Then it pulls back.
Just as suddenly, just as cruelly, the shift reverses.
I collapse hard onto the ground, human again, skin burning and lungs screaming as I drag in air, my body trembling uncontrollably as if it does not know which shape it is supposed to hold. Axel is there instantly, one hand braced near my shoulder without touching, his voice tight with urgency.
“Bella, stay with me.”
I try.
I really do.
But the pull comes again, stronger this time, deeper, and there is no fighting it. My wolf surges back to the surface with a violent snap, ripping through me like a tide that refuses to be held back, and I am on my feet again in an instant, panting hard, head low, every nerve screaming with need and instinct.
Axel and Atticus are talking to me, I know they are, because I can se
