Sierra's face is in front of mine while millions of hands seem to be trying to hold me still. She speaks sternly. "Carly. Stop!" Her skin is blotchy, as if she's been crying for a while.
I relax and feel a whimper escape. "Why won't they let me go?"
A tear rolls down her cheek. "You're hurting yourself. They tied you up so you would stop clawing yourself."
"I don't understand."
Sierra's cool finger strokes my face. "I know, hon. I know. We're not sure either, but you seem to have become--" She shuts her eyes and in a small voice says, "You're a bear now."
Oh, God. I'm going to throw up. Annie's face appears over me as Sierra moves away. "Carly, I'm going to help you through this. You aren't alone." She smiles. "Nice job shifting back. You'll get the hang of it."
I "shifted" back? I squeeze my eyes shut and know tears fall. I'm a freak. My body shudders with silent crying. I'm trying to stop because it won't solve anything, but I seem to have lost control of everything in my life. What are a few tears?
Brady's voice breaks through. "You're going to be okay. We heal quickly, and your wounds are already speeding right along."
I open my eyes to his face and remember how this started. Through clenched teeth I say, "You did this to me." Blood rushes to my ears, and I begin to shake as anger floods my senses. My hands ache again, and I think the claws are back. Brady's eyes widen, and Annie shoves him out of the way. When I feel the prickling, I'm sure I'm covered in hair. I lick over my teeth and discover my canines are huge. I let out a scream, only it comes out as a roar.
Annie says, "Carly, listen to me. Take a deep breath and focus on my face."
My eyes go to hers, and I try to listen.
"Good. Breathe with me."
I take a deep breath with Annie and let myself think only about air coming in my lungs and air leaving. I run my tongue over my teeth, and they're back to normal. I glance down and don't see any hair. In a shaky voice I say, "Thank you, Annie."
She chuckles. "Oh, sweetie, you don't need to be polite with me. I’d be pissed off too."
My throat is raw, and my voice is raspy when I ask, "Do you know how this happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I think when Brady bit your mark, he somehow managed to shift you." She strokes my cheek. "He didn't know. None of us did. We all thought biting a human to turn them was a myth." I recall when my body started to turn red and hear his panicked voice in my head.
Cool hands are on my arm. Annie unties a restraint. "Werebear have bitten humans before, but they haven't changed. We think this happened because you have shifter blood, and he bit your mark. I don't know if he had done it anywhere else if it would have happened." She turns her head and speaks to someone in a stern voice. I assume it’s Keith. "And we won't be testing that out, will we?"
Sierra helps Annie untie me, and I sit up. I look over at Sierra. "Aren't you afraid of me?" Moisture pools in my eyes.
"Oh, honey, no. I love you too much for that. I'll never be afraid of you."
Hot tears streams down my face. "I--"
Now Sierra is crying, and she pulls me into a hug. "I love you too."
Brady is keeping a safe distance and is fidgeting behind Sierra. I notice Keith across the room in a chair, and I suddenly feel self conscious about being naked. "Could I have a shirt?"
Annie answers, "Of course. Let me go find Brady's best one in case you shift again so we can have the pleasure of ruining it." She grins at me, and I can't help but give a weak smile in return.
Brady. He has to feel awful. But I need a minute to be sure he doesn't make me angry again. I guess that's a trigger for shifting.
Annie and Sierra help me into the shirt. It's a starched white one, and I smile knowing I've probably gotten blood on it. It hardly makes up for turning me into something awful, but it's a start. The cold stiff fabric is rough on my tender skin, but I feel better with clothes on.
"Brady? I think I can talk to you now without clawing your eyes out."
"Hey, how do you feel?" He takes my hand and gently holds it between his. The moment he does, my love for him surges. How can I be mad at him for something he didn't try to do?
"Like I was roughed up. Can we try vanilla sex next time? Because I didn't bargain for this." I tear up again.
His eyes crinkle in a quick smile. "I'm so sorry, love." He leans down and kisses away my tears. His touch soothes me.
"I know. I wasn't really mad at you. It's just kind of hard to go from a regular girl tattooing dicks in California to a werebear in less than a week, you know?"
"You were never regular." He places a hand on my cheek, and I lean into it. "You're the most amazing woman I've ever laid eyes on."
His words tug at my heart. He really loves me, and I know I love him too. "How do I look in fur and claws?"
He leans over me and whispers in my ear. "Sexy as hell."
A jolt of desire races through me, and I whisper back. "You'll have to shift for me sometime. I might have a new fantasy." Whoa, did I just admit I want to have animal sex for real? I let out small growl that makes him grin.