"Okay." I stood up slowly, my legs protesting every inch of the way. "Okay. I need to— I need to think. I need to not be in the same room as you for five minutes so I can figure out what the hell is happening."
He whined, starting to rise.
"No. Stay." I pointed at the floor like I was talking to a dog, then immediately felt weird about it. "Just... stay here. I'm going to go... somewhere. The bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom."
He huffed — an indignant sound that clearly communicated his feelings about being told to stay — but he settled back down, eyes tracking me as I moved.
It was comforting when he was a wolf. Now it was just... a lot.
I made it to the bathroom and closed the door, leaning against it with a shaky breath. My reflection stared back at me from the mirror — pa
