When she returned, Logan had shifted and was standing at the end of the hall. Hesmiled.
“Sleep well?” heasked.
“Pretty good considering I had a thousand-pound grizzly’s pawonme.”
“It wasn’t like that all night,”hesaid.
“Where else did you stick your paws?” she asked with anarchedbrow.
He threw back his head and laughed. “You think I let my bear take advantage of you? Trust me, if that had happened, there would be nodoubt.”
“I’m sure therewouldn’tbe.”
“So are you ready to shift and go running around the forest with me today?” heasked.
“I don’t know.” Her belly churned. Turning into a thousand-pound uncontrollable beast had seemed plausible last night. But now it didn’t seem like such a good idea. “Maybe weshouldwait.”
“Are youscared?”
“Alittle.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure you stay safe.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the door. She dragged her heels until he turned and gave heranothertug.
Outside, fresh powder blanketed the land, covering the remains of the barn in pristine snow. She looked at the road. Not a trace of their footsteps remained. It was as if they were the only two people left in the world. She raised her face to the sun, welcoming itswarmth.
“Do you remember how to shift?” Loganasked.
“I could only do it when I wasreallymad.”
“There are other ways todoit.”
“How?” sheasked.
“When I want to shift, I think about the things I need most in life—food, water, shelter, sex. But not necessarily in that order.” Hewinked.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She laughed. “I’ll go with food. I’mstarving.”
“Okay. So then I think about my bear’s favorite food—huckleberries. I think about how plump they are and how their juices explode in my mouth when I eat them. That’s usually enough to rile my bear up so that I canshift.”
“It sounds simple. But I haven’t shifted very many times. I’m not sure what my bear loves to eat,”shesaid.
“We’ll figure that out today. For now, think about your favoritehumanfood.”
“Cheesecake.”
“Whatkind?”
“Cherry.”
“Now think about the perfect cheesecake with cherries dripping over the edge to puddle on yourplate…”
As she visualized a huge cherry cheesecake, her mouthwatered.
“Now, imagine picking up a huge chunk of it with yourfingers.”
“My fingers?Nofork?”
“Nofork.”
