Shift in the Balance of Power

LUCIAN

I don’t know when the pain started to knock me out but Liana’s strengthening cries woke me with a jolt.

“Baby, I’m so sorry!” I tell her, looking down at the tears on her cheeks and the sweat on her skin. I pull her slick body back to mine and use every bit of mental strength to let her pain come back to me.

“Sh-share it, Lucian. Don’t take it all.”

“Hush, baby, I got you,” I murmur back through gritted teeth.

“This is not what is meant to happen,” she says.

“I can take it,” I grit out and she sighs. Suddenly, the pain is gone and she starts shaking again. “Liana! Don’t block me out!” I scold, and for some reason this makes her smile.

~“I’ve got this.”~ She looks up into my eyes when I stroke her face and brush away her tears. She frowns for a moment as if suddenly realizing. “Lucian…your eyes…”

Now it’s my turn to frown. Picking up my phone, I swipe to the camera and my eyes widen. They’ve gone a marbled color, a mixture of my pale blue and her beautiful, bright green. They’ve been swirled together like half-mixed cake batter.

“You can see me?” she asks, bringing me back to the moment, and I look right back at her, tossing the phone aside. Taking her face in my hands, I nod, my eyes roving over her features. “Fr-om m-me?” she asks, wincing, and I wince too, just looking at her.

“Let me in, baby. I can’t watch this. It’s why I’m here—to ~help~ you. Please, Liana…we can each manage some of it.”

She nods, a few stray tears rolling from her eyes, and opens herself up to me again, letting me take half of the load away from her. She relaxes a little, and so do I. I need to be able to help her; it’s my job.

“I love you, Liana.”

“I love you too. Thank you.” She shivers a little, and I keep her close to me as best as I can. “I’m sorry, I’m sweating on you,” she mumbles, and I chuckle.

“It only makes you smell better,” I say honestly, and she laughs.

“Yeah, okay.”

Her sarcastic tone makes me laugh again, and I take her hand, placing it over my crotch, which has been hard since I woke up. “Believe me… I don’t lie.”

Her eyes widen, making me smile. It’s so nice to finally see her, it’s like nothing I could ever have imagined. To be able to see every detail whenever I want. She really has given me a gift. “Goddess… You really are so fucking beautiful, baby.”

Taking her face again, I bring my lips to hers and coax them gently, no pressure, just so I can show her my love. Let her feel it, all of it.

“I love you, my queen,” I murmur against her sweet, velvet lips, with a gentle slide of my tongue, just to taste her a little. She just tastes so good. It’s like it calms everything in me, takes all the pain away, and the way she responds tells me it’s working for her too.

“Mmm, this feels ~so~ good,” she murmurs back against me, and it only registers a minute after how different she sounded. I pull back a little and break away, looking down at her.

She’s…changing.

“Liana…” I whisper. Her eyes almost glow as she looks up at me, they’re so bright. She looks more defined, like I can see muscle forming before my eyes, and I move back a little further to take all of her in. Her breathing picks up a little and she looks at me like a starved animal.

Oh Goddess…

She whines a little while stretching her neck, and I can feel my body responding to hers, like my insides are heating up.

How is she doing this?

I groan, feeling the strangest, most sex-fueled shift pulling at my body. It’s like a full moon, but it’s not.

“Liana…what are you doing, baby?” I ask, feeling confused and ridiculously turned on.

“Mmmm. I don’t know…just feels so good,” she practically moans, and I growl in response, trying to control myself, but it’s something in her. It’s calling to my beast.

~“Kia! Open all the doors! Now! And run!”~ I feel him agree and hear the sound of running footsteps downstairs.

~“Sir, what’s happening?!”~ he asks worriedly.

~“I’m not sure. Some kind of forced shift. Everyone needs to stay away from me. I can feel it. Just…keep everyone away from us.”~

~“Y-yes, sir.”~

I can feel his anxiety but push it away. As I stand, I feel myself growing and my form reshaping.

“Baby…if you have any control, try and slow it down,” I plead, fearing I’ll tear into my wolf form any second. She whimpers and nods—and I can see her trying, but it’s not doing anything.

“I have to let go. I have to shift,” she begs. I groan, rolling my shoulders, and nod, trying to calm my breathing.

As I open the door, the handle bends in my hand. What the fuck is happening?!

My own body is sweating like crazy, and her nose lifts into the air, sniffing the scent. Her eyes quickly lock with mine and she growls. Getting onto all fours, she growls deeper, more sensual and alluring. It’s making my wolf claw under my skin in response. It hurts, but with a pain that I’m honestly enjoying. It’s like it’s the fuel to my fire.

I don’t know why but I crouch down and purr back.

~Purr?~

She smiles and spreads her arms wide to let her shift consume her until she’s all wolf.

My wolf tears through my skin from the inside and it’s honestly the most painful shift I’ve ever had, but looking at her—like this? I couldn’t care less.

I don’t feel like me right now, it’s like I’m asleep in the back of my mind. Right here, in the foreground, I’m a complete beast—and from looking at her, I can tell that she is too.

This could either go really well or really badly…