Shade shifted first.
Jet black fur swallowed the moonlight, darker than the forest around him. Broad shoulders and fluid muscle followed, every line built with purpose. That wolf didn't flinch or hesitate. He moved with certainty, full of power he didn't need to prove.
The ground seemed to go still. Even the breeze slowed, as if the woods recognized what he was. Who he was.
He blinked open his eyes and looked down at me.
I'd loved those eyes long before I ever admitted it. My wolf loved them more. She could never look away.
They claimed me in a way nothing else did.
My body gave way to the shift before she started begging. The change tore and rebuilt fast. Skin burned, bones pulled tight, and fur spread down my back. Pale gray, dusted with soft browns across my shoulders and legs.
