Page 36 of Wounded Christmas Wolf
And—human.
He stared down at them, turned them over, flexed the fingers.
“If you’re a shifter, once you start running, it’s hard to stop,” the Colonel said in a conversational tone, doing up the buttons of his coat with fingers so deft it was hard to believe they had been a bear’s clumsy paws just moments ago. “Especially if you’re running from yourself. You do that, and your shift animal will leak out all over the place. If you want to lose control, son, the way to do that is to try to hide from it. You can’t. Your animal knows it. Now you do too.”
Jace stared down at his human-once-more hands. “What can I do about it? How can I stay likethis, and not like—the other thing?”
“Shift,” the Colonel said immediately. “All the way. Can you still do that?”
Just the idea made him recoil in horror. If he felt this out of control when he was only partway shifted, how could he dare to give in to his wolf with Holly around?
He could feel his fingers curling again. With a force of will, he managed to fight it down. It was a little easier this time, as if the Colonel’s presence was helping, somehow.
Maybe it was. He dimly recalled being able to control his animal better around his childhood shifter friends.
We really aren’t meant to be alone.
“I ... I’m not sure, sir,” he said. “Can you help me?”
“I don’t know,” the Colonel said simply. He put his gloves back on. “Can’t do everything in one day. You can work on it here. It’s not good for shifters not to shift, and that’s part of what this ranch is for. Somewhere you can go, a city shifter like you. A lone wolf. If you want to come out here, shift, run, whatever, feel free. You can use any part of the ranch you like, as long as you don’t let the tree farm customers get a look at you.”
“I think I can .... try.” Jace had no idea what to say. “I don’t know if I will be able to. But thank you, sir.”
The Colonel finished pulling on his gloves and turned to face Jace. “I have one more question for you, son, and it’s the most important one I’ll ever ask.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Do you feel that you are a danger to my daughter?”
Jace’s brain whited out for a moment.
Yes. I don’t dare be near her, not with my wolf coming out of me in unpredictable ways.
No. She’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I want to thrill and delight her, I want to kiss her again, and feel the way she opened up to me that one time?—
Yes. I hurt her once. I’ll hurt her again.
No. I want to make her happy for the rest of her life ...
He had been silent too long, he knew, and the Colonel’s craggy face had grown grim.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The smallest of nods. “Well. That’s honest, at least.”
“I can leave, if you want me to.”
“I’m not gonna ask that. But until that animal of yours isunder control, all the way, I need to trust you to keep yourself on a leash around Holly. You know what I’m telling you, son?”
“Yes, sir.” It came out on a breath.
He hadn’t yet lied to the Colonel. But now, he could feel the glimmerings of a true lie curling inside him. Because hecouldn’tkeep his distance, not fully, not if he was going to keep her safe from her ex.
Who he couldn’t tell the Colonel about without breaking Holly’s trust in him.
Abruptly he found himself caught between two different truths, Holly’s and the Colonel’s. He would have done anything to keep Holly safe. Even if that meant lying to her dad.
Because, if he had to keep faith with just one of them, Holly was the one.
