Connected: Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Chapter 12

Camille

The door shut behind Abby as she left the room, leaving Kyla and me alone on the bed. My breathing was finally slowing, and the burning itch of my skin had faded enough that I wasn’t on the edge of losing control. With the itch mostly gone, I could relax enough to keep the rest of my emotions under control, which would give me even more discipline not to Phase. 

Kyla's arms slid around my waist, one running soothingly up my back as her lips found my ear. “Are you okay?” she whispered. 

I nodded, lifting myself up enough to set my forehead against hers. Now that Abby was gone, the room felt empty in a way that I couldn’t explain, but after feeling her presence so vividly during the sex, the lack of it was noticeable. Heavy. And I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. What I did know was that I’d just put Kyla and Abby in a position where they couldn’t ignore how they felt about each other, and instead of making me jealous, it made me feel a little guilty. 

“I’m sorry,” I said, “if I asked you and Abby to do something that’ll make things uncomfortable… Or more complicated than they already are.” 

“It’s fine,” she shook her head, “you don’t gotta apologize. We all had more than enough time to stop it.” She kissed me and then dropped her head back to meet my gaze. “But sometimes I don’t understand how you’re so comfortable with all this. With Abby and me.” 

I drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. “I don’t understand it either,” I told her, shrugging as I thought about it. “All I know is that what you and Abby have now… the way you are together… it doesn’t bother me like it used to. It doesn’t bother me at all.” 

Her green eyes scanned mine, and she considered that for a long moment before asking with some hesitation in her voice, “Is it because you care about her?” 

“I don’t-” I stopped, faltering over what to say. Did I care about Abby? Of course I did. Deeply. But even acknowledging that to myself was so hard that I could barely wrap my mind around exactly what Kyla was asking. Maybe it was the lingering agitation in my blood from the serum and the stimulant and the moon, but the fact that I didn’t know what to say was frustrating, and I dropped my head against her shoulder. “I don’t know how to answer that.” 

“Hey, it’s alright,” she said, slipping her hands between us to cup my face, bringing my lips to hers. “You don’t have to.” She kissed me again and then slid her arms around my neck, returning her forehead to mine. “Cami… You know how we said we were always gonna be honest with each other?” I hummed knowingly. “I know you felt it,” she started, her voice shaking nervously, “but having Abby here while we…” and she took in a nervous breath, forcing out, “I liked it.” 

“I know,” I said, huffing amusedly at how afraid she was to admit it. She looked at me with an unspoken question in her eyes, and though what she really wanted to know was if that bothered me, I had to be as honest with her as she was with me. “I kind of did too.” 

She laughed, still smiling when she kissed me. As perfect as everything still felt with Kyla, I had no idea what I was going to say to Abby, or how I’d look her in the eyes knowing that she’d hear what I was thinking, or knowing that she’d seen an intimacy I’d only ever shared with Kyla… or that I knew what she sounded like when she climaxed. The frightening anticipation of it was enough to remind me of the fact that I was still restless, and as calm as Kyla was being for me, I could sense the extra energy coursing through her veins. It called to me, made me want the one thing I couldn’t have – to run with her – and I didn’t think I could handle an entire night of it. 

“You should run with the others,” I told her. 

“Are you sure? I’ll be fine if you need me here, I can run tomorrow.” 

I shook my head, giving her a grateful peck on the nose. “I can feel that you’re tingling. It’ll be easier for me if you’re all ran out.” 

“Okay,” she agreed, finding my lips again as she pushed some of my hair behind my ear. “Are you going to be okay?” 

“Yeah. Maybe Abby can keep me distracted. I’ll see if anyone else in the house can stick around in case I lose control, but I should be okay now.” 

She tightened her arms around me, pulling me down to her so she could nuzzle into my neck and take a deep breath of my scent. “I’ll miss you.” 

“I know.” I did know, and it hurt more than she realized. That third dose of Serum Twelve meant that I could never Change without being rabid, and if we didn’t manage to rescue Marion and the antidote she was working on, it’d be forever. I might never get to run with Kyla again, and I had to swallow down the lump that thought put in my throat. Had to force down the agonizing pang it put in my chest so Kyla wouldn’t feel it and worry, because I hadn’t figured out yet how to tell her. “But I’ll be here when you get back.” 

