Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
It was shaky, but she did it.
“Relax. Let it happen.”
She shook out her arms. She had no idea how unbelievably sexy she was. Stunning. Maybe he was biased. He couldn’t wait to see her wolf.
Finally, she let out a little gasp and shivered from head to toe before the shimmer took over. It was like a calling. A beckoning. As natural as air and trees and mountains. As old as time.
The shift took about five seconds, and then his precious Little mate dropped down onto all fours in front of him and lifted her gorgeous lupine head.
His breath hitched. She was just as stunning in wolf form. Light colored. Less than half his size. The same huge blue eyes her human had.
She stumbled when she tried to take a step, and he reached out instinctively before pulling his hand back. She didn’t need him.
“It’s okay, Little one. It takes a few tries to get used to your new gait on four paws.”
She lifted one front paw and set it down a few inches in front of her, followed by a back paw. Arion swore she smiled. A few more steps and she had the hang of it.
She came to him and rubbed her neck against his hand. He scratched her behind the ears. “You’re beautiful, Bella mine.”
She sat on her back haunches and cocked her head to the side.
“You may spend as much time as you want in your wolf skin. When you’re ready to shift back, close your eyes and picture your human half. The shift will come.”
She licked his hand, making him chuckle.
“I see your wolf is playful.” He stroked her head. “You’ll be exhausted when you shift back. We both will. We’ll sleep for a while.”
Jezebel pranced around the room for a while, sniffing things, testing out her legs. She even tried running, though the room wasn’t big enough to get very far.
When she stepped up to the door and nosed the knob, Arion shook his head. “We’re not going outside today, Little one. You’re not ready. I promise soon we can run free in the mountains together, but not today.”
She released a growl that both startled him and made him laugh. “Feisty Little girl. You’re not exempt from obeying me in wolf form. I can and will spank your naughty bottom after you shift back if you argue with me.”
She stared at him, blinking. A moment later, she tipped her head back and howled. The sound was so loud it made the cabin shake.
Arion laughed. “Testing out your lungs?”
She stumbled backward a few steps as if she’d startled herself. She fell on her rear and then dropped onto her belly and let out a long sigh. Moments later, she was back in her human skin.
Panting from exhaustion, his Little mate rolled onto her side and curled up, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her shins.
Arion rose from his seat and rushed to her side. He scooped her up into his arms and hugged her against him, raining kisses all over her face. “Such a beautiful Little wolf. I’m so proud of you. Let’s get some nutrition in you, and then we can sleep for a few hours.”
He headed for the kitchen, fixed her a bottle of formula, and carried her to the master bedroom. They would figure out in the coming days how often she would sleep in his bed and how often she would sleep in her crib, but the sun would be up soon, and for today, Arion wanted her with him.
His pretty Little mate mostly kept her eyes closed while he snuggled up next to her on the bed and fed her the bottle. She didn’t protest when he popped her binky in, nor did she give him any trouble when he fastened a diaper snuggly around her hips.
After turning out the lights and shutting the blinds, Arion spooned his Little mate and promptly fell asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
“But Daddy…”
Arion tipped her chin back with one finger in that way he so often did and gave her that look she was growing used to. The one with the lifted brows and stern expression. The one that brooked no argument. The one that asked her without a single word if she’d like her bottom spanked.
He pointed at her high chair. “I already told you we’re not going outside today, naughty girl. You may color if you’d like while Daddy makes lunch. Or you may go stand in the corner if you need some time to think.”
She sighed. They’d been inside for days. All the days since she’d shifted. Four days. She was counting. Sometimes Daddy went outside and talked on the phone where she couldn’t hear him, but he never let her go out with him, and he refused to take her on a run in wolf form or even for a walk in human form.