Chapter 72

• I don’t know whether to feel relieved, proud or devastated because I did that alone. That I pulled some weird power out of my gut and took down a bear with nothing more than air. My heart constricts, my gut twists, and I suddenly have the overwhelming urge to throw up as human emotions kick in and slight shock takes over. I begin to tremble, heart pounding against my chest wall, mind racing over the fact I just had my second ever, real full-on battle with something capable of killing me, and this time, I didn’t almost die at his hands – um, paws. I didn’t need Colton to save me, either. He’d be proud, not that it matters or that I care about what he thinks.
• I push my paws out in front of me, moving to stand on my hind legs and stare at them, unsure how to feel about it. Just gawping at these strange clawed, fur-covered, rather blood-soaked weapons of destruction I never knew I possessed. Of course, I knew I had paws, but these did something weirdly special that I can’t explain. They also look ... whiter?!?! Under the mess, and grime, and red stains, but maybe I never really paid attention to how pale they were before. I was sure they were grayer when I first turned.
• I try to muster that sensation again, that physical veil thing that I could touch, and hold, and see, but nothing happens, no matter how many weird grunts and noises and odd faces I pull, and I shake my hands away, feeling stupid for not knowing how to control something I can do. My legs shake, and I can already feel my energy waning and signaling I’ll return to human form soon if I don’t hurry. I don’t know if I could do this as a person, and I’m not ready to forget it.