She nodded, saying into my neck, “I love you.” 

I lifted enough to find her lips with my own, giving her a soft, slow kiss. “I love you too.” 

She pecked my chin and both cheeks before I shifted off her to let her leave the bed. I gestured for her cell phone as she pulled on her shorts, and she tossed it to me so I could type out a quick text to Wes, asking if anyone was staying behind from the Pack run tonight. She’d just finished getting dressed when I got a text back. 

“Wes already ran,” I told her, “he’ll stay here tonight to make sure Abby’s safe.” 

She wandered back to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. “I won’t be out all night,” she said. “When I get back, we’ll talk about the lab,” she set her hand on my neck to trace the cut on my jaw with her thumb, “and all of these.” 

I reached up to touch near the cut beside her eyebrow. “You got some too.” 

“Luna,” she explained. “Who knew for being so small she could be so feisty?” 

“Everyone in this house.” 

She laughed and bent down to kiss me one last time. “Be back soon.” 

She retreated out the door, the sounds of her talking to Abby carrying through once it closed behind her. I tried not to eavesdrop as I got out of bed and searched for my clothes, which wasn’t hard once I started considering the things I might think at seeing Abby again. The last thing I wanted was to entertain those thoughts, thoughts she’d hear and that would make it difficult to look her in the eyes, and I focused on forcing them away instead of dealing with them. 

Her conversation with Kyla didn’t last long, and she walked into the room as I recovered my shirt from the floor. I had my back to her while I pulled it on, but as I turned around to face her, I caught her eyes on their hasty journey back up to my face. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d been looking, and my stomach flipped and my cheeks burned and those inappropriate thoughts tried to rush in on me. This was so much worse than I predicted. 

“I’m sorry,” she said instantly. 

“Just,” I squeezed my eyes shut and gestured with a hand, trying to wave off the sound of her voice while I got my thoughts under control. 

“I promise,” she said, “I’ve heard things a million times worse than whatever you could think.” She paused, and I could picture her shrugging. “You might process it better if you let yourself think about it.” 

But I couldn’t let myself think about it. It was one thing for Kyla and me to be honest with each other about enjoying it, it was another to let Abby hear me reflecting on it. Because the one truth I finally had processed was that I liked Abby more than I should, more than felt appropriate no matter how okay with it Kyla was, and I didn’t want it getting worse. “You’re my girlfriend’s best friend.” 

I opened my eyes to find her chewing the inside of her lip, her face almost as red as mine felt. “I’m also in love with her,” she said cautiously, “and I consider you a best friend too… and I don’t think there’s any precedence for the right way to handle this…” 

If I wasn’t ready to think about it, then I definitely wasn’t ready to talk about it, but I didn’t want to spend all night with her feeling awkward. We had to get things back to normal. Had to not let what happened complicate everything. “I’m starving,” I said, hoping more than anything that she’d be okay with not talking about it yet. “I’ll cook if you’re hungry.” 

She gave an understanding smile, seeming almost relieved that I wanted things to be comfortable between us again. “I could eat.” 

I led the way downstairs and to the kitchen, stopping in the middle of it to think about what I should make and eventually deciding on the simple pleasure of a grilled cheese sandwich. Abby watched me pull ingredients out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter, and asked, “Need any help?” 

“Yeah.” I set the pan on the stove to start heating it up, and then returned to the counter and motioned her over. “You can butter the bread.” 

She nodded, taking place beside me to start slathering pieces of bread with butter, and I pulled a cutting board over to slice the tomato and cheese. Neither of us said anything. Mostly I was using the mundane task of cooking to keep my mind occupied, but that wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped with how close we were standing while we worked. Her shoulder kept brushing mine and it was too hard not to notice, and I couldn’t scoot away to make it stop because that felt like overreacting, and I didn’t want to scoot away. But I didn’t want my thoughts getting out of hand and I didn’t want her to hear it like she could already hear my internal debate. 

