to tear into him ignited. Her fingers curled into her palms, her nails gouged flesh, and drew blood. The rich scent of it caused her skin to prickle painfully, and her teethed ached. She probed her gums with her tongue, wincing at the sensitivity.
This couldn’t be happening. A roar filled her head. Her center grew restless and shadows paced, checking the perimeter for weakness. As her control slipped further, those cages wavered. The temptation to let go danced seductively in her mind.
Not her thought.
One of the shadows detached from the group and trotted closer to the edge of where she confined them and laid down to wait.
A wolf.
For the first time, one of the animals in the menagerie became very real. Her senses sharpened. Scents became overwhelming, sounds made her ears ache. She could almost taste the air. Jackson’s smell captivated her the most. Wonder washed away some of the pain, some of the worry. She didn’t know if she should be thrilled or horrified. Did that mean she had more control over them or that they were closer to breaking free?