“No,” Cole breaks in. “I’ve spent seven years wondering. You know what we’re dealing with. And it’ll help you.”
The fact that he puts the most emphasis on that last point squeezes my heart.
I hold out my hand, putting all the confidence I have into my words. “Then let’s bring your magic to life.”
Cole’s lips twitch with something closer to a smile. He removes his own glove, fixes his gaze on the plants standing in front of him, and extends his hand to clasp mine.
The moment our skin touches, a jolt races up my arm. My glim rushes to full force, energy rippling through my body seeking out any tiny weakness it could bolster.
As I suppress my power with long-practiced will, my fingers slip from Cole’s.
His hands plummet right to the floor. His body seizes up in a crouched position, back arching, head tossing.
Even though I’ve seen him go through the transformation before, my gut lurches the way it did the very first time when I wasn’t prepared at all.
His frame expands: torso lengthening and broadening, limbs snapping into new angles. His clothes seem to sink into his flesh amid the coarse, dusk-gray fur sprouting from his skin.
A groan tumbles from his mouth. It reverberates into an inhuman howl as his jaw and nose jut farther out.
The same fur ripples over his face. New, pointed ears poke from the top of his altered head.
A thick plume of a tail lashes through the air from the base of his spine. His sharp evergreen scent wafts over me with a new tang of musk.
I’m standing next to a massive wolf.
In his glim-brought form, Cole’s canine back standsnearly level with my shoulders. A growl vibrates from his chest. His amber eyes survey the room with feral intensity.
I hold perfectly still next to him, keeping my breaths even and my body loose. Not a threat. Not an enemy. Only his mate.
He lunges forward, stretching the muscles now in new configurations. His claws rake the floor and leave gouges in their wake. He lopes toward the cabinets, whirls around, and hurtles toward the other side of the room with a rumble that fills the space.
His head swings around. His eyes glint with another scan of the room.
Either because he’s held on to enough control to follow my instructions or because they’re the only other living objects in the room, the wolf’s gaze fixes on the plants. My stance relaxes even more with a wave of relief.
I planned this well. That first burst of his power will surge out of him, and then?—
Footsteps scrape against the floor outside.
As my pulse hiccups, Cole’s head jerks up. His eyes narrow in the direction of the door. Another growl thunders from his lungs.
The footsteps stop. “Is someone there?”
Fuck. It sounds like a kid. One of the misguided radiators, maybe, sneaking in to do some private worship?
If her imaginary gods existed, I’d say they want her dead.
Heart thudding, I walk over and rest a hand on Cole’s back. So gentle the contact couldn’t possibly be considered a threat.
He doesn’t growl again, but his eyes don’t leave the door.
Will the rest of his power work even if he can’t see her? What if she magics her way in here?
I cast my focus toward the tickle of ephemera around us, compelling a surge of it into a warding spell.
No time for a soft touch. I hurl the effect through the doorway.
Get away. Get away, as quickly as you can.