* * *
"She's going to be trouble," Maddie said, casting her eyes across the room.
Sam followed Maddie's gaze to where Rose sat with two of her friends, the three of them whispering quietly. "I know."
"Maybe you should mention it to Nafarius," Maddie suggested.
Sam shook her head. "I have to handle it on my own." Involving Nafarius would leave Sam looking weak.
She didn't have time or the inclination to think about Rose. She was too busy worrying about tonight.
Three days had passed since her mating with Nafarius. Three amazing days and nights that had stripped her bare of everything she thought she knew about herself. What had been revealed was a woman of incredible strength and an amazing ability to love.
She was hopelessly, head over heels in love with her mate. Shit. Talk about timing. Tonight was the first full moon since her mating with Nafarius. Realizing she was in love with the male she was mated to could have waited another 24 hours to reveal itself.
Way to go, Sam
. Nothing like worrying about disappointing her mate to take up the stress level up a notch.
Sam stared down into a pan of soapy water, scrubbed at the blackened bottom. She felt like throwing up.
God, what if I can't change?
she wondered. It was the first time she'd really asked herself that question. She had options - she could stay, grow old and die while Nafarius stayed strong and beautiful. Or she could leave, always feeling him
there
through the mating bond, but never close. Of course, both those options assumed the pack would let her live. It kind of sucked to be her right now.
Her face felt like it was about to crack, break wide open. Three days ago she had pasted a everything-is-going-to-be-fine smile on her face and it hadn't slipped. She honestly doubted she was fooling anyone, certainly not Nafarius who could feel her thoughts and fears flowing through the mating bond. But he seemed content with the fiction, both of them pretending everything was going to be just fine. Fine. Fucked up, insecure, neurotic and emotional. Isn't that what "fine" stood for? Well, then, yeah...she was feeling
fine
.
"You don't have to help," Maddie said, breaking through Sam's thought. "I can take care of this if you want to go get ready."
"I'd rather be out here helping," she said. "Besides, there's not much else for me to do." She couldn't stand the thought of being cooped up, left by herself to think. Right now she welcomed any distraction. Anything to keep her from reliving her earlier conversation with Nafarius.
"What happens if I can't shift?" she'd asked. It had been late, the two of them laying in bed together.
"It doesn't matter," he said.
But Sam could feel his worry, knew that there was something he wasn't telling her. "Nafarius."
She had said his name softly, a whisper of something soothing flowing through the bond. "It's an old custom," he said at last. "I can't even remember the last time it was practiced."
"Tell me," Sam insisted.
"There was a time when a human that had been bitten but was immune was considered an abomination and put down."
"Put down by who?" Sam asked quietly.
"By the pack," Nafarius pulled her into his arms. "But like I said, it's an old custom. It was done before we understood about infection and immunity. Back then it was thought that a human that could survive a werewolf's bite without changing held some sort of special power."
"But you're worried," Sam said. She didn't need him to tell her, could feel his fear for her.
"They are, at heart, a pack of wolves," he said. "If something should go wrong..."
"But it won't," Sam said. Tilting her head back, she pressed a kiss along his jaw. "You said it yourself, everything is going to be fine."
He'd made love to her then, his touch tender in the dark.
"Sam. Sam?" Maddie said quietly, snapping Sam back to the present.
"Huh?"
"It's time."
Sam looked up surprised to see the den empty. "Oh." Standing, she smoothed down the front of her dress suddenly wishing she had thought to run a brush through her hair. That's when she heard it - a low hum of excitement coming from outside.
"Come on," Maddie said and took her hand. "Everything will be okay, I just know it."
Sam let Maddie lead the way through the den but stopped her before they stepped outside. "Make sure you stay near Nafarius or Roland," Sam said. "No matter what happens, you stay clear of it. Okay?"
Maddie nodded, her blue eyes bright.
