Chapter 9

Sam

My fingers tingled where they touched Meg's face. Her fear was written plainly across her features, but some of my own anxiety lessened as she let me touch her. My wolf was desperate to be near her, touch her, protect her. One more inhale of her sunshine and roses scent, blessedly now free of Brody's lingering smell after her shifts, and I released her, relishing the last brush of her skin on my hands.

I shoved clothes in a bag haphazardly, knowing Meg didn't have long before she'd need to shift again. My kiss—that magnificent, instinctual moment—wouldn't stave off her change for long. I threw a shirt on over my head and checked on her. She hadn't moved at all, just watched me with large dark eyes.

I held my hand out, not sure if she'd want me to touch her again after everything my touch had brought her tonight. Much to my relief, I felt her cool fingers slide into my warm palm.

Rev met us in the hallway by the stairs. "I'm going to go check a historical account of a—" He cleared his throat, his eyes darting to Megan. "—biting incident involving two humans, rather than the more traditional wolf biting a human." He stopped as Meg's face grew noticeably whiter. "At any rate, I'll come up to the cabin as soon as I've completed my research. We'll both be here to help you through these first difficult days, Meggie-Girl." He patted her shoulder. Her fingers gripped mine harder, and I squeezed back reassuringly.

"Rev, what, what about Grandpa? I—what am I going to tell him?" she asked. The old man's brow wrinkled heavily.

"We'll talk more when I come up to the cabin. Rest assured though. Your grandpa is one tough devil. He'll understand."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Mercifully, my parents were nowhere to be found as I led us out to my car, snagging another jacket on the way out.

I opened Meg's door for her, and she crawled in stiffly. Her joints must have still been aching pretty badly. I shrugged into my jacked and zipped it up as I opened my door and slid in.

"Where are we going?"

"The cabin. It's our family's cabin out in the woods—mine, I guess. It was actually deeded to me on my last birthday. It's kind of the teen wolf hangout for the pack. We meet up there most nights for a pack run." I glanced over at her as we pulled onto a gravel drive that would take us out of the subdivision and into the woods. Her face was white, her jaw clenched. "Meg?"

"It hurts," she bit out.

I reached for her hand again, but she flinched away like my skin was acid. I swallowed and tried to ignore how bad that minor rejection stung. My wolf didn't take well to rejection, especially from his mate. I wasn't a fan either. Taking a quick breath to calm the wolf, I tried to explain.

"It might lessen the pain a little if I'm touching you."

Her left eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"Your wolf reacts to mine," I hedged. "Proximity to me should quiet your wolf for a little bit."

"Like when you kissed me?"

I winced. "Yes. Sorry to spring it on you like that." Especially after what happened at the game. I thought. "I didn't know any other way to keep you from shifting right there in front of my parents, and I promised you I wouldn't let that happen." I tried for a grin, but it might have come across more like a grimace. I briefly wondered if she'd let Brody kiss her.

She processed for a minute.

"All right," she conceded as she put her hand palm up on the console. I slid my hand on top of hers, and she sighed softly.

"Thank you."

"For what?" I was genuinely puzzled. Could she warm up to the thought of being a wolf so quickly? My heart sped up at the thought.

"For not letting me—shift—in front of your parents. And I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier."

"Oh. You're welcome." I quashed my hope and squeezed her hand again. Another sideways glance told me Meg wasn't so angry anymore—not that she was happy, but she wasn't spitting bullets. I needed to get to the next part of my orders from Alpha-Dad.

"Meg, who did you call earlier?" I ventured, desperately hoping it wasn't Brody.

"Rachel. I had to tell someone, and I couldn't very well tell Grandpa. The shock of it all might be too much for him." Her shoulders shook as a light shudder went through her at the thought.

Squeezing her hand again as my shoulders sagged in relief, I tried to delicately phrase my next question. "Don't take this the wrong way, but did she believe you?" Rachel and I were casual acquaintances, friends, but we weren't close. I didn't know her that well.

"She did." Meg bit her lip. "That's bad, isn't it? I mean, the way your dad reacted when—" She dropped off and her eyes got huge. "Oh! I have to call Rachel back! I was mid-sentence when your dad grabbed the phone! She's going to kill me!" She bent over to search for her phone in her purse. "Or march herself over here and get herself killed," she muttered.

Rachel picked up on the first ring. She was yelling loud enough I could hear the entire conversation.