It was obvious to me that she was trying as hard as she always did not to react, but after a couple of minutes, she laughed. She was laughing at me, I knew that, but she didn’t say anything about it as she said, “I’m done,” and stepped back to sit on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen. She watched me for another minute while I layered bread, cheese, and tomato on the grilling pan, until the silence was too much. “So… how are you feeling?” 

"Restless,” I answered, but that was an understatement. The sex had given me enough control not to Change, but it hadn’t relieved the amount of pent up energy I had, and I was still constantly aware of the tingling in my skin. 

“You’re in pretty good shape for a fight to the death,” she said, glancing down at the surface of the island. “When we got the call to pick you up, I wasn’t sure what we’d find.” 

I gave a teasing smile. "Sounds like you were worried about me." 

"Of course I was worried about you," she said, and her serious tone made my cheeks warm with a blush. "You sounded like you were saying goodbye." 

This time, my smile was apologetic. I flipped the sandwiches over before saying, "The wolves I fought, they were volunteers." Abby's eyebrows furrowed with surprise. "They jumped at an opportunity to fight the Pack, and I don't know what it'll mean if Butcher could build an army of mutts." 

"You'd go from the ruling Pack to West Side Story." 

"Something like that," I agreed. Mutts weren't allowed to form packs because war between different packs, and different laws passed down by those packs, would throw the werewolf population out of balance. Fighting would risk exposure, and exposure risked extinction, so the Pack ruled with an iron fist. 

"How do you stop wolves from grouping now?" 

"That's David's job," I answered. "He looks out for wolves forming packs, and if they try, the leaders are taken out." 

"Killed?" Abby asked. I nodded. "That's harsh, don't you think?" 

I shrugged. "It keeps the Pack in power." Her lips pursed as she gave a slow nod. She disapproved. She wasn't the only one – Kyla didn't like it either – but it was the way things had always been, and it wasn't my decision. I turned off the stove and put my two sandwiches and Abby's one onto plates, and then carried them over to the island. She smiled gratefully when I served her dish, and as I sat down next to her, I asked, "Did you have any luck with that Council employee?" 

She sighed, swallowing the bite she'd taken before answering. "We were holding him in the Council prison overnight so we could question him this morning, but he wasn't there when we went to get him." I passed her a curious look and took a massive bite of grilled cheese. "My dad let him out because," she made air quotes with her hands, "I can't arrest my peers for the Pack." When I didn't reply, Abby said, "Go ahead and say it." 

"Say what?" I asked sarcastically. "You know your dad's my favorite person." 

She laughed, and then took and swallowed another bite. "So then we went to End Mountain to see if they knew anything and-" My internal wonder about why they'd go to End Mountain in the first place made Abby stop short. "Oh, right..." She blew a heavy breath through pursed lips. "Marion is the healer I brought in last year, the Council had her transferred to End Mountain." 

I glanced over to study her, making sure she was okay because I knew she felt guilty about what happened with Marion. About having killed Marion's husband when he pulled a gun to protect her. She didn't look like she wanted to talk about it. "Did End Mountain know anything?" 

"Mina Malum wouldn't admit to it," she said. "And I can't read her, but she was smug as hell. They know something, but without the Council behind me, I can't demand anything from them." 

"And your dad won't give you what you need," I guessed. 

"No. Especially not if he knew it was you we were looking for." 

"I thought he was starting to like me...” Bet he'd be thrilled to know we'd practically had a threesome with his daughter. 

Abby choked on the bite she'd been swallowing, patting her chest to try and breathe while she struggled not to laugh. "He will literally kill you if you ever tell him that," she coughed. 

 "He'd try," I chuckled, unable to keep the smirk off my face even though my cheeks were burning because I hadn't been able to hold that thought back. 

We both laughed, but an awkward silence followed as it faded. It was good to know that I could still talk to and joke around with Abby like I always did, and that things weren't doomed to being eternally uncomfortable, but I didn't know what to say now. 

"We should talk about it," she said quietly. 

"I know," I agreed, too nervous to look at her, "I just..." I just didn't know what to say. 

