Chapter 41 Chapter 41
It was so warm in the small bedroom on the plane that Rayne woke up soaked in sweat and not sure where she was at first. Sitting up, she wiped a hand across her brow and sighed. All of her felt out of sync, and it was scaring her. At first, she thought it was a nightmare that woke her up, but now she realized it was something else completely. She really didn’t feel well, everything ached, her stomach was churning and her temples were pounding all at the same time. Even with the few hangovers she’d had in her life, they had never come close to the way she felt now.
Moving slowly out of the cabin, she squinted against the light and looked for Devin. A movement beside her startled her, making her jump.
“Hey. It’s just me.” Devin came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Something is wrong.”
When she turned to face him, the soft look on his face faded and he frowned. Brushing the hair back from her face, he sighed. “Come on, let’s sit down.” He wrapped an arm around her and she wanted to cry with relief. Just his touch made the pain lessen and become bearable.
“I don’t know what’s happening.”
Guiding her to the small couch, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. “I do. I can’t make it go away, but I can help for now.”
“For now?”
He brushed a soft kiss along her jaw. “It’s going to happen no matter what anyone does. Just sit back and rest.”
Resting wasn’t going to be too difficult, she felt completely drained and didn’t want to move. Every muscle hurt. She was now feeling muscles in her body that no yoga had ever made her aware of. “How much longer? I want to be outside.”
His hand moved in a lazy pattern across her back and shoulders. “Normally, I’d be more than happy to open a window to help with that, but I’m pretty sure that’s frowned upon while flying.”
She opened her eyes to see him grin, but even then the worry didn’t fade from his eyes. Not wanting to seem like a baby, she closed them again. He had grown up with what she was going through, she was taking the crash course and was worried she was failing. Calmness radiated off him, it helped a little, just not enough to slow her heart rate down. Devin’s lips brushed over her neck as he spoke in a soft soothing tone. She was so out of it she couldn’t even focus enough to understand what he was saying. Her skin was feeling like it was one size too small for her body and all she really wanted to do was whine and wish it away. Swallowing, she tried to keep her voice sounding normal. “Is it like this every time?” Keeping her eyes closed, she tried again to focus on the beating of his heart—which she could hear like a stethoscope was placed over it.
“No. It’s just the first time. After a few shifts you will look forward to it—and appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.” He stroked a hand lightly down her arm.
She knew he meant it to be soothing, but it just made her skin itch. Not wanting to offend him, she shifted in his hold to stop the contact. “I can’t even imagine the first time.” She swallowed a moan of discomfort. “I’m scared, Devin,” she whispered.
“I’ve got you, Rayne. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His words did make her feel better, to know she wasn’t going to be alone. She was still scared and nothing was going to take away that feeling.
“Just close your eyes and try to relax until we land.”
Her stomach churning made her decide not to reply. It felt like something was trying to come out through her skin, she didn’t want to look and see if it was just a feeling or actually happening, so she closed her eyes again and focused on breathing as evenly as she could manage.
~
In all the years he had been making this trip back to the camp, Devin couldn’t recall ever making it as quickly. After trying several times to get Rayne to rest, she finally had a short nap on the drive back. During that time, he called his mother to see if there was anything different a female went through with their first change. It took all the patience he had to listen to her—going on like they were about to give birth instead of a first shift. Feeling calmer after that, he called Calum and told him to clear out and find a place where he could watch the entrance to the camp without being on the land. He was thankful he didn’t get an ‘I told you so’ from him. How Devin didn’t know she was this close, he still didn’t know. Maybe he was too close and that was the reason. Maybe next time, he’d listen when Calum and Gage tried to tell him something... probably not, but he’d consider it more in the future.
Her skin was clammy and she was growing more restless with each minute, even in sleep her muscles twitched preparing for what was to come. For several minutes of the drive Devin wondered if he was strong enough to see her thought this. Immediately following those thoughts, he mentally kicked himself in the ass, knowing he was the only support she had and wasn’t going to be anything less than what she needed from him.
He tried to think back and remember what it was like the first time he went through a complete shift. It hadn’t been startling and scary for him though, he’d had a life time of education leading up to it. Rayne had only had a few days to adjust to the fact of what she was, never mind the symptoms during the onset of a full shift. Running seemed to be the one thing he craved when he shifted, he sure as hell hoped it was with her too. He knew she’d never forgive herself if the first time it happened she shifted back with animal blood in her mouth. Were there vegetarian shifters? He’d never come across any, so he was clueless when it came to that. Then again, the idea of one being in animal form having a snack of weeds and bark was just too much to try to wrap his brain around.
