Page 43 of Hart's Redemption

“If I can do it, you can do it.” Tommy’s assurance, while heart-warming, did little for my confidence. The dose I’d received and the one I’d inflicted on him were vastly different. I could still hear my mother’s sick glee as she explained how they’d modified the serum to “lean heavily into lunacy”.

“It’s not quite the same. I’m… I… You…” My words tumbled over each other until I finally gave up. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”

Elijah

I could understand Josh’s reticence, but it didn’t change that this was something that needed to be done. “You won’t know until you try.”

Tommy and Kale nodded in agreement. It took Eric an extra beat, then he added his nod. I knew Eric was nervous about this experiment. I also knew he was still struggling to come to terms with Josh being a Harker, but his being here anyway and lending his support meant the world to me.

Then, in true Eric fashion, he cut through all the uncertainty. “Come on, everyone, to your spots. We’ll reconvene at the clearing half a kilometer north of here once we’re all shifted.”

Without a word, everyone moved to comply. Tommy veered off to the east. Kale shot Josh an encouraging thumbs-up before drifting southeast.

Eric lingered another minute, his gaze shifting between the two of us. “You’re really going to change together?”

Josh’s lip curled, and he took a step closer to me, growling. He didn’t even seem to be aware that he was doing it.

“Easy, moonbeam.” I placed a hand on the back of his neck and gave a gentle squeeze. Eric, at least, had the decency to look abashed.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just…”

I held up a hand to prevent him from putting his tail anymore in his mouth than it already was. “It’s fine, Eric. Go change. We’ll meet you there.”

He nodded and peeled off to the west.

“I… I don’t know what came over me,” Josh stammered.

I pressed a soft kiss to his temple before releasing him. “It’s okay, you’re not used to anyone besides me questioning you or giving you a hard time.”

“You think that’s what it was?” His searching gaze looked far from convinced.

I bit the inside of my cheek. The truth was far more complicated than that, but I didn’t really want to burden him with any other worries before the run. Instead of blatantly lyingto him, I opted to take a page out of his book and avoid the question altogether. “Welcome to running in a pack.”

He scoffed and put some distance between us so he could start his change. “I’ll go first this time.”

“Sure thing, moonbeam.”

He flashed me a brilliant smile, then got situated.

Josh

My optimism that the change might go faster this time proved ill-placed. Distracting thoughts of how the wolf would behave with others running with us, on top of Eric’s questioning Elijah and me changing together, made it damn near impossible to get my head in the right place. I despaired that I’d have to wait for moonrise before I could shift when the sharp pain of the change took hold.

Knowing what to expect in no way mitigated the process, but I did my best to ride the tide of agony with as little resistance as possible. By the time the last echoes of pain subsided, optimism dominated my dread. I took a few moments to gather myself before attempting to stand. The foresight proved worthwhile when my legs didn’t shake nearly as much as they had the last time. I shook out my ruff and glanced over at Elijah to find him starting his transition.

Rather than watch the grueling process, I focused my attention on the surrounding forest to keep watch. His heavy pants became almost completely obscured by the vibrant nightlife surrounding us. My ears twitched at the distant sound of tiny claws scrabbling on tree bark. Crickets singing their nightly tune drifted on the light breeze. Far above, a raven cawed into the midnight sky speckled with stars.

In substantially less time than it had taken me, Elijah stepped up beside me. He rubbed his body along mine and buried the side of his face in my ruff. I leaned into the unusual embrace and let the overwhelming sensation of being loved and accepted wash through me to join the moonlight coursing through my veins. It seemed almost cruelly unfair how few doubts I had in this form when my human one was plagued with them.

Together, we made our way slowly toward the designated clearing. When we arrived, Kale and Tommy were play-wrestling, tumbling in the grass and nipping at each other while Eric sat to the side and chuffed his amusement.

Elijah gave a short bark. The brothers fell apart in an ungainly tangle of limbs, and I huffed a laugh. Eric stood and made his way over, followed by the other two.

I caught Tommy’s eye and cocked my head ever so slightly to the side. His tail gave a brief wag before falling still. He bumped his brother, and Kale seemed on board. Meanwhile, Elijah appeared to be holding court with Eric and debating what to do next. I took the decision totally out of their paws when I took off heading due east towards the rising moon. Tommy and Kale fell in step behind me as if they were one wolf, and all three of us slipped into the underbrush with barely a whisper.

A distant bark that sounded suspiciously like a curse reached my ears. I huffed another laugh and glanced over my shoulder to see humor dancing equally in the other two’s eyes. As one, we angled south and circled back around to flank our stragglers.

In hardly any time, the sound of Eric and Elijah crashing through the forest was in front of us. Tommy and Kale peeled off in opposite directions with no guidance, and I pushed straight on, adding more speed with each step. A hole in the foliage ahead revealed that Elijah had gone stock-still, his eyes scanning the treeline while his ears swiveled to catch the smallest sound.He was staring at where I’d emerge when the crack of a twig on his left tore his gaze away.