She was quiet for a few thoughtful seconds before asking, "Do you regret it?" 

I shook my head. "No." 

Another lengthy silence, and then she asked timidly, "...Would you do it again?" 

My gaze lifted to hers, and even if I couldn’t bring myself to say yes or no, there was one clear thought as we locked eyes that answered better than I ever could've out loud. Only with you. 

"Okay," she whispered, glancing away as her cheeks shaded too. "Right, okay." She cleared her throat, regaining some composure. "Just don't tell my dad, if you want to live." 

"I won't," I laughed, "I'll just daydream about the look on his face while I finish my dinner." 

"That's definitely safer," she said. She lifted her sandwich to her mouth, added, "He'd get a lot redder than you're picturing, though," and then took a big bite. 

"If he gets any redder in my imagination, he'll have an aneurysm." 

She nodded and said through a full mouth, "I'd say that's accurate." I snickered, and we finished eating in a far more comfortable silence. When we got up a few minutes later to put our dishes in the sink, Abby asked, "What do you want to do now?" What I really wanted was to run, and I cast a wistful stare toward the back of the house. "You know what? We should spar." 

"Spar?" I repeated in surprise. 

She hummed in agreement and started leading the way out of the kitchen. "It'll keep your body busy, right? Help you get some energy out?" 

"Yeah, I guess so." I followed her through the house to the gym, standing to face her on the sparring mat. "Luna's going to be sad she missed this. She's been wanting us to spar for forever." 

"Probably for the best," Abby said. "I predict you wanting a rematch." 

"You know," I said amusedly, "you constantly kick Kyla's ass, so you're probably right." 

She laughed and kicked off her shoes. "I'll go easy on you." 

"Thanks..." 

Knowing how good Abby was at sparring, I attempted to catch her off guard and didn't even wait until we'd said go. I lunged for her, but she deflected and grabbed me by the arm, using my momentum to fling me off balance and to the floor. 

"Nice try," she said, holding back laughter as she extended a hand. I reached out with the idea to pull her down and get a pin instead of letting her pull me up, but she yanked her hand away before I could grab it. "The moon's bringing out your troublemaker side." 

I laughed as I regained my feet on my own. "I need all the help I can get." 

Without giving it too much thought, I lunged forward again, hoping it would surprise her. It didn't surprise her any more than it did the first time, but I was prepared enough for failure that I kept from being thrown down by twisting out of her counter grip. I went after her time and time again with all the best moves I'd learned over the years, but none of it worked. She always managed to out-maneuver me, and even though she dodged more often than throwing me on my back, I hit the mat enough times that I started to get frustrated. 

I tried as hard as I could, taking it more and more seriously with every round that she beat me, but nothing helped. Normally I'd have called it quits, or been patient enough that losing so often wouldn't have bothered me, but I wasn't in a normal state of mind. That restlessness made me more prone to losing my patience, and my playful mood was a distant memory. The next time I hit the mat, a soft growl rumbled in my chest. 

Abby watched me intently while I stood up again, staying on the far end of the mat. "We can stop, if you want to." 

"No." I wasn't stopping when I'd lost so many rounds, and I wasn't taking a pity forfeit. "I'm fine." 

There was some hesitation in her gait as she stepped forward, but she prepared for another round. I threw two hits that she deflected, and then spun to make a sweeping kick at her feet, because if I could at least get her on the ground I might be able to win. But she moved into my momentum. She stepped into my spin to swing around onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck so that I overturned. She landed on her back with me on top of her, my back to her front, and her legs around my hips, her arms around my neck, and my lack of leverage put me in a chokehold I couldn't escape. 

I snarled my frustration instead of tapping out, but it got Abby to release me just as quickly. I rolled off of her and jerked to my feet, taking position for the next round while my teeth clenched. 

"Camille," Abby said as she got up, "I don't think we should-" 

"Again." 

"Are you sure you can-" 

"Again," I repeated. The rising burn of my skin only made my irritation worse. "And don't just let me win." 

"Last one, okay?" 

"Fine." 

