Men and women shifted, their bodies quivering in the moonlight as muscles rearranged themselves. Bodies seemed to grow long and the distinct sound of claws clicking on the rocky ground could be heard throughout the forest. Some had slipped from their clothes while others simply shifted, rendering the fabric. Sam watched, spellbound, as a wave of unseen power washed over the clearing until Sam and Nafarius were the only ones left in human form.
It was time. There would be no more delaying the inevitable. It was either here and now or never. Taking a deep breath Sam pulled her dress over her head and let it fall to the ground. There was a collective sigh at the sight of her alabaster skin glowing in the moonlight. Her pale complexion was made that much more startling by her black hair, which fell down her back and floated around her waist. Nafarius wasn’t surprised by the pack’s reaction but he knew that their appreciation wouldn’t be enough to save her if Sam wasn’t able to change.
Closing her emerald green eyes Sam tried to focus. She could feel the tension coming from Nafarius and the rest of the pack members. It was thick, making it hard to breath and drawing on her concentration. As each minute passed and nothing happened the pack members grew more agitated.
Several minutes later Sam collapsed onto her hands and knees still in human form; her body covered with a fine sheen of sweat. Opening her eyes, Sam lifted her head and found herself staring into the yellow-gold eyes of over a hundred werewolves. Slowly, she got to her feet.
“Samantha.” Nafarius took a step forward.
“No!” Sam held up her hand to stop him. “You can’t interfere. If you do you’ll undermine any power I have.”
“What power can you have if you can’t change?” Nafarius took a step forward only to stop short when Jared, a young male in the pack, came forward and growled. Grabbing the young man by the fur Nafarius sent him flying. “You would dare to come between me and my mate?!”
Nafarius’ below of rage echoed throughout the forest sending those animals that still remained scurrying in fear. His attention turned to the insolent wolf for only a moment was all it took. In the next moment several of the pack attacked, all of them lunging at Sam at the same time. “NO!”
Sam went down in a pile of fur, her body unable to withstand the strength of a dozen wolves. Nafarius stood frozen watching as the woman he had come to love was ravaged by his pack. The clearing was filled with the sound of snarling wolves as canine teeth ripped into tender flesh. The smell of blood filled the air sending the watching pack into hair-raising howls.
He knew that he was forbidden to interfere and that tradition dictate that any werewolf unable to change be considered inferior and destroyed. If he stepped in and saved her then the pack would turn against him as well. In that moment it didn’t matter, Nafarius was willing to turn his back on his pack if it meant saving Sam. They had mated for life and he meant to honor that even if it meant leaving the pack.
Pushing his way forward, Nafarius started pulling wolves apart searching for whatever might be left of the woman he loved. He didn’t expect to find her whole but at the same time he couldn’t stand by and watch the pack devour her. Pushing the last wolf aside Nafarius stared at the place he was sure Sam had gone down.
In her place was beautiful black wolf crouched low on all fours her hackles raised and teeth barred. Nafarius started to reach out to her only to snatch his hand back when she tried to take his fingers off. Backing off he understood that she was in the grip of her animal. Changing for the first time, especially during a fight was guaranteed to leave her feeling aggressive. Seeing her so beautiful, more wolf than any other member of his pack brought his beast to the surface. Animal instinct took over, his desire to meet her on the same level causing him to shift. In a burst of power Nafarius changed, moving from human to animal in a split second.
Still, even in animal form Nafarius waited to approach her. Sam had turned her attention from him to her new pack members. One by one they were slowly crawling forward, their heads and bellies low to the ground. Roland was the first one to reach her and rolling onto his back offered her his neck. Slowly, Sam lowered her head and gripped his neck with her new, powerful jaws. It was a symbol of her dominance, a show that she could crush his neck. At the same time it was a show of trust that Roland would offer himself up knowing that she could destroy him.
Sam growled low once in her throat. The fight had brought her animal bursting through with a vengeance. She was hungry, the desire to hunt and hurt so intense it burned painfully in her belly. She could smell Roland’s blood flowing just below the surface and she longed to lock her jaws, breaking the skin and feeling the warm liquid flowing into her mouth. It took a supreme act of willpower to release him and even then she did so slowly.
Maddie was the last member to approach her. Sam leaned down, locking eyes with the young woman and gently gripped her neck with her jaws. Maddie whimpered once, not in pain but in absolute surrender. Letting go, Sam licked her jaw before letting her up. Maddie went to make her way back into the crowed only to stop when Sam moved in front of her, forcing her to stay behind her mistress.
Sam had noticed early on that Maddie was the most subservient of the females and often times bared the brunt of the other women’s anger. She wanted to get the point across that from now on Maddie was under her protection and that anyone acting against Maddie risked offending her. Maddie had been kind to her that first day and every day since and Sam wanted to make sure she was taken care of.