The Mates of Monsters
Chapter 49

"Helena said you were out here."

I glance at David as he joins me on the back porch, leaning against the railing and looking out at the trees. "Her help arrived. She shooed me," I explain. "And before you ask, yes, I'm still fine."

He reaches over and tucks my stray hairs behind my ear, giving him a perfect view, removing any hindrance to his lie detection. I brush my cheek on my shoulder and face him. At first, I think I know what I'm going to say, but then I lose it. He looks so handsome out here, in this summer daylight, opposite to my dream where everything around us was an inky wasteland. "Will you shift with me for a little? Like we did before," I ask.

He gazes up and squints in the sunshine. "I've got time."

We separate in the forest, only far enough to abandon our clothes and change. Again, like before, I've waited too long and have rendered myself sore. But I didn't ask this of him so I could get my workout in and please the wild nature lurking under my skin; I did it to see him, to see what he becomes. That stalking, dark thing that maneuvers in the shadows and never leaves with an empty stomach. That beast Nicodra describes with such passion-the monster.

I prance through the trees like bait, asking something to hunt me. Somehow his scent is all around as if he's been scouring this wood for hours already, rubbing his thick coat on the bark of each tree he passes. When I prepare to dash, a low, guttural noise warns me not to. I look over my shoulder and he's there like a ghost. He's the phantom of the forest and no one trespasses without paying the consequence.

I could never kill him, nothing could, nothing could come close. It lulls my worry, proves the structure of my dream to be faulty. I can't hurt him-not in those violent ways. But I could still hurt him if I go through with this, if I continue to withhold the truth and suffocate myself with it. He'll never look at me the same if I help Aurora with her life-altering dilemma. I'll never look at myself the same.

His wolf moves around me, rubbing against my own as he passes. I leap away and scamper off. I break out into a run and smile knowing he's still with me. Each turn and jump, he's here, weaving in and out, near and far. When I slow, I hear his pounding paws grind into the dirt, and when I start again, he launches off. It's like having a bodyguard watching my back, securing the area before I step into it.

The forest floor grows uneven, layered and steep, and I stumble down, kicking rocks and debris as I scramble. My hind leg catches and bends in the sudden commotion. I reach the bottom and shake it off, but whimper when I step and feel a sharp pain. David jumps down the ledge with no problem, and nudges at my leg, making me yank it away and keep it off the ground. I try to continue, but he stands in my way, saying we're done-time to go back.

I limp the way we came, scared that it will hurt much more when I shift.

When my father was younger, he broke his leg in two places during a rather rambunctious spar in the woods with his closest friends. He told me the change back was the most uncomfortable he's ever felt, which, for my father, translates to the most pain he's ever been in. His friends had to carry him out and set it. My mother then laughed and told him to try giving birth.

Maybe this will be good for me then-a little physical pain. It must be better to go into labor with some experience.

David shifts, dresses, then hurries back to me, telling me I need to come up to the porch. I lay down in front of the steps and wait as he runs inside. The sun-warmed stone is calming under my belly, and I rest my head down on my front legs, letting my body sink as I let out a huff of breath. I need to tell him. I might end up accidentally killing myself with all of this falling if I don't.

He bursts through the doors with Helena and a blanket. He unfolds it and throws it over me, letting me keep my dignity when I change. Helena crouches by my back legs and David comes to my face. He pets the top of my head, and Helena says, "Okay, Brigette," a signal to shift.

I force the transformation with my mind on my parent's arrival. My leg jolts and twitches, and I yelp in response. Helena grabs my calf and holds me still. "Your ankle, dear."

"Is it broken?" David asks, looking over.

"No. It's a little swollen-maybe a sprain."

I grab onto the blanket and hold it to my body as I heave myself up. David brings an arm around my waist. "It doesn't feel that bad," I say. "I want to stand up."

He holds the blanket and brings me to my feet, watching closely as I steadily touch my foot to the ground. I put a little weight and show no discomfort on my face. It's a strange pain-dull-not like when I was shifted. "I think it's okay." "How about you ice it for a bit and then we'll see," Helena suggests.

David grabs my clothes from the trees then helps me up the steps. I know my body is no longer my own, not entirely. A piece belongs to him, and another to the pack. They own parts of me and are just as interested in my physical well-being as I am, well, probably more than I am. Enough food for my womb and examining eyes for my throat; I lay back and let them treat me, knowing that on some level, I am a mere vessel for the blood of our leaders. I smile and find a new love for my proposition; the Alpha female would do it all. She leads, provides, and blesses the pack with her successor. They will adore her, I know it.

David carries me up the steps despite my opposition. He sets me on our bed and I consider saying it then, that Aurora asked me to help her kill her mate, but I don't.

He stuffs a pillow under my foot and I roll my eyes. "This is entirely unnecessary. My parents will be here soon, and I have to get ready."

"You have to start watching where you're stepping."

"I'm not staying like this," I protest, crossing my arms. He places the ice on my ankle anyway. "It's fine, really. I don't think it's sprained."

David straightens. "Will you ever let us look after you?"

"I do, just not right now. You go back to Tarlo so I can do what I have to do."

My eyes trail him as he walks to his side of the bed and sits down. He takes out his phone and calls Tarlo. I plaster on an annoyed face, but beneath it is a girl happy to have even more time with her mate. We'll be alone here.

So I'll tell him.