Sam stepped outside, Maddie following a step behind. All but the youngest children were gathered, those too small to understand having been put to bed. As she stepped among them, Sam felt the weight of all those eyes. There was a lot riding on the outcome of tonight. She didn't need Nafarius or their bond to know that the stakes were high. The pack knew that Nafarius had broken his agreement with Dimitri when he took her as his mate. They knew too, that Dimitri would be unwilling to negotiate with a leader that had broken his word. That left the pack vulnerable, something no member could easily accept. And unfair or not, many of them blamed Sam.
Let it go
, Sam told herself. For now, just let it go. She couldn't afford to be distracted by the pack's fears, or her own.
Begin as you intend to go on
, she thought, lifting her chin and stepping forward.
The pack parted, clearing a path for her, showing her the way.
Sam forced herself to move slow, a steady march forward that she refused to rush. She would not run, she told herself. She would not embarrass herself, or worse Nafarius, by showing fear. Let the pack think what they would and Lord knew they could probably smell her fear. All they would see was her strength and determination.
Reaching the center of the pack, she felt the ranks close behind her.
She was trapped, surrounded as energy hummed in the night, the pack practically vibrating with restrained power.
And something inside of Sam stirred, woke.
Her eyes searched out and found Nafarius. He stood to the side, Roland stoic and somber beside him. Nafarius was closed down tight, the mating bond muted to little more than a whisper. He had warned her, assured her that it was so she could concentrate on shifting without the distraction.
It's time
, she thought, lifting her dress over her head and letting it fall to the ground.
Standing in the center of the pack naked, moonlight spilling over her skin, Sam closed her eyes and searched. There was something new living inside of her. She could feel it, feel the power of it - the life of it. She tried to reach out to it, tried to access that power and release it.
Around her the pack watched and waited.
Energy pulsed, grew bright and dim, bright and dim. Sam frowned, reached out again. But it was like trying to touch a star. No matter how hard she concentrated, how far she stretched, the light existed beyond her reach.
Nafarius' eyes were locked on Sam, his wolf growing agitated and restless. He could feel the pack's resentment and anger along the pack bond. Fear and frustration surged, nullifying his control as alpha as he worked to keep them calm, to keep them from shifting. As long as the pack remained in human form Sam, had a chance. She could survive an attack by humans, a pack of wolves would tear her apart.
Nafarius felt his control snap through the pack bond and watched as Jaxs was the first to shift, the young male unable to hold the change at bay. A moment later and Jaxs was joined by two females and another male. Nafarius poured power and strength through the pack bond, trying to reassure the young members and appease the old ones. In the end, it wasn't enough.
Sam stood with her face to the moon, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out along her skin. She could feel the pack shifting around her, could sense Nafarius struggling to keep them calm. But the tide was turning as more and more members shifted, changed from human to animal.
Nafarius watched as the last of the pack shifted until only Sam, Nafarius, Roland and Maddie remained in human form.
Beside him, Roland swore. "Shit."
"We have to do something," Maddie said, her eyes fixed on her friend.
Nafarius took a step towards Sam stopping short when three wolves darted in to block his path. Lowering his head, he growled, prepared to fight his way to his mate.
"No!" Sam held up her hand. "You can't interfere. I have to do this on my own."
Nafarius watched helplessly. Determined to do
something
, he opened up the bond and directed everything he had at her.
Sam felt a flood of emotion come at her through the mating bond, knew that Nafarius was trying to help. But he was right, that much emotion was distracting. Quickly, she struggled to shut it down, blocking him until he realized what she needed and pulled back.
Once again, Sam closed her eyes. She could feel the power of the pack, sensed something similar inside of her, but try as she might, she couldn't will her body to change.
Nafarius knew they were in trouble. He'd pushed the pack too far, expected too of them when it came to Sam. He watched as she stood breathtakingly beautiful in a sea of wolves and knew that if she couldn't shift, they would turn and take her down.
There were almost sixty wolves, most of them between him and his mate. He would never make it in time.
