Chapter 12

**Chase**


Nova falls to the floor with a cry. Her whole body shakes and spasms causing her to scream more.

"Nova! What is it?" I know it's a dumb question but I'm lost.

I'm kneeling next to her trying to get a grip on what's happening, but I'm too scared to touch her in case that makes it worse.

I should call one of the other guys to see if they know what's happening but we haven't thought of exchanging numbers yet. We are going to discuss that later.

"What can I do sweetheart?" I beg her but she starts to whimper.

Her eyes lock on mine and watch them shift from golden yellow to blood red over and over.

"Shit," I say to myself.

That isn't the only thing changing either. When she opens her mouth to cry out again I watch all her teeth start to lengthen. Her back bends back in an unnatural way which gives me the answer I need.

She's shifting. That has to be it.

"Okay sweetheart. Just try and breathe and let your body take over." I tell her but I don't know if that's the right thing to say or not.

The front door flies open suddenly making me jump to my feet ready to defend my mate. Asher storms over to our mate and looks her over.

"Is she shifting?" I ask him. "Is she supposed to be able to shift?"

I know he can't answer that any more than I can, but this looks way too painful.

"How long has she been like this?" He asks just as Nova screams again.

She's thrashing around now.

I watch as another sound of cracking bones echoes through the room and Asher is standing there in his huge wolf form. He moves closer to Nova and nudges her with his nose.

A cloud of purple-grey smoke appears near the couch and Eli steps out followed by Charles. Their eyes lock onto our mate right away.

"What's happened?" Eli asks rushing over and kneeling next to her.

"I don't know. She freaked out when she accidentally knicked me when we were kissing. Then she started screaming and fell onto the floor. Her eyes have been flickering between yellow and red, and her teeth have elongated. It seemed like she was shifting but it's been happening for too long. Asher shifted within seconds." I explain.

"It's possible her body doesn't have the ability to shift properly since she is not fully wolf." Charles musses.

"So what the hell do we do?" I ask him impatiently.

The asshole looks far too calm.

"Charles!" I yell but he seems lost in the depths of his mind while the rest of us watch our mate in horror.

"Move." He says suddenly.

Asher's wolf growls at him but one look from Charles has him stepping away. I guess the wolf knows a dangerous creature when he sees one, or he's too worried about Nova to let his protective instincts get in the way.

Charles steps beside Nova and lifts his hands in front of him. His hands move in an odd motion and purple flames appear in front of him in the shape of odd pictures.

"What the fuck?" I say under my breath.

He draws the same symbols two more times until they are almost too bright to look at then throws his arm in the direction of Nova. Her eyes go wide for a split second before her whole body goes limp. Charles stumbles back and catches himself on the back of the couch. He's breathing hard and looks at the point of collapse himself, but I forget about him and turn to check on Nova.

Asher is in human form again and is holding onto Nova's limp hand while Eli pulls her up against his chest.

"Charles! What did you do? Is she dead?" I shove him hard and to my surprise he lets me.

For some reason his not fighting back only makes me more furious. I grab him by his collar and shake him, but he has that far-off look again.

"She is not dead. She is asleep." Eli says softly.

I release Charles and move over to crouch next to Nova. Her chest is lighting slowly and I blow out a relieved breath before standing to face Charles again.

"What did you do to her?" I ask a little calmer this time.

"I put her into a coma of sorts. To stop her body from pushing her toward shifting." He says before groaning and stumbling toward one of the chairs.

He slumps into it and drops his head back.

"A coma? How is that going to keep her from shifting? Isn't instinctual?" I ask moving to sit on the couch facing him.

"Yes, but her brain has to be in full control for her instincts to be strong enough to cause the shift." he continues to explain.

"We're going to move her into the bedroom and I'll stay with her," Eli says walking past us and toward the bedroom.

Asher drops into the other chair and runs a hand over his face. "Why didn't she shift? It was clear that's what was happening but it shouldn't have taken that long. Even for pups it only takes a few seconds."

Charles pushes himself up until he is sitting straight back and proper again. "My guess is that she is not able to shift, but the part of her DNA that is wolf shifter was trying to push her into a shift. She must not contain enough of the DNA to make shifting possible. If we had let her body continue pushing the way it was she could have been killed."

"So how do we stop it from happening again? We can't leave her in a coma for the rest of her life." I point out.

"Indeed we can not, but I think it is safe for the time being to keep her this way until I can better understand what we are dealing with." He let's out a sigh and a shudder of what seems like pain moves along his body.

"Are you hurt?" I ask him.

"I have been using my ability far more in the last day than I have in the past." He answers stiffly.

"I'm surprised you have a limit. You act like a cocky bastard." I chuckle but he gives me an unamused look.

"I do not often get the opportunity to use the full extent of my power which has made me...rusty. With more discipline and practice the effects should eventually be far less severe." And the cocky bastard is back.

"So what do we do now?" Asher asks.

"We need to move forward with our plans. Once we are settled in a more practical home I can bring more of my supplies and books to further my research." Charles pushes himself to his feet and pulls his shoulders back. "What did you find in way of new residence?"

"I didn't have enough time to scout much but I was searching toward the swap areas. There is a large piece of land that's hidden but there isn't a home on it. We would have to build one from scratch." Asher pulls out his phone and shows us a few photos he took.

"How do you carry your phone when you're in wolf form?" I ask randomly.

He gives me an exasperated look but doesn't bother answering.

"We can not ask for the assistance of others if we want to keep our location private," Charles adds.

"We need to pay to buy the land." Asher points out.

"If we pay in cash it may help keep the deal untraceable," Charles says.

"Okay well, I can contact the seller now." Asher stands and starts typing away on his phone.

"Hold up," I say pulling out my phone. "We need to exchange numbers. If I could have contacted you guys sooner Nova would have been in pain for so long."

"I felt her pain, that's what brought me back," Asher says and Charles nods in agreement.

"Still, it would be a good idea for us to have another way to contact each other." I had my phone to Asher first.

He types his number in and hands my phone to Charles. When they both have entered their numbers I send them both a text so they can save my number as well.

"Great, now can I go?" Asher asks.

I give him a shit-eating grin. "Absolutely."

He grumbles a few curses before heading back out of the door.

"You should know better than to aggravate a wolf," Charles warns me but I shrug.

"He's too easy to rile up. Now, if you want to go and get your shit, Eli and I can watch over Nova." I pocket my phone and look at him.

He still looks weak but not as bad as before.

"Alright. Contact me if I am needed sooner." He says before standing and waving his hand in a circular motion.

A purple and black cloud appears and grows before he steps through and disappears.

That shit is weird.