She sighed, planting her stance to prepare. Even though I'd told her not to let me win, it seemed like she was dragging it out just for the sake of making me feel better, which then had the opposite effect. After almost two minutes of trying to get the upper hand on her, I was panting with the effort of fighting and of trying to keep my temper under control. When she realized how much it wasn't helping, she finally decided to end it. 

With the next punch I threw, she deflected and pushed my arm outward, then kicked my leg with one of hers to throw me off balance and buckle me over. Now that I was lower, she jumped over the arm she was holding to practically straddle my shoulder. Her legs wrapped across my torso as her sideways-falling weight dropped me forward, and she used the strength of her legs to fling me onto my back. My arm was still firmly in her grip, her legs still wrapped around my chest, and when we hit the ground, she pulled my arm out straight, locking me in a firm arm bar. 

My frustration peaked, my anger so hot that I didn't even get to release the rumbling in my chest before a bone in my elbow snapped. The growl that'd been bubbling left my throat in a yelp of pain as Abby let me go and scrambled away. Another bone in my arm popped out of place, and all the raging anger I'd felt turned to panic when I realized I'd lost control. I'd let this go too far, had gotten too upset, and the serum was forcing a Change. 

"Camille?" Abby asked shakily. I rolled onto my stomach, gritting my teeth against the agony as I struggled for deep breaths, doing everything I could to regain control. "Should I yell for Wes?" 

My skin and muscles were on fire, and I was too focused on the pain and the emotion to answer. I sucked in gulps of air, my eyes squeezed shut while my forehead planted against the mat. I couldn’t Phase. I couldn’t hurt Abby. Please, I couldn’t. 

No other bones cracked, and after half a minute of gasping for oxygen, the burning lessened. The bones that had shifted snapped back into their human place, the overwhelming heat of the emotions in my chest faded, and I regained control. But the lack of a Change didn't make this any better, and I didn't move from that spot once it was over. I stayed there as a dense knot of shame and hopelessness formed in my stomach. I wasn't safe to be around. I might never be safe again, and the emotion and the lingering ache in my body was too much. 

"Camille?" 

I kept my forehead against the mat as my eyes blurred with tears, sniffling to keep them from falling. 

"Hey," Abby murmured. She shuffled over on her knees until she was close enough to put her hand on my back. "It's okay. You didn't lose control. You didn't hurt me, it's okay." I didn't say anything, just stayed there as the tears burned in my eyes. "Come here," Abby said, hands moving to my waist so she could pull me up, and once I'd risen and sat down, she scooted against my side and returned one hand to my back. "You're going to be okay." 

"What if I'm not?" I asked, blinking rapidly to try and rid the moisture. "What if Marion can't finish the antidote, or if we don't save her on time? What if I'm stuck like this forever?" 

"Even if that happens, you'll be fine." She rubbed her hand across my back. "We'll figure something out." 

"I'd never be able to run with Kyla again." I couldn't keep the tears back, and I hurried to brush them away when they leaked down my cheeks. "I brought her into this life, and now I can't live it with her because they turned me into a monster." 

"We don't know that yet," Abby said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and pulling me into her. I was too hurt to resist the comfort, and let my head fall on her shoulder as I sniffled against more tears. "And even if the worst happens, Kyla will still love you. You know she will. She loves you for more than the runs. More than the wolf." My lips pursed to hold back a frown, and I inhaled a deep and shaky breath to try and get my emotions under control. Abby squeezed me tighter, resting her head on mine for a reassuring hug. "You're going to be fine. You're not alone. We'll figure it out." 

I didn't say anything, just sat there in silence to soak in her comfort until I'd forced down the despair and the tears. Once my eyes were clear, I lifted my head off her shoulder and wiped the remaining moisture from my cheeks. "I'm sorry I almost lost control." 

"It's okay," she said. "You only scared me a little bit." I smiled gratefully, and her hand rubbed my back one more time before falling away. "What should we do now?" 

I shrugged. "As hard as it is to sit still, that might be the safest thing for me to do." 

"You want to meditate?" 

"I won't be able to.” I glanced around the gym while I thought about our options. “We can just watch a movie or something." 

