Makawee pursed her lips. “There is no choice, child. He’s already gone.” She and Martin maintained their hold. My anguish did nothing to relax their grip; their power remained obstinate and absolute. My heart threatened to stop. I didn’t want the Pack to tear him to pieces or to hear his anguished howls before he was silenced forever. I didn’t want to watch my baby’s father die.

My eyes burned with how hard I cried. “I brought him here so you could help him. You can’t kill him. There has to be another way!” Martin turned his face away from mine. Makawee’s expression stayed fixed on the Pack.

Aric whipped around in circles, ready to strike. I cursed, screamed, and struggled, but my efforts were in vain. Even if I broke free, how could I possibly take on a pack of wolves?

I looked up to the sky. For a moment, everything turned quiet and eerily still. A cool breeze gently hit my face. I didn’t understand what was happening until my body convulsed violently and I changed.

I didn’t become the formidable tigress that would fight to the death to protect her mate. In her place wiggled a rabbit. A rabbit small enough to slip through the stunned Elders’ hold.

I dashed toward Aric, dodging the astonished weres who were oblivious to what had happened.

Martin’s voice boomed across the yard. “It’s Celia! Stop her before Aric kills her!”

They were too late. I reached Aric and leapt at him in a burst of feathers. I dug my talons into his flesh and took flight…as an eagle.

Chapter Twenty-six

The element of surprise saved us.

I was a bad swimmer, but I positively sucked at flying. My cursed-with-bloodlust mate didn’t help. He growled, writhed, and tried to bite.

Ingrate.

I batted my wings and continued upward. The Pack snapped out of its shock and gave chase, sprinting at full speed, scurrying up tree trunks and ricocheting off branches. Some didn’t appear to try very hard. Others drew close, determined to bring us down. I flapped harder and faster. It made a huge difference. The wolves below me became smaller and soon we left the Den behind us.

My new form was tremendous, easily four times as large as an average eagle. And, more important, strong enough to carry a distressed werewolf. I carried us north toward Canada, searching for solace despite my doubts that we’d make it that far. My eagle form didn’t come naturally. I had to concentrate to maintain it. It wouldn’t be long before my body would surrender to exhaustion and change back—and I really didn’t want to do it midair.

I focused on how the wind blew and ruffled my feathers and swept over my magnificent wings. I looked to the heavens, determined to join them as one. Aric collapsed and threw off my balance more than once. And still I worked to keep my form.

We soared for what seemed like hours. Aric had either fallen asleep or collapsed from his illness. He hung limp from my talons, but his heavy breaths proved he still lived.

The sun set deep into the mountains. I descended into the sprawling forest below, trying to slow my pace as I dove down and alternated between not flapping and flapping. It worked—well, sort of. I released Aric a little too far from the ground. He banged into a thick pine, smacked against a large branch, and crashed to the ground.

Oops.

I tried to land smoothly. I might have managed had a pissed-off Aric not tackled me just as my talons skimmed across the earth. He struck me hard enough to knock out feathers. I tried not to fight him, but he didn’t make it easy. He buried his front claws into my wings and growled in my face. I changed back, hoping to appear less threatening as a human.

It didn’t work. He growled louder, appearing more angered by my sudden transformation.

Drool dripped on my face. It would’ve grossed out me out had I not been terrified he was about to eat me. “It’s okay, Aric. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Nothing of my Aric reflected in those ferocious brown eyes. He was all rabid wolf—volatile and incapable of reasoning. My primal instincts implored me to fight. But I couldn’t. If we fought, it would be to the death, and no way could I kill him.

I realized I shouldn’t have met his eyes. Aric had always welcomed my gaze, but he wasn’t himself and perceived my stare as a challenge. I played the submissive and glanced away, lying before him with my throat exposed and praying the man I loved wouldn’t hurt me. His snarls intensified and panic twitched along my spine.

I broke away, but not fast enough. Aric’s fangs dug into my shoulder. I thought for sure he’d kill me, but at the sound of my screams he released me and kept his jaws from clamping down.

He backed away, stopping suddenly when his light brown eyes fixed on me. His stare softened and he whined, his attention bouncing from my face to my damaged shoulder.

I rolled onto my knees, watching him. Tears filled my eyes as he continued to whine. He wasn’t attacking. He wasn’t aggressive. He was simply sorry for hurting me.

Aric knew me. By some miracle, he’d recognized who I was.

I reached to touch his face. “It’s okay, love. I know you didn’t mean it.”

Aric sniffed my hand and wagged his tail, then slowly leaned forward to lick my wound. It tickled a little and made me laugh. He stopped and cocked his head to the side before continuing until the site was free of blood.

He sat next to me, nuzzling my neck. I stroked his head and absorbed his scent, taking a moment to gather my strength.

Finally, I rose. “Come on. We need to find a place to sleep.”

Instead of following me, Aric collapsed into a massive seizure—the convulsions so violent, they flipped his hulking form in the air. He howled with every brutal strike against the ground. I stood, petrified with fear, watching helplessly until his head slammed with a sickening crunch against a boulder.

I raced to his side when he fell limp. Blood dribbled down his scars from the deep gash on his head, and his jaw hung slack and twisted. He’d broken it, and cracked his skull. For the first time, I began to doubt whether I could save him. I knelt and buried my face in my hands, taking several calming breaths until I erased all thoughts of defeat from my mind.

“No, Aric. You won’t leave me. Not like this.”

I lifted him in a fireman’s carry. My strength made hauling him manageable but awkward. His limbs draped past my ankles, forcing me to drag them along. I tried to avoid stepping on sharp rocks and debris, but wasn’t very successful. The added weight caused tiny shards to embed deep in my soles. I changed into a tigress from the waist down, hoping the thick pads of my paws would provide some cushion.