Page 49 of The Return
His lip trembled, but he stood. As I watched, his lower legs thickened with muscle and his arms grew longer, hanging down to his knees. His chest grew wider, while his torso shrunk. Then came the dark-brown hair, covering his entire body. The final thing to change was his face. The new form had sharp, angular features that morphed into a snout and a mouth with rows of teeth. His amber eyes turned black. When the shift completed, he lifted his head and howled. Anyone else probably would have pissed themselves. As it was, the sound sent shivers coursing through me, being this close to something so primal.
“Jonas?”
His head snapped in my direction, and he snarled, showing off those nasty-looking teeth that could probably crunch down through my bones and chew them up. When he reached for me, I did what he probably never expected. I stepped closer, getting within range of the claws. He gripped my arm and yanked me to his body, then wrapped around me, cradling me.
“See? Your instinct is to protect me. You could never hurt anyone in your care.”
The bedroom door flew open, and Kinsey rushed into the room, naked. He laid eyes on Jonas and moved toward me, a snarl on his lips. “Alpha Brodie, you need to let him go.”
“He’s not hurting me, Kinsey,” I insisted. “I’m where I want to be.”
“You don’t understand! He’s violent in that form.”
I reached up and stroked two fingers over his muzzle. Jonas snuggled into my hand. “Yeah, so violent. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Jonas shifted back, but still held me to him, his face buried in my neck.
“But Adam—”
I held Jonas tight. “Stopped being yours the moment he laid his hands on me. Didn’t he?”
Jonas’s voice cracked. “But he was pack.”
“That you gave two shits about. Tell me I’m wrong.”
He shook his head. “I was done with him the second you told me he touched you.”
“See? You wouldn’t have hurt any pack member that you cared about. If someone hugged me, what would you do?”
He leaned back and gazed at me with those amazing amber eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Think back to the pack meeting. They were putting their hands on me, and what did you do? You stood there and smiled.”
“Because they were welcoming you to the pack. I didn’t have a reason to—oh.”
“Yes,oh. You had no reason to lash out at them because they weren’t a threat. Adam was. You said he talked about raping me.”
Jonas bared his teeth and a growl came from deep inside him, one that was echoed by Kinsey. “I should have gutted him for that.”
“Do you see the difference? Your wolf does. You wouldn’t hurt me, and you won’t do anything against anyone who cares for me. If someone tries to hurt me, yeah, you’ll probably have a harder time controlling yourself.”
He gave a wobbly grin. “Corey, if anyone hurt you, I would have to kill them. There wouldn’t be a choice in that. My dad said we were beyond that, but we really aren’t. Man and wolf would protect their mate, and the two together is a powerful force.”
“You wouldn’t have to, Jonas. I would get to anyone who hurt Corey first,” Kinsey assured him. “Their life would be forfeit long before you could stop me.”
I stepped back and waved my hands in the air. “Okay, way too much testosterone in the…. Wait a sec.” I turned and narrowed his gaze at Kinsey. “What room did you come out of?”
As badass as Kinsey was, his cheeks flushed. “I… ah… well, it’s like this….”
Matt stepped into the room naked, of course. He looked totally debauched, with hickeys on his neck and chest, and there were bruises on his hips. Finger-shaped bruises.
“Oh, my,” Jonas said, a wide smile gracing his face. “You two didn’t waste any time.”
“I did,” Kinsey replied. “I’ve wanted Matt for so long. His wolf trills to mine, and it was almost impossible to ignore.” He moved to Matt and pulled him in, then wrapped his arms around Matt’s chest. “For years I wanted to approach him, but the Council’s rules were quite clear. Last night, as we sat and watched the movie, Matt’s hand touched mine, and I couldn’t take it anymore.” He bowed his head. “If you need to punish me, then so be it.”
“Punish you? What the hell for?”
“Because I entered into a relationship with another of your employees.”