“Where are we?”
Her voice sounded strained. “A few more minutes and we’ll be back on my land, hun. Just stay as relaxed as you can okay?”
Devin didn’t take his eyes off the road to look at her, he was already driving faster than he should ever consider going. At least it was a bright night with no clouds so he had a little extra light to help him see.
“Devin?” She shifted so she was sitting up more and he could see her out of the corner of his eye. “After it’s over, will I feel better?”
“Oh yeah. Everything will suddenly make more sense, at least it did for me.” His brain searched for something to say to her to make her feel better about this. Was that possible? “You may see things differently afterward too. The change doesn’t happen over a few days—there could have been things going on with you for a few years that weren’t adding up.”
She groaned. “There has, but I just kept blaming it on fate and coincidence...” She huffed out a breath, telling him that talking wasn’t something she felt much like doing right now.
Reaching over, he squeezed her hand and tried to offer her the least dangerous contact he could afford while driving like a lunatic. “Just a few more minutes.”
“Is it going to hurt?”
Digging back as far as my memory went he tried to remember. “Not so much pain as it is a completely unknown.” He couldn’t lie to her. “It’s uncomfortable, mostly because you don’t quite know what to expect. The best advice I can give is try to relax through it and just let it happen.”
“Kay.”
Rayne sat forward in the seat watching out the windshield as the gate to the camp came into sight. He would be lucky if she waited until they stopped before she jumped out. Not that he blamed her, every cell in her body would be telling her to get outside. “Head for the beach when we get there, okay? The sand is going to feel a hell of a lot better than trees and rocks if you lose your balance.” He chanced a look to see her nod as she was moving closer to the door.
The truck was barely at the house when her door flew open and she jumped down from it. “Shit.” Jamming it into park, Devin bailed out his side and took off after her. This wasn’t going to be a slow transition, his guts told him. Not bothering to curse again, he tore his shirt off and tossed it in the air as he ran towards the lake.
Rayne was standing bent over with her hands on her knees making soft moaning noises. He slowed down when he was closer, and took off his shoes flinging them aside. “Take off your clothes, it’s a bitch to get hung up in them.” He didn’t think she heard him until she reached down to untie her shoes.
His brain and his wolf were attempting to battle out why they were here as she stripped down and dropped down onto her knees. He kept his jeans on, unbuttoned and knelt beside her. Gently he rested his hand on her upper back and caressed her skin in what he hoped she found a soothing way. “Just breathe through it and let it happen.”
She made a noise that was a mix between a groan and a growl causing his heart and hormones to both pick up. He couldn’t help it, this was his mate and the wolf part of him was in sync with every muscle in her body and what was happening. The man part of him wanted to shelter her from this and keep her all to himself. He’d known some females that didn’t keep the same personality after their wolf was free and he prayed that wouldn’t happen to Rayne.
“Devin.” She muttered between clenched teeth.
The panic in her voice brought him back into the mindset to help her. He leaned down near her face and tried to keep his voice as soft as possible. “Just let go, Rayne, I’ve got you. I will be with you every step of the way.”
“I don’t... want...” she hissed out a breath, “don’t let me—eat anyone.” She said quickly before she moaned again.
“I won’t. You’ll be fine, we’ll go for a run and you can test out your new senses and speed—I’ll look out for you.” Another deeper growl came from her. “Just let it happen.” He placed a soft kiss on her temple and leaned back from her. One thing he did know was someone too close could get hurt in the first few moments of a change—he valued all his pieces enough to stay cautious regardless of how close he wanted to be.
The sound of snapping bones would have alarmed any normal person, but to him it signalled one thing. Her body wasn’t waiting for her to come to terms with her new knowledge. She yelped and dropped down closer to the ground.
There was a beauty to it that he appreciated, but watching Rayne transform into the blondest she wolf he’d ever set eyes on was the most breathtaking thing he would ever witness. After her silky skin covered over with soft fur, she lay there on the sand panting. “Get up slowly.” Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and his heart tripped a few times as he looked into her sultry eyes. “You’re gorgeous.” When she started to ease up and stand, his hands flew to his jeans, knowing that once she found her balance she wasn’t going to stay put and watch the serene lake beside them. She was going to run and test every single muscle and sense in her new form.
Devin barely managed to change before she took a total of four single steps and then took off towards the trees. Her speed was rare for the first change and left him stunned for a few seconds before his own paws hit the ground and he raced after her.