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  I looked into his beautiful chocolate eyes, could see the blood flowing from his shoulder where Connor had dug his fangs into Rafe’s flesh. I nodded. “Yes, Rafe. I love you.”

  He pulled me close, held me tightly, and kissed me. I concentrated on the strength in his arms, the power of his kiss. It was what I needed to distract me. The pain began to recede, like waves that had washed up on the shore. It had seemed so powerful, so overwhelming, but now it was easing away and all that surrounded me was Rafe—Rafe and whatever he might feel for me.

  He’d fought for me. It was something the ancients had done, but as far as I knew no one had done it in modern times. I was overwhelmed that he would risk so much for me, overwhelmed that Connor had answered the call to fight—and then walked away. I didn’t have time to think about that or what it might mean.

  All I could think about was Rafe and all the strange sensations running through me, as though my blood now contained a thousand glittering stars. Rafe deepened the kiss. I was tingling all over with a sensation that seemed caught between pleasure and pain, and then I felt as though I’d been harboring fireworks that suddenly burst through me….

  Rafe was no longer kissing me, but was nuzzling his cold nose against mine. He was a wolf.

  And so was I.

  I glanced down. I was just as I’d always thought I’d be. A beautiful white, like the Arctic wolf.

  You’re so pretty.

  The words popped into my head, and I realized they weren’t my thoughts. They were Rafe’s.

  I can hear your thoughts.

  If wolves could grin, he was grinning.

  Forgive me for challenging Connor, but I couldn’t give you up that easily, not without a fight.

  You could have been killed.

  I’m not usually one for corny thoughts, but if I couldn’t be your mate, I didn’t care what happened.

  Don’t ever do that again.

  I won’t.

  I glanced around. Where’s Connor? He’ll always be my friend. I should go to him.

  Trust me. He’ll want to be alone for now. You can find him later. He nuzzled my throat. I want to show you the world through the eyes of a wolf.

  He started to lope away, and I rushed after him. It was strange that my heart no longer had any doubts. It seemed silly now that I hadn’t known my own heart’s desire.

  Rafe was the one. The one I loved deeply, the one I wanted with me through all the challenges in my life. I knew that now, could feel it just as I felt my own heart pumping throughout my wolf’s body.

  We climbed to a spot on the mountain where we could look out over the national forest and up into the vast expanse of sky. In the shape of a wolf, I felt a stronger connection to it all, as though I were more attuned to nature.

  Part of me was sad that Connor wasn’t here with me. He’d been with me through so many important moments—but now I understood that I was never meant to share this moment with Connor. It was Rafe’s moment. It had always been his.

  I looked over at Rafe. I love you.

  In the silence of the night, I heard his answer.

  I love you, too.

  NINETEEN

  I can’t explain what it’s like to take another form. On the one hand, everything is totally different: the way I move, the way I think, the way I perceive the world. On the other hand, none of it is strange. It’s still me.

  After what must have been hours but seemed like only minutes, Rafe and I returned to the clearing. I closed my eyes and imagined myself as I’d always been—even though I’d never again be what I was before the wonder of this transformation. But I saw myself as a girl. I felt a tingling, like an electrical current, running through me—and when I opened my eyes, I was once again in human form. Reaching down, I picked up the robe I’d been wearing before the change and draped it over my shoulders.

  Looking around, I saw Rafe coming out of the forest. Wearing his jeans, he held his shirt in one hand and his shoes in the other.

  Suddenly I felt more exhausted than I’d thought possible. I swayed. Immediately he was beside me, wrapping his arm around me, drawing me up against his side. I felt a soul-deep connection with him that I’d never experienced with Connor. Part of me was sad, hoping that my childhood friend would be okay. A part of me even missed him. But most of me was still just blown away by all that had happened on this night. I finally knew who my true mate was. I rested my head in the curve of his shoulder.

  “It can wear you out the first time,” Rafe said quietly, pressing a kiss against my temple.

  “Only the first time?”

  “It gets easier.”

  With my first transformation, I had finished healing. The gash on my leg and the hole in my shoulder were both gone, having left behind only minimal scars. The wounds Rafe had received tonight, the result of a Shifter bite, were slower to heal but weren’t life threatening; they’d leave scars, but then, I had a couple as well. And I have to admit it: I thought his scars were sexy because they were a testament to what he had been willing to give up for me.

  He led me toward the cavern behind the waterfall. Once inside, he released his hold on me, tossed his shirt and shoes to the side, and began preparing a place for us to sleep. I sank down onto the ground and drew my legs up beneath me. I watched as he worked, arranging only one pallet. Tonight there was no question that we would sleep together. For the first time it would be without guilt, without feeling as though I were betraying Connor.

  I’d made my choice—and by leaving, he’d accepted it.

  I thought about putting on my clothes, but my skin was still incredibly sensitive. I remembered how my mother always wore silk; perhaps this increased sensitivity was a side effect.

  I shoved myself to my feet. “Let me help.”

  Crouching beside the mound of blankets and pillows, he looked up at me. I thought I’d never grow tired of gazing into his warm, brown eyes, seeing the tenderness there that he felt for me. “No. This is part of the ritual.”

  Suddenly I was a little nervous. Girls always talked about the transformation and being with their mates, but they never really talked about what came after. I knelt opposite him. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Back in the old days this would be the first night that a couple would sleep together.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Mating 101.”

  I laughed, and some of the tension eased.

  “Hey, I’m not kidding,” he said, his voice serious, his smile warm. “The elders make us sit through a lecture on how we’re supposed to treat our mates.”

  I dropped my head back and groaned. “Brittany is so right. We’re totally archaic.”

  My stomach tightened as I thought about her. I shifted my attention to the waterfall.

  “She’ll be all right,” Rafe said.

  I wasn’t so sure. “If I’d made the right choice earlier, Connor might have been with her.” Had my indecision killed her?

  “No, he wouldn’t have. And knowing Brittany, she wouldn’t have taken a castoff.”

  “I think she would have taken him. She…well, I think she loves him. Or at least she thinks she does. I mean, how can you ever really know until you’ve spent time alone with a person?”

  “Then maybe they’ll hook up after tonight.”

  If she survived…

  She had to. She had to be okay.

  Sitting on the blankets, Rafe moved closer to me and skimmed his fingers along my cheek. “She’ll be okay. She’s been preparing for tonight—working out, eating right. She’s in great shape. She’ll handle the change just fine.”

  He was right. I had to believe that. I didn’t want anything to ruin our first night together as mates. I shoved all thoughts of Bio-Chrome and Brittany and the outside world to the farthest corners of my mind. Tonight was mine—mine and Rafe’s.

  He swept in for a kiss, and I stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. “You can read my mind,” I said. “When you’re not in wolf form.”

&nbs