Mated

Panic Attack

Chapter Five "Panic Attack"

When Lyric heard the small gasp of shock from her mate, she looked down, and felt panic replace her soul-crushing sorrow. She'd let her emotions run wild and had started to turn without realizing it. She jerked her arm and paw away from him and frantically clawed—with her still human hand—at the door handle. Her panic rose when she found it locked and she couldn't figure out how to open it.

The last time her emotions had gotten so out of control that she'd changed had been terrible and was the absolute last time she'd ever fully turned. It had been after the incident at her kindergarten class. Lyla had been trying to explain to her why she would now be home-schooled and Lyric's five-year-old brain couldn't quite understand why she was in so much trouble. She had ended up having a meltdown of sorts and had shifted into a wolf in their tiny home. The place ended up completely destroyed. Lyla had managed to get out before Lyric injured her and had been forced to lock the young girl inside the home. If she had managed to wreck an entire home as nothing more than a pup, what would happen as an adult in the confines of a vehicle? The thought made her anxiety sky rocket and she started searching for the button that would unlock the door.

"Max, would you pull over?" Kieran asked. His voice was smooth and even, no sign of worry. Didn't he realize what her wolf could do? She could quite possibly kill him and the driver if she didn't get out of here before she lost all control. She jerked when Kieran undid his seat belt and leaned down and began removing her shoes. Was he under the impression that she would allow the change to progress? She tried to pull her feet away from him, but he was persistent and continued working at her shoes. She let out a low growl at him and resumed trying to open the door. Slowly, the vehicle veered to the right and she heard gravel crunch beneath the tires. As soon as the vehicle went into park, the doors unlocked, and she scrambled from the close quarters of the back seat.

"Ow," she hissed when sharp gravel dug into the bare soles of her feet. She hadn't even processed that Kieran had actually managed to get her shoes off of her.

"Lyric!" her mate called after her as she ran.

She had almost made it to the tree line when a strong hand closed around her right arm, just above the elbow. A soft yelp left her as she was turned around and she tried to get her arm free. To her horror, when she looked at her right hand, she saw wolf nails sprouting from her fingers.

"Let go!" she cried.

"Lyric, you need to calm down," Kieran said.

"I'm fucking trying!" she snapped, giving her arm a yank.

"Look at me!" he said firmly. She couldn't help looking into his face. "Now, take a deep breath in through your nose." She did and her eyes fluttered shut. "Smell that? The sweetness of the night air?"

"There's a deer in the woods," she whispered as she inhaled another large lungful of night air.

"Oh?" He took a deep breath. "Hmm . . . Your nose must be more sensitive than mine. I can't pick it up."

It's because I'm starting to change, she realized. The calm that had been settling over her fizzled out and the panic rushed back in. She resumed trying to worm her way from his grasp.

"Lyric," he sighed. "Stop. Just focus on me." She stopped struggling and looked at him. "Do you feel the grass under your feet?" She flexed her toes and nodded. "The coldness of the dew," he went on, "how the grass tickles your feet and ankles. Close your eyes and listen. What do you hear?"