A Promise on White Wings (Wiccan-Were-Bear) by R. E. Butler Page B

bent and kissed him.
    “Come to keep me company?”  He pulled her down into his lap, and she gave a little girly squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck.
    Nuzzling under his chin, she said, “I was wondering if you would watch me shift.  Jes is on a conference call working out a new deal on supplies for the store, and I don’t want to wait.”
    Danika had been practicing using her wings while Jes watched over her.  Although a shifter as well, Chance didn’t know anything about flying or making wings work, but he had been watching her attempts and knew she was doing well so far.  And he’d never turn down anything she requested.
    “Of course, sweetheart.”  He kissed her soundly and then put her on her feet and stood, putting his tools away and walking out of the house with her.  They walked between two houses and into the grassy area between the cul-de-sac and the stand of trees that separated it from the rest of the community.  In spite of the cool afternoon, she wore only a dark green halter top and jeans.  The top left her back bare, which he very much enjoyed.
    Just above the white wings markings on her back were two scar-like lines where her wings appeared.  She turned and faced him, clasping his hands and closing her eyes.
    Her hands tightened against his fractionally, and then the wings spread from her back with a soft rustling sound.  She shivered from head to toe and sighed, opening her eyes.
    “Why do you close your eyes, katja ?”
    Her brows furrowed.  “So I can picture them in my mind.”
    “But what if you’re doing something and you need your wings but you can’t close your eyes?”
    Her mouth opened in surprise.  “Like what?”
    “I don’t know.  Walking a tightrope?”
    He chuckled at her surprised expression and rubbed his thumbs on the tops of her hands before letting go and taking a step back.  “Using tools like visualization is fine for a while, but you can’t rely on it.  You have to be able to use your wings in any and every situation and keeping your eyes open is a good start.  Retract them into your back and try again, eyes open.”
    “It hurts less when my eyes are shut.”
    “No, it doesn’t.  You just think it does.”
    She huffed a little and pressed her lips into a thin line.  He could tell that she wanted to close her eyes as her wings slid into her back again.  Her eyes kept lowering slightly, and he would snap his fingers.  Her eyes would pop back open and she would glare at him.  His little mate was quite the firecracker.
    When her wings had receded completely, he stepped around behind her and kissed the marks where her wings had been.  She turned her head to look at him and he said, “No distractions.  It’s just you and your wings, Danika.  Make them appear.  Keep your eyes open.  I’ll be able to tell if you close them.”
    “How?”  She laughed.
    “Because I’ll know, that’s how,” he said as he tweaked her side with his finger and thumb and listened to her sigh audibly.
    “I’m keeping them open, you big old bossy lion.”
    He grinned.  There was so much to enjoy about his mate.  She was sweet and caring, worrying over him and Jes working too much.  She loved raunchy British comedies and eighties slasher flicks that made her hide her eyes behind her hands as she laughed and screamed.   And when one of the fledglings had cut his thumb on a rose bush, Danika had taken the time to show him how to appreciate the flower without getting injured.
    Chance watched her wings flow from her back and unfold, spreading wide.
    She turned, grinning, and leaned into his arms for a hug.  “That hardly hurt at all.  How did you know it was all in my head?”
    “Because I know that it’s hard to get over that first shifting trauma, and you went through something that most shifters don’t because your body did two different things.  Have you tried to make your claws and fangs come out?”
    Nodding, she grinned.  Her fangs