Abby nodded, and we wandered out of the gym to watch a movie in the living room. I never could sit through a movie or TV show, but doing something calm seemed like the best bet to keep me from getting riled up and risking losing control. So we dropped down on opposite ends of the couch while I put on the first movie I found in the guide, until Abby scooted over to my end to share the blanket she'd pulled off the back. It wasn't long after that that her head drooped back tiredly, and before long, she was asleep. She half-woke at some point to adjust, kicking her feet out lengthwise across the couch, stealing the blanket and laying her head in my lap to get more comfortable. 

And it was comfortable. I’d gotten used to hugging Abby, but we’d never touched as much as she and Kyla did. We were never affectionate because I’d never been comfortable showing affection to anyone but Kyla. Only, I didn’t mind her lying on me to sleep, and the innocence of it was what made it comfortable. It was the kind of comfortable that let me know things were a little bit different between us now. Good different. The kind of different that made me sit as still as I could so it wouldn't wake her up, even if my muscles were begging for so much as a twitch to release some energy. 

What must've been over an hour later, soft footsteps sounded down the hall, getting nearer until Kyla appeared at the door of the living room. She smiled at having found us, and strode over to sit on the armrest of the couch on the opposite side of me that Abby was still sleeping on. 

"She passed out?" Kyla whispered, holding back a laugh. 

"Yeah," I said quietly, "I didn't have the heart to wake her up." 

"That's good." Kyla fell sideways into the tiny space between the armrest and me, leaning against me to occupy the opposite half of my lap as Abby. "I don't think she's gotten any more sleep than I have lately." 

She was high enough that I could easily bury my face in her neck, and I inhaled a deep breath of her scent, closing my eyes with content. "You smell like the forest." She was so much calmer than she had been before her run, and her deep sense of satisfaction and relaxation helped put me more at ease. 

"Pinning Luna wasn't as fun without you gloating at my side." 

She was teasing, but that put a pang in my chest. "What if I could never run with you again?" I asked. She pulled back a little to look down at me, and I admitted in a murmur with a familiar tension in my heart, "I got a third dose, Kyla. It's permanent if I never get an antidote." 

Her brow furrowed with determination. "Then we'll make sure you get the antidote." 

"What if we don't?" I asked, unable to keep the fear out of my voice. "What if I can't be the mate you deserve?" 

She seemed to realize what I was really afraid of then, and her gaze softened. "Whether you can Change or not, you're exactly the mate I deserve." She pressed a kiss to my head and wrapped her arms around me. "It'd be tough not being able to run with you, but I love you, Cami. I love you so much, and nothing will ever change that." I nodded, letting out a relieved sigh. “I want you no matter what.” We sat there for a minute, Kyla hugging me affectionately until she asked, "Think you could get some rest?" 

"No," I answered, "I'm still too anxious." I glanced down at Abby and explained, "We tried sparring, but I almost lost control. I don't think I'll relax till the sun comes up." 

Kyla set her head against mine, reaching down to brush some of Abby's hair out of her face. "Maybe we could..." 

She didn't finish, but I knew exactly what she was hinting at. Knew what we always liked to do after a run, and it was the one physical thing we'd already proved I could do without losing control. But knowing I could stay in control meant Abby wasn't needed. But Abby was here... I glanced up at Kyla, seeing the same question I had reflected in her eyes. 

Neither of us got a chance to respond to it before Abby mumbled, "The stamina of werewolves never ceases to amaze me," and curled even more to pull the blanket to her chin. 

Kyla laughed, "If you'd rather sleep-" 

"No, no," Abby said, shoving off my lap and sitting up, stretching her arms above her head. "I'm wide awake." She inched away from us toward the other end of the couch. "I'll just scoot-" 

She was cut off by a quiet tapping on the window across the room. We couldn't see anything out the window, or who or what had made the sound, but Kyla rolled her eyes. "Luna knew I was coming back. I bet she's out there." 

"Big surprise," I said sarcastically. I stood and left the couch for the window, opening it wide so I could peer out it for Luna. "Hey, loser, I know you're out there." The only response to my call was a sharp pain in my chest, and I glanced down to see the feathered dart someone had just shot me with. "Oh, no." 

