Animals talked to other animals, not to their mates. But this whole thing with Journey was out of the norm. Surprise was no longer in my vocabulary, however. Everything had changed since she’d stumbled into my life.
I needed to get him out of our den to run in the forest to sate his wild side, but then we also had to take care of Journey. We didn’t trust anyone else to look after her. Not right now, not when she might shift into her animal.
Fuck, her animal. Her wolf.
Could what Beretta said be true? Would she die during the shift? There were too many questions and not enough answers. That was the motto that would continue to thrive in the club until we knew what course Journey would take.
I didn’t like not knowing what was going to happen to my mate. I didn’t like that she had already suffered so much, and now she was going to go through the pain of a shift she may or may not survive.
My stomach churned, and my heart dropped to my stomach. I’d rather be eaten alive by a dragon and sit in their stomach while the acid slowly digested my body into bones than have my mate suffer.
The goddess couldn’t give her to me and then take her away. But she did once before to another couple, thousands of years ago.
I gripped the sheets tightly.
I couldn’t have my mate be an experiment. Our bond couldn’t break, not now.
I shifted from wolf to my human body in the bed next to my mate. She didn’t stir, her body still exhausted from whatever magical salve that coated her chest. When I returned to my body, I wiped it clean from her chest so no more dreams or any other aftereffects could appear.
I worried it had been too late because now she had a crescent moon on her forehead. It was faint, barely noticeable, but any supernatural would realize the tan marking was not made by her body. The mark of the goddess was there.
When my wolf saw it on her forehead, he automatically stiffened. His anger rose immediately, thinking about Beretta’s words. Now, there was no denying it. Journey will shift. Journey has been chosen to be the first and would hopefully survive.
Was it all just another experiment? To see if she would survive so others could follow in Journey’s footsteps?
My nose trailed up her neck, and her eyes blinked open.
“Grim?” she muttered sleepily. “You’re back. Are you feeling better?”
“Much better, my mate.” I rubbed my hand up and down my arm.
“Here, I made you dinner last night. I can heat it up for you.” Journey tried to leave the nest, but I pulled her back inside.
I was not hungry for food. I was hungry for her.
Journey’s skin was hot, a slight sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Her skin glowed, and her scent had changed. I could smell the undertones of a wolf being born inside her body, being attached to her soul. Her nose flared when she sought me out and even her eyes would dilate when concentrating on something important.
She was changing, but did she know?
“Journey, what did you see in your vision?” I asked.
She smiled, and tiny fangs emerged.
Gods, this can’t be happening.
“Oh, it was awesome! I met the Moon Goddess! She was so pretty, Grim. At first, I thought it was all a dream, but then I woke up, and this was on my forehead.” She touched the symbol with her fingers. “She said I was changing, Grim, that I was going to be a wolf, just like you, because of our bond.”
I gritted my teeth but forced a smile. “That’s great, that’s unbelievable.”
Do I tell her it was attempted once before? That the other human didn’t make it? Make her worry about something that was inevitable? That she might die in the process?
“Yeah, she also said I was going to help others, too. To help them find their mates. The entire club is going to find mates, Grim. We just have to get them to pray to the goddess, or at least open up their souls to allow her to help them.”
I rubbed the stubble on my chin. I was still worried about us. I didn’t give a fuck about anyone else.
“That’s great,” I said absentmindedly.
I buried my nose into her neck, pushing her back into the nest. I needed her, I needed to keep her with me. I would not share her with anyone else until I knew she could shift.
