Only Her- ON HOLD

Chapter 35.

Dani's POV

The afternoon went quickly as everyone scurried to prepare. Lo, Sloane and I helped my mother organize the gathering that would happen in just a few hours. We decided to set it up as an easy bar-b-que, allowing opportunities for everyone to interact with one another with ease as others began to look for their mates. Typically someone in the pack would know their mate was near as soon as they became close enough to them for their senses to start picking up their scent. I felt Noah an entire room away from him.

While finding a match with another pack is sometimes a shot in the dark, it's still always refreshing to get to know others from a visiting pack, even if it's just to make new connections. And in this type of setting, it tends to feel more relaxed and natural. It would be strange enough to interact with an entire pack of she-wolves no one knew existed until only recently.

Once the food and set-up was finished, we all sat down to enjoy a cold soda and the girls seemed to collectively be withholding something as they looked at me nervously.

Finally, I placed my drink down and leaned forward, staring each of them in the eyes and asked, "Ok...what is it?"

They each shifted anxiously and finally Lo let out a sigh before the words were forced out. "We were just wondering...what's it like? To be able to shift like the males?"

My brows rose in surprise and I leaned back on my hand and shifted on the bench, thinking on how exactly to put it into words. "Honestly? It's hard to describe. But it feels...powerful. And terrifying." The girls sat forward to listen, and it was then that I realized, they wanted to shift too. "It's like feeling pure magic flowing through every fiber of your body. Like you're coming apart from the inside out to make room for an entirely separate being within you...which sounds awful, and the first time, believe me, it was. But Noah's been helping me, and it has gotten easier."

"I wish all females could shift. It sounds amazing." Sloane said, her eyes wide as she tried to imagine the feeling.

Lo shook her head. "I don't know. It sounds terrible. I don't think I'd like being out of control like that."

I shook my head. "That's just it. The first time I was, because of the full moon. And it was awful at the start. But now that Noah's taught me what to do, I've actually never felt more empowered and in control. I only wish I could've known what would come when that bastard Blake was coming after us."  My lip curled up in renewed agitation at the memory.

Sloane snorted and shook her head. "I wish I could shift just to go after that ass of an Alpha. What a coward."

I shook my head once in agreement. "I'm sure we will get our chance at him sooner or later. He won't stay in the background for long. Of that I'm sure."

"How does Noah feel about having to go against his father and brother?" Lo said, a softness in her words.

I tensed slightly, knowing that moment would be hard for him. "I think he's prepared to do what he has to do to protect his pack and family. But I know it will kill him to have to fight his brother if he has to."

"I can't imagine. I just hope it doesn't come to that." Lo said quietly, her eyes glazing over in thought.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it gently with the best reassuring smile I could muster. "We will be all right. We just have to handle it as it all happens."