Page 91 of Witch Unbound
I looked sharply at him and found only sincerity. He meant it. He thought I’d been formidable and… being in a different skin had felt pretty awesome. Powerful. Liberating. It was also new, alien, and…unpredictable.
“Did you feel like you?” Leif asked.
How had I felt? I took a moment to find the words. “It felt like being in a powerful vehicle that I could maneuver with a thought. There was this sense of calm, an ice-cold calm, and assurance. The world looked different…infrared.”
Tor and Leif exchanged glances.
I gnawed on my bottom lip. “What am I?”
“I don’t know,” Rune said. “I’ve never seen anything like you.”
I twisted slightly in my seat to look at him again. “What did I look like?”
He pursed his lips and his gaze misted as if he was casting his mind back. “Bigger than a dire wolf shifter. Your skin is a thick, smooth, gray hide. Your eyes are silver, ringed in cornflower blue, bony ridges line your back, and your tail is thick and powerfully muscled.” He smiled proudly. “You’re…amazing.”
The description sounded awful, but the way he said the words, all reverent and hushed, brought a flush of pleasure to my skin.
I looked at Tor and Leif to find awestruck expressions on their faces.
Rune gently squeezed my thigh to garner my attention. “And when I was with you, like that, I felt power. Primal, ancient power that was out of this world.” He licked his lips. “I wanted to be a part of it. To be a part of you.” His pupils dilated huge and dark, and my stunned reflection stared back at me.
He meant it. He liked what I’d become. That was…good. I mean, I was some kind of unknown shifter, but it was okay because my guys weren’t repulsed, but the change came with several cons.
“I don’t think I can use my witch powers if the beast inside is close to the surface. I think that’s why I couldn’t jump when the warlocks first arrived. I felt her surging up.”
“Makes sense,” Leif said. “The power required for a shift to happen must detract or conflict with your witch power. Your beast was close to the surface because she sensed a major threat and wanted to be there to protect you.”
It seemed that my power was no longer glitching due to the change but would completely cease to work if my body was preparing for a shift. Good to know. It was good to finally know what I was, even though it didn’t have a name.
“I guess I need to be prepared to feel like shit after every shift.”
The guys exchanged glances once again.
It was a meaningful glance, though. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
Tor’s eyes narrowed. “We want to see you shift.”
I stared at him in confusion. “What?”
“We want to see her too,” Leif said sheepishly.
Her?
Rune’s hand fell to my shoulder. “I told them how impressive you are in beast form, and I guess they want to see for themselves.”
“You want to seeher?” I arched a brow.
“She is a part of you,” Tor said. “Just as our dire wolves are a part of us.”
I guess there was nothing wrong with that, and the thought of slipping back into the powerful body sent a thrill through me. But… “I have no clue how to shift. Back at the lab, it just happened.” I looked down at Wren. “I thought Wren was in danger, maybe dead, and I think that brought her out.”
“But she was there before,” Rune said. “Because you couldn’t jump us out.”
I nodded and set my mug on the coffee table. “Yeah, she was there. I felt her, I just didn’t know what she was.”
“And she took over when you thought Wren was dead.” Tor looked thoughtful. “Maybe she’s simply a manifestation of your rage. A protector that’s there when you desperately need her.”
“And you’re not threatened right now,” Rune said. “You’re safe.”