"Fuck it," he said and prepared to shift. Beside him, Roland and Maddie dropped to their hands and knees. "Not you." Nafarius looked at Maddie. "Get inside."
Maddie shook her head. "I can help."
"You're not strong enough and you're no fighter." It wasn't meant as an insult, but it was true and Nafarius couldn't afford the distracted. He held the barest thread of control over the pack, his bond with them growing thin with tension as they strained against his hold.
"I can distract them, keep some of them busy." Maddie was already starting to shift, in another minute, she wouldn't be able to speak. "Please, let me do this for you. For Sam."
Nafarius stared down at the young woman. He hadn't bothered to pay much attention to Maddie until Sam came along. He had only just begun to realize how much the young woman did for the pack, for him and for Sam. Reluctantly, he nodded. "But be careful. Sam will have
both
our hides if anything happens to you."
Sam knew it was over. She could feel something inside of her, the power of it just out of reach and feared that her body's immune system was systematically working to extinguish the new life growing inside her.
Exhausted from the effort of trying to shift, Sam felt her body begin to shake, her legs threatening to give out beneath her as she was bumped and jostled. Opening her eyes, she locked onto Nafarius' face, offering him a silent apology and felt his hold on the pack snap.
A wave of power broke, rippled across the sea of wolves and slammed into Sam.
Nafarius felt the last of his control snap, felt the unleashed power surge through the pack and watched helpless as his mate collapsed. "No!"
Surging forward, Nafarius crashed into a wall of fur and muscle. To his right, Roland completed his shift and leapt at one of the wolves - going for the throat. On the other side, a small, blonde body dashed in between two wolves, darting around them, drawing their attention away from Nafarius.
No time to shift, Nafarius' human body slammed the nearest wolf, sending him flying and taking down two more wolves in the process. They swarmed around him, blocking his path and sealing him off from his mate. Panic, fear and pain blazed down the mating bond.
She's alive
, he thought, but for how long?
He was pushed back, forced to fight his way through ground gained and lost. Roland fought beside him doing his best to injure, rendering wolves unable to fight without mortally wounding any of them. He didn't want them dead, just out of the way.
It felt like forever before he reached the place where Sam had gone down, her body disappearing beneath a colored patchwork of fur and muscle. They moved in unison, the pack working to bring down weak prey as nature intended.
Nafarius waded in, desperately seeking Sam. Shoving aside the last of the wolves, he expected to find his mate broken and bleeding. Instead, a new wolf stood regal in her place. Black as midnight, with piercing green eyes.
As he watched, Sam lifted her head and howled. A second later, the rest of the mating bond slipped into place.
Mine
, his wolf growled. Mine, Nafarius agreed.
Taking a step forward, Nafarius reached for his mate, snatching his hand back when she snapped at him revealing an impressive set of teeth. "Easy," he cooed.
Sam was pissed. Ears flat against her head, her hackles up, she snarled a warning as Nafarius once again tried to approach.
"It's okay, Sam. It's me," Nafarius kept talking. Shifting for the first time, her wolf's senses coming alive in the midst of an attack had left his mate feeling understandably aggressive. Opening up the mating bond, he let her feel him, recognized when his wolf did the same.
Sam felt fur, sensed her mate through the bond and slowly uncurled her lips. This time when Nafarius approached she tipped up her head, leaned into his touch.
Mine
.
Squatting down, Nafarius ran his hands over her, buried his fingers in her fur. "So beautiful," he whispered in awe. Not a single bit of color but for her green eyes.
Sam's eyes grew heavy with pleasure as Nafarius ran his hands over her body. Muscles strained and shifted under his experienced touch. This new form had power in places she would never have been able to understand as a human.
A new energy gripped the pack. Individuals pressed forward to circle Sam and Nafarius, each one eager to meet their newest member. Sam could feel them surrounding her and experienced an overwhelming sense of welcome.