"Megan Elizabeth Carmichael! Where are you? Who do I call? The police? The National Guard? National Geographic? The Yeti Seekers? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

"Rachel, calm down." Meg hiccupped. "No, don't call anyone."

"Are you okay?" Rachel interrupted again.

"No, I'm not okay, not at all, but I'm…safe." She glanced at me. "For the moment."

"You're sure? You're absolutely, one-hundred-percent-sure you're safe?"

"Yes. I'm here with Sam."

"Well, isn't he the jerk-face that turned you into a werewolf in the first place?" Rachel sounded incensed. I could imagine her wild red curls bouncing around as she waved her arms in the air to explain her displeasure with my fangs. I winced.

Megan sighed, her eyes closing. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, he's the jerk-face who turned me into a werewolf, but he didn't mean to. It was an accident."

"An accident." Suspicion dripped from the other end of the phone.

"Yes. We were sitting close at the game, and Shelby knocked into Sam getting past him, and we sort of collided. My head and his teeth."

Silence. "Oh. My. Word. I can't believe it. Okay. So. Accidental werewolf nipping." Rachel blew out a big breath. "How can I help, Meggie? What do you need me to do?"

Megan glanced at me once more.

"Want me to talk to her?" I whispered, sure I'd be unleashing Rachel's wrath on me like the hounds of hell. Megan nodded. Great.

"Rach, I'm going to let Sam talk to you a sec." She passed the phone over.

"Sam Wolfe, when I get my hands on you—" Rachel started.

"Hi, Rachel," I cut in, wanting to get this over with. "Look, I don't have much time right now; Megan could need me again in a minute." As I'd hoped, that shut her up.

"Fine," Rachel snarled. "Tell me what I need to know right now, and we'll figure the rest out later."

"You can't tell anyone. I mean anyone. You breathe a word of this to the dog next door, and all of us are in hot water. As in, telling anyone could jeopardize our lives—particularly Megan's."

"Got it. Lips are zipped." She paused, and her voice dropped. "Sam, is Megan really going to be all right?"

"She will be. The next two or three days may be a bit uncomfortable, physically and mentally, but she's going to be fine." I smiled at Megan reassuringly. Her lips were pursed. "I'll pass you back over."

"Yep. You take care of my best friend. I haven't forgiven you yet."

"I will. All right. Here's Meg."

Rachel was calm enough now that I couldn't overhear the whole conversation over the roar of the engine in the cold night.

"I will, Rach. To the ends of the earth. I'll call you tomorrow." Meg glanced at me, and I nodded. Rachel was in the know now. No sense in keeping the two girls from talking on the phone. It might actually ease the transition for Megan. She clicked the phone off.

"I guess there is some rule against telling people werewolves exist," she said with mild sarcasm.

My thumb twitched against the wheel.

"The top two rules, you might say, are No Biting and No Revealing. I kinda royally screwed them both tonight. Not the best night for the Alpha's son."

Part of me was crushed at how this whole night had gone—I'd not only ticked off my dad to epic new heights, but I'd stripped Megan of any hope of a normal human life after this. She'd always know werewolves existed after tonight. She was one of us now. The other part of me, the part that recognized Meg as my mate, couldn't bemoan this turn of events. Megan was it for me.

"Sam—"

Her shoulders twitched. We weren't going to make it to the cabin before Meg shifted again. I cranked the car to a screeching halt on the gravel path and raced around to the passenger door. I got her out just as her shoulders rolled back and her eyes fluttered.

Gripping the sleeves of my jacket Meg still wore, I was able to get it off before her shoulders widened, but I wasn't quick enough for the shirt or my sweats. Meg arched her back, sobs turning to whimpers as she thrashed.

"Don't fight it, Meg." I tried to sound soothing. My voice sounded like sandpaper. Megan hung onto her human form resulting in a suspended shift. Her legs and feet were changed, paws clawing at the dirt, her torso covered in fur, but her arms and hands remained human. Her face had the snout and jaw of her wolf, but her very human eyes were like frisbees. Fear radiated off her. Panic bled all over her face, whimpers turned into howls.

"Meg, listen to me." My heart constricted all over again. The first day of shifts were the most painful things I'd experienced in my lifetime, and I was born to it with full knowledge of what was going on inside me when it happened. "Listen to my voice. I'll talk you through this. You can do this. You are strong. This is perfectly normal for a werewolf."

She howled in pain and frustration, and my own wolf pushed for release. I shoved him back down. Meg still needed me in skin.