I turned as I pulled it out, Kyla and Abby already scrambling off the couch, but it was too late. The first snap of bone let me know I'd been injected with Serum Twelve, and there was no stopping it. 

"Abby," I started to say as Kyla pulled the window shut, "go get the-" A cry of pain cut me off, and I dropped to my knees. "Go get the gun." 

"No," Kyla protested. 

"I can't," Abby whispered. 

"You have to!" I yelled. I couldn't say anything else. The Change was happening too fast, and in a few more seconds it'd be done and they'd both be in danger. 

"Wes!" Kyla screamed. 

Abby took a few steps backward for the door, and I hoped she'd run upstairs to get the gun before I could hurt either of them. My heart was racing with terror, but I almost couldn't feel it over the rage coursing through my veins, or the harrowing cracks of bone and needle-like pricks of fur sprouting from my skin. 

"I'm not leaving you," Kyla said. 

She hadn't moved from my side even though I wished she would. It was almost over, but the snarls vibrating in my chest weren't enough to back her away. Please, Kyla, leave. But she didn't, and the Change ended and I stood on all four legs, preparing my heart for the damage I was about to do. I turned toward her with my teeth bared and met the stubborn look in her eyes, and just like that, my growling stopped. 

I didn't snap at her. Didn't lunge or bite or claw. I had control. The connection gave me control, and even though I was still burning with fury, I could hold it back. The rage boiled beneath my skin, but it was like Kyla's presence had taken that pent up aggression and put a lid on it. I flooded with relief, and a similar grin spread over Kyla's face until she laughed. 

"You're in control," she said happily. Wes came bursting into the living room, but he stopped at Abby's side. "It's okay," Kyla told him, reaching out cautiously to run her hands through the fur on either side of my neck. "Everything's okay." 

"Who's doing this?" Wes asked. "Are you controlling her?" 

"No," Kyla said. "Not really, I-" She let me go and stepped back. "I think I'm just giving her control." 

"On purpose?" Abby asked. 

Kyla nodded, and whatever she did, whether she stopped focusing on the connection or simply severed some mental tie, my control snapped. She pulled the lid off and the rage consumed me. I roared, crouching down to spring, but then she restored whatever control she'd given me, and my will was my own again. 

"How are you doing that?" Wes asked. 

"I don't know," she said. "I just... Give her something in the connection. Support, or... It's like the anger that controls her ain’t as bad when I let it filter through both of us." 

"But you have to let it," Abby said. 

"Yeah," Kyla answered, "I can block it." She looked at me and grinned. "You can run with me." 

The very next moment, someone in all black and a ski mask crashed through the glass window and hit the floor between Kyla and me, rolling into the middle of the room. They sprang to their feet and raised their arm, hitting the button on the device in their hand. A deafening sound filled the air, so loud and paralyzing that Kyla, Wes, and I dropped. The paralyzing effect of the device also severed the control Kyla gave me, and even though I couldn't move, savage growls rumbled in my throat. 

"No!" Abby shouted, lunging at the man as three more jumped through the window. 

She tried to grab the device so she could turn it off, but the man dodged her as the other three came to his aid. Abby fought. She ducked and maneuvered and hit one of the assailants so hard in the throat that he went down choking, but the other three overpowered her. Two of them forced her to her knees while a third pulled an electric baton from his belt and lit it up. 

Abby looked the one holding the baton right in the eyes and glared, snarling, "Silmond, you fucker, you'll pay for this!" 

The man twirled the baton arrogantly in his hand, said, "Doubt it," and then held it to her shoulder. Abby convulsed and went down trembling, curling into a spasming ball. “Hit her with a small sedative,” he said, pointing at Abby, “I don’t want her following us. And hurry up and sedate the wolf too, we're on a time crunch." 

One of them pulled an injection gun from his belt and hurried over to me, sticking the needle end in my neck while another did the same to Abby. The last thing I heard and saw before everything went black was Silmond looking at Kyla and saying, "I wonder what Butcher will think about the results of this test."