Unable to help himself, Rudy flinched. Never in a million years had he guessed that his mate would respond quite like that after the mate revelation. Fear slithered through him that his mate was rejecting him out of hand.
“Easy, camel,” Kontra rumbled, rising from his seat. “I’m sure Gary didn’t mean it quite like it sounded.” He settled his hand on Rudy’s neck and rubbed lightly. “I’m sure Gary is just surprised. That’s all.” Turning his attention to Evan, Kontra asked, “What do you think?”
Evan opened his mouth, closed it again, then opened it to say, “Absolutely. There’s still so much explaining to do.” His smile appeared a little uncertain as he asked, “Since you’re standing in the house in camel form, I’m guessing you can’t shift, yet, huh?”
Rudy shook his head slowly, frustration welling up within him.
“I will put in a call to Lark. Perhaps he has news on your bloodwork,” Mutegi stated, heading out of the room. “And I will send in some of the human mates. They seem to be able to explain it best.”
“So glad you called for us.” Payson came strutting into the room, Land on his arm. “Always happy to help.”
“You are not human,” Mutegi muttered with a shake of his head and a roll of his black eyes even as he continued out of the room.
Payson blew a raspberry at the larger shifter’s back before saying, “But my mate is.” Then he claimed the wing-backed chair Kontra had been using, pulling Land onto his lap. “Hey, we should totally get some refreshments,” Payson claimed. “This cool shit is best discussed over fatty comfort foods and alcohol.” Grinning, he asked, “Gary, what’s your pleasure?” With a snicker, Payson continued, “Sorry, camel, I don’t think you should get any beer, although a drunken camel might be fun to watch.”
Rudy grumbled irritably, thinking a beer sounded damn good. Although, truthfully, he had no desire to drink one as a camel. He just needed to shift.
Once again, Rudy reached for his human form. He pictured hands and feet, arms to hold his mate, and his body shuddered. Just when he felt confident he’d managed to start his shift, pain speared through his head, making his vision swim. His legs buckled, and he crashed to the floor hard, causing the floor to shake.
Frustration and anger surged through Rudy, and he groaned, resting his muzzle on the cool wood floor as he tried to catch his breath.
“Hey, hey,” Kontra soothed, kneeling beside him. “Don’t try to force it and hurt yourself, camel.” Evidently, the alpha had realized exactly what Rudy had been trying to do. The big grizzly shifter moved his hand up and began massaging the poll of his neck, right behind his ears. “You’re not alone, camel. We’ll figure this out.”
Grunting in acknowledgment, Rudy breathed deeply for a few minutes. When his head no longer threatened to pound off his shoulders, he looked up and saw Gary staring at him. To his relief—and surprise—Rudy felt certain he saw concern in the man’s pretty pale-green eyes.
“What happened?” Gary asked softly, furrowing his brows. “It, um... is he okay?”
Rudy appreciated that Gary seemed to be trying.
Kontra sighed deeply as he rose to his feet. “The circle of witches that you and Evan knew, well, they weren’t the only ones capturing and exploiting shifters.” He indicated Rudy while moving to a new chair. “We can’t find any evidence of spells forcing them to stay in animal form, like the Crescent Moon Circle used on the bear shifters, so we’re guessing they went the chemical route.”
“Chemical route?” Gary parroted, telling Rudy that the man was probably on mental overload.
Learning about shifters can do that to humans, or so I’ve heard.
Once again, Rudy wished desperately for arms, so he could hold his mate, to soothe him.
To Rudy’s shock, he felt his legs twitch and his skin ripple. Once more, pain burned through his system. That time, however, he did his best to ignore it as he reached for his human form once more.
Rudy felt the change begin even as it felt as if his body was being flayed by fire from the inside out. Shudders racked him, far more intense than anything caused by a normal shift. Doing his best to push through it, Rudy thought of his mate, of running his fingers through his hair, of kissing his full lips, and of caressing his soft-looking skin.
By the time Rudy’s head reshaped, black spots danced across his vision, and he could barely stay conscious. Only needing to know he’d done it, he’d returned to human form, plus the knowledge that his mate waited, kept him focused enough to stay lucid.
When Rudy finally began processing again, he felt a hand rubbing up and down his bare back. There was something warm draped across his butt and legs. The cold of the floor soaked into his front, and it felt so soothing against his overheated, sweaty flesh.
“You with us, man?” Kontra rumbled, and Rudy realized it was the alpha once again kneeling beside him.
Damn. When was the last time you saw an alpha helping a herd member like this?
Rudy couldn’t think of one time... ever.
After Kontra questioned him again, Rudy realized he needed to answer the man.
Except, when Rudy opened his mouth, his throat was dry and hurt so very badly. “W-Water,” he croaked roughly.
“Here.”
Rudy recognized the voice as Sam, a small submissive wolf shifter mated to Eli, the gang’s doctor. Feeling the straw prod at his lips, he accepted it gratefully. Swallowing the first mouthful of cool water hurt, and he realized he must have been screaming as he shifted. Fortunately, the more Rudy drank, the better he felt, and Sam didn’t pull the straw away.
