Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl, #1)(14)
My heart pounded frantically in my wolf chest as I shook my head. I was a wolf looking at my human form, then I was my human looking at my wolf.
What the hell was happening? Was I dreaming, was I hallucinating?
My human form sat up, draped both arms across her chest, and looked at me with two wide blue eyes.
“Not … possible.” Sawyer knelt beside my human form, looking at her with a slack jaw. I was shaking from shock and he wrapped a warm arm around me, tucking me into his chest.
I blinked and then I was looking at everything from my human perspective, nuzzled into him, shaking as my teeth chattered.
What was happing?
I was … two people.
Split?
“Sawyer!” a male voice yelled from the trees, and he stiffened.
His voice was frantic: “You have to shift back.”
I just curled into him, naked, fragile, scared.
He put his hand out to my wolf as if he were calling a dog. Then my wolf walked forward and I looked down to see my furry paws. I was back in her perspective and it was as easy as blinking.
“Sawyer!” The male voice was closer now, and it was followed by another voice and another. It must be his guards looking for him. He was basically royalty.
My wolf leaned forward and smelled his hand.
The second I got close, his hand snaked out and grabbed my wolf by the scruff, pulling me up to meet his gaze, his eyes sharpened.
“Shift. Back. Now. Or they’ll kill you both,” he growled, alpha power pressing down on my body at his command.
Pain sliced along my tailbone and the heat was back. It felt like I’d just been sucked into a vacuum; there was pressure all around me as a force slammed into my back, like I’d been hit with a baseball bat, then my eyelids snapped open and Sawyer was looking at me with relief. Bringing my hands up to my face, I saw that they were human.
“Sawyer!” a man yelled as Sawyer pulled me up and tucked me behind his back to shield me from view.
Just then, Brandon from the van ride earlier, along with Walsh, stepped into the clearing, holding guns at their sides. The giant lead guard, Eugene, stepped up right behind them.
They took one look at me, naked and hiding behind Sawyer, who had his shirt off, and then gave us their backs, cheeks flaming red.
One of the guards mumbled, “We heard a wolf howl, it sounded like it was in distress … we thought you were…”
“I’m fine. We went for a run.” His voice cracked. “Give us a moment,” he commanded and they immediately began to walk away.
“Get dressed,” he called to me, keeping his back to me, as if he didn’t just see me freaking naked. Oh my God, I wanted to die right now. My hands shook as I slipped into my panties and bra, then put my shirt over my head and zipped my shorts up.
I didn’t know a ton about werewolves, but I knew enough to know what just happened wasn’t fucking normal. Like … at all.
When I was finally dressed, I just cleared my throat and he turned around. I couldn’t meet his eyes, I was so … embarrassed, horrified, scared.
Reaching out, he grasped my chin in his warm fingers and tipped it up to meet his piercing blue eyes.
“Don’t tell anyone what just happened. Your life depends on it, you understand?”
My life?
Oh God.
Tears filled my eyes and I nodded.
“No one,” he pressed. “Not your parents, not Sage, no one. And don’t shift again, not without me there.”
I swallowed hard. “What … was that?”
He sighed, releasing my chin, and ran his hands through his hair. “Give me time to look into this.” But I could see it in his face … he knew. He knew something and wasn’t telling me.
“Sawyer. What am I?” My voice was firmer this time and I could see the pity in his eyes.
He tucked a lock of blond hair behind my ear, looking sad, like he’d just received bad news. “You’re amazing.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear him tell me how the hell my wolf and I just split in two. I never should have come back here. Was it too late to rewind the last few hours and go back to my old life? Because clearly this was a mistake…
I tossed and turned all night, barely sleeping. I kept dreaming of my wolf and human, lying five feet apart from each other. Then I remembered Sawyer saying my life depended on no one finding out what I was, and I woke up panting, covered in sweat. This happened over a dozen times throughout the night until finally I awoke to my alarm blaring near my head.
My first waking thought was Sawyer saying, “You’re amazing.”
I sighed, hugging my knees as I buried my head between my legs.
He saw me naked. For some reason that was the sticking point from last night. Screw the fact that I was some kind of freak split shifter.
Sawyer. Hudson. Saw. Me. Naked.
“Rise and shine, bitch!” I recognized Sage’s voice from behind my door. I groaned, shuffling over to the door and wrenching it open. She held two cups of to-go coffee, and after looking me up and down, winced. “Bad night? You look like shit, and the first meet and greet gala is tonight.”
Screw the gala! I wanted to scream at her. I’m a split shifting freak and Sawyer saw me naked!
She handed me the coffee and I chugged it. Warm sweet liquid rushed down my throat and I pulled my shit together. Everything was going to be fine. I just wouldn’t shift anymore, I didn’t shift for twenty years and I survived life okay…