Page 43 of Anders
Anders cupped her face.I think the chemical suppression is fighting your natural state.Don’t resist it.Let it happen.
Her eyes widened.I can’t—what if—
I’m right here.I won’t let anything happen to you.
Despite his reassurance, Anders could see her struggling against the pain the partial shift was causing.
He needed to help her regain control.
Making a quick decision, Anders let his own eyes shift to their wolf gold, allowing just enough of his lupine nature to surface that Etta’s would recognize it.Pack resonance was a powerful thing; even suppressed wolves responded to it instinctively.
And the mate bond was even stronger.
Look at me,he commanded softly.Your wolf knows mine.Trust that.
Her frightened gaze locked with his, and he watched her eyes as they stayed golden, responding to his own.Her breathing slowed, and gradually, the claws receded back to human nails.
As her features relaxed, Anders noticed something else—the mark on her neck was pulsing faintly in a subtle rhythm that matched her heartbeat.It hadn’t done that before.
The mark on your neck is active,he told her, keeping his voice neutral to avoid alarming her further.Does it hurt?
Etta’s hand flew to the back of her neck.No, but it feels…warm.Like it’s vibrating.
Anders gently turned her head, examining the mark more closely.
In the days since bringing her to his home, he’d studied it extensively, noting its size, shape, and appearance.But this was new—a faint luminescence beneath her skin.
I think the partial shift triggered it,he said.Like an alarm, maybe.
Etta tensed beneath him.You mean they might know?Whoever did this to me?
It seems likely.Anders raced through contingency plans, his mind whirling with possibilities.We need to understand more about how this technology works.
He sat up reluctantly, helping Etta into a sitting position beside him.Etta’s hand found his, their fingers intertwining.
What do we do now?she asked.
Anders considered their options.I need to look at the newspaper office again.If they were using you to gather information, there might be technology there that could help us understand what’s happening to you.
I’ll come with you,Etta said immediately.
Anders shook his head.The mark is active.It’s too risky.If it is transmitting, we don’t want to show all our cards.
It’s my life.My body they’ve been manipulating.I’m not sitting this out.Her chin lifted in that stubborn way he’d come to recognize—and admire, if he was honest with himself.
Fine,he conceded.But we go in quiet, and at the first sign of trouble, you get out.Deal?
She nodded.
Every day, she impressed him more—not just with her resilience, but with her determination to reclaim her identity, her life.
Let me grab my gear,he said.He rose, then paused, glancing back at her.Your scent is changing.The chemicals are definitely breaking down faster now.
Is that good or bad?
Good for you,he said.Maybe not so good for whoever’s trying to control you.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, THEYapproached the newspaper office from the rear alley, moving silently through the shadows.