After Rudy stopped drinking, he used his tongue to push the straw from his mouth. He tried to peel open his eyelids, surprised to find them gummy. Rudy realized he might have been crying, too.
Shit. What a horrible first impression to make with my mate.
“Just lie still and catch your breath, buddy,” Kontra urged, massaging the back of his neck lightly.
“I’m going to draw blood, camel shifter,” Eli stated, revealing he was there, too. “Keep relaxed. I want to find out if there are differences to what we drew last week.”
“Okay,” Rudy muttered, too tired to worry about that. Lethargy rolled through him, and he struggled to stay awake. Only the need to see Gary, to see how he was taking the change, kept him from passing out.
The pinch of the needle barely registered, hardly painful at all after the agony of his first shift in... nearly six years.
A moment later, Eli told him, “Okay. I’m done. Just stay down until the trembles in your limbs recede. I can still see them twitching.”
Rudy nodded, feeling what Eli referred to. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so weak.
“Are you okay with me giving you a sponge bath?” Sam asked softly, his warm breath ghosting over Rudy’s ear.
As much as Rudy would have preferred a shower, he couldn’t even guess how long it would take for strength to return to his limbs.
“After that, Kontra can move you to a sofa so you can sit and talk to your mate,” Sam added, as if Rudy needed a little incentive. “I think Yuma and Hunter are getting a couple of the guys together,” Sam continued. “They’re going to put together a meal, and, hopefully, it won’t be too difficult for you to eat.”
Hearing his stomach rumble, Rudy offered a soft chuckle. “Sounds good.”
I’ll figure it out. I’m hungry.
With his permission, Sam began rubbing a warm, damp cloth over Rudy’s back, wiping away the sweat from the most painful shift of his life.
Rudy hesitated a few seconds, then forced his head to tip a little to the side. Ignoring Sam’s ministrations, Rudy sought out Gary. “Hi,” he mumbled once he met his mate’s wide green eyes. Rudy forced a smile, hoping it didn’t appear too tremulous, as he added, “I’m Rudy. Thank you, Gary.”
Gary blinked a couple of times, his expression a range of confusion, disbelief, and even uncertainty. “I, uh... wh-why?” His black brows drew together to be partly hidden by the gold rims of his glasses. “Why are you thanking me?”
Rudy continued to stare at Gary, admiring his handsome features. As much as he wished he had the strength to slide his fingertips over the human’s flushed cheeks, he knew he didn’t. Contenting himself with just staring, Rudy formulated his response.
“I’ve been trapped in my camel form for nearly six years,” Rudy explained, rubbing his fingertips over the hardwood floor in anticipation of touching his mate. “The demons rescued me a couple of weeks ago, and I still hadn’t been able to shift. Every time I tried, there was so much pain.”
“I-I don’t blame you,” Gary whispered. “With the way you s-screamed.” Hunching his shoulders, he shuddered. “If shifting like that hurt so much, I wouldn’t want to do it, either.”
“That’s just it,” Rudy replied. “It doesn’t normally hurt like that. It normally feels pretty good, like a really great stretch after working out or just waking up. A fantastic warm muscle burn,” he told Gary, doing his best to explain when his mate’s features took on a disbelieving look. “But the chemicals making me unable to take on my human form must have been wearing off. I could feel my human form, but I couldn’t achieve the shift due to pain.” Smiling warmly at Gary, Rudy told him, “You gave me a reason to push through that pain.”
“Wh-Why?” Gary asked again, obviously still struggling to believe.
Rudy sighed softly before stating, “You are my mate, Gary. I would endure anything for you.” Not wanting to hear a denial from his human, he hurried to add, “When my strength returns, I hope to have the chance to hold you. To kiss you. But for now, I just wish to talk to you, to learn everything about you.”
Feeling Sam move the blanket off his legs and begin working his way up, Rudy returned his attention to the small wolf shifter. “I think that’s good for now,” he stated. No way was he allowing the other male to wipe any higher than his thighs.
Sam smirked while rolling his eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’m a nurse by profession, so I’ve done it before.” Then he indicated the room full of people. “But I understand your reticence, considering the audience.” As Sam spoke, he picked up a dry cloth and dipped it into a bowl of water. After wringing it, he held it out to Rudy. “Here. You can do your face yourself, then the alpha or someone else can move you.”
Rudy took the cloth, not surprised when his hand trembled a little and his fingers felt stiff and weak. Still, he managed to wipe his face and neck himself. Once he’d given the cloth back to Sam, Rudy remained impassive as Kontra knelt beside him once more.
“All right then,” Kontra rumbled as he eased his arms under Rudy’s pliant, tired body. “Let’s get you situated on that sofa near the fireplace.” Lifting him, Kontra smiled at Gary as he moved past him. “Maybe you’d like to move over here, too, so the pair of you can eat and talk. We’ll keep explaining things, hmm?”
As Kontra placed him on the indicated small sofa, tucking the blanket around his hips, Rudy watched with bated breath, hoping, waiting to see if Gary would join him.