Melissa did what they said and the itching feeling left as fur began to spread over her skin and her fingernails grew into claws.
“You’re doing great, baby,” Damian praised. “Now get down on your hands and knees and relax.”
Again, Melissa obeyed and the ache in her body intensified as her muscles began to move and her bones reshaped. And when the ache receded, she looked down to see that she had paws.
“You’re a gorgeous wolf, Mel” Luke said.
“Stunning.” Damian moved toward her and threaded his fingers through her fur.
Luke walked over and scratched behind her ears, causing her to groan.
Damian was in awe of the different colors in her coat. There were streaks of blonde, brown, gold, red, and her ears were half-black and half-brown. He’d never seen such a delicately feminine, pretty wolf, and she was all theirs. He was eager to run with her, so he called on his wolf and let the change take him over. Luke wasn’t far behind him.
When the transformation was complete, he nudged Melissa’s side. “Run, baby.”
Melissa jumped and Damian assumed it was because he had spoken to her in her mind.
“You can talk to me?”
“Yes, honey, and you can talk to us,” Luke said.
“Oh my God. This is amazing.”
Luke nudged her this time and she took off running. Damian couldn’t believe how fast she was. If he and Luke didn’t have longer legs, he wasn’t sure they would be able to keep up with her. She ran and ran, skirting trees, leaping over fallen branches and trunks, and even sniffed out a rabbit or two to chase. By the time they reached the large pond, she was panting heavily.
Melissa walked to the edge of the water and looked down at her reflection, and after a couple of moments, she drank. When her thirst was quenched she waited while he and Luke drank, and then they turned back toward home.
Damian was surprised and proud when Melissa turned back to her human form without any help from him or Luke. When they were all dressed again, they went inside.
“Did you have fun, honey?” Luke asked once they were all sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee in hand.
“That was…amazing. I have never felt anything like that in my life. It was so freeing. I could smell and see everything. My God, any wonder you guys love being in your animal forms. Everything just seems so much more—intense.”
“You are the sexiest wolf I have ever seen. I can’t wait until we can run together again.” Damian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.
“I loved it. It was so exhilarating. I can’t wait to do it again either.”
“We have the rest of our lives to play in our wolf form.” Luke kissed her forehead.
“Baby, I know you’re probably not ready and I don’t want you to feel that we are trying to push you in any way, but do you think you’ll want to move in with us permanently, soon?” Damian asked.
Melissa placed her coffee mug on the coffee table and then rubbed at her forehead.
“What’s wrong, honey? Talk to us, Mel,” Luke demanded in a firm voice, and from the look on his brother’s face, he was just as surprised by his austerity as Damian was.
“I do want to move in. In fact, I never want to leave.”
Relief coursed through Damian at his mate’s words, but underlying them, he’d heard a “but.”
Obviously, so had Luke. “But?”
“I’m worried about what my sister, Sara, will think.” Melissa sighed. “I thought I’d already told you that.”
“We just wanted to make sure nothing else was bothering you, honey.” Luke placed a light kiss on her lips.
“Do you think she’ll be against you because you have two men or that she’ll freak out when she finds out that we are werewolves?” Damian asked.
“Sara is pretty broad minded and I already told you I don’t think she’d have a problem with me being with the both of you.”
“So it’s the werewolf thing?” Luke asked.
Melissa nodded and looked at Luke and then Damian.
“You don’t have to tell her,” Damian suggested. “Let her get used to us first before telling her what we are.”
“She’s not stupid, Damian. She probably already knows something weird is going on.”
“Did you call her?” Luke asked.
Melissa looked a little guilty and Damian knew the answer before she voiced it.
“The day after I first arrived, but not since then. My cell phone is flat.”
“You could have used one of ours, or the house phone, baby. You have to call her before she goes to the police and files a missing person’s report.”