32. Emily
I was running.
No, that wasn’t it. There were no feet below me, and my limbs didn’t swing as I moved.
Was… was I flying?
All I saw was endless green grass below and infinite night sky above, ink-dark organza stretched across the technicolor marvel of space. I was a part of it but separate, seeking a connection I didn’t understand and didn’t know was even possible.
“Come on, breathe!”
Breathe? I was breathing. It rasped ice-cold and spiked in my throat, fighting me at the same time that it urged me to keep going, to reach the destination I couldn’t name.
“You can do it! I know you can! Breathe, dammit !”
Ow.
Something hurt. I pushed it out of my mind and locked my gaze on the never-ending horizon, the vibrant fuchsia slowly bleeding into the lavender of dusk, then the velvet absolution of twilight. That was where I was meant to be. That was where ? —
Ow!
There it was again, that thump and the sharp crunch that made the entire world freeze around me. I was no longer running. Instead, I was frozen in place, locked out of whatever progress I’d made.
I tried to pull free, to get back to my own manifest destiny of conquering the distance, but then everything sank out from under me like kaleidoscopic sand within an hourglass, and then I was falling.
Only to land right into my body!
“Come on, come on!”
Suddenly, there were lips on my own and hot hair pushed into my mouth. I coughed, pushing weakly at the weight on me. It jerked backwards.
“You’re awake! Thank God!”
I was?
I tried to draw in a breath, only to have that air instantly stolen by an awful pain in my sternum. That caused a cough, which made the intense feeling turn into outright agony!
“Hey, hey, try to slow down there. I think I broke one of your ribs, but you’d stopped breathing, and I knew I had to do whatever I needed to get you back.”
I stared blearily at the man, trying to understand his words.
“Are you with me? I know you’re hurting right now, but it’ll heal fast, I promise. Or at least it will once you shift.”
Shift? He knew what I was. I tried to formulate some questions, but my brain felt like the world’s saltiest jelly. Why had I even needed CPR in the first place? Had… was I dying?
As I wearily turned my head from one side to the other, I realized my vision was increasingly blurry instead of clearing up. I barely heard anything over the rushing in my ears. All of my muscles were winding tighter and tighter.
I groaned, rolled onto my side, and retched a couple of times, but nothing came up. Each surge of my abdomen made the stabbing pain in my middle hurt more, like the broken rib the man had…
The man!
My eyes shot open. I looked back at the person whose mouth had just been on my own. I couldn’t make out much about his features other than his dark hair. Who was he, and how did he know I was about to shift?
Speaking of which… why hadn’t I shifted yet?
I hadn’t wanted to, I knew that much. I was so upset about what happened at the café and the knowledge that Caleb may have stolen from me, and I simply didn’t want to be some wild animal. How could I, when I didn’t even know if I trusted the one person I was supposed to?
What happened after that was spotty. I called Caleb, but I couldn’t remember what was said. I ran, but I didn’t know where, and then I lost consciousness, but how? That felt like something that should stick out in my mind.
“Speaking of which, where’s your guardian? Not to be nosy, but out of all the first-time shifters I’ve ever met, you smell the most like one.”
My guardian…
Caleb…
Before I knew what happened, big tears welled up. Everything was a mess, and I was just in so much pain. I wanted it all to stop, to get a break from the relentless onslaught, and also… I wanted Caleb to hold my hand.
The thought of our fingers interlaced with each other while I listened to his deep breaths only made more tears bubble up. The man kneeling at my side awkwardly patted my shoulder.
“Hey, um, I’m sensing things have happened beyond my pay grade, but if you need someone to help you shift, I can walk you through it.”
That stopped my crying. I blinked until my vision was clearer. “Pardon?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna be on the other side of those bars for my own safety, but I’ll help coach you when you’re human and distract you when you’re more of a wolf.”
“Bars?”
I swiveled my head around as best I could and finally took in my surroundings. It looked like a supply closet or a basement, and I was lying in the caged-off section. All around me were tall shelves filled with important-looking equipment and larger cleaning machines. Outside of the cage were even more shelves filled with sheets upon sheets upon sheets, then a bunch of comforter sets. Further on, I saw what looked like an entire line of industrial washers. The entire room smelled heavily of laundry and exhaust.
The entire scene was so incongruent that my mind got stuck on it for several beats. I must have looked like such a moron, but I didn’t care. The past several days had thrown me through quite the loop already, and I had a feeling it was just starting.
“Do you need more blankets?” the man asked again, sounding genuinely concerned. “I tried to make you a nice nest, but it’s not my thing.”
A… nest?
That’s when I realized I wasn’t lying on the cold concrete floor but was nestled in a meticulously arranged pile of blankets and sheets. That was nice of him. I still had no idea who this man was, and why he’d taken it upon himself to help a random first-time shifter, but I hoped that, just maybe, he was a Good Samaritan.
Of course, I didn’t trust that hope entirely. How could I, with all the experiences I’d had before my first shift? As far as I was concerned, I couldn’t trust any man, shifter or otherwise.
“I… I think I’m good,” I rasped. “Actually, could I have some water?”
“Oh yeah, sure!” He stepped out of the cage and pulled a thermos from a pile of supplies that looked like they belonged to someone going for a long run. “You can drink it all, and it’s good if you do, but please take small sips. If you chug this, you’ll just make yourself sick and throw it up, which will dehydrate you further.” His expression was incredibly serious as he handed it over, the charming playfulness of his earlier words gone. “Trust me, you don’t wanna be dehydrated going through your first shift.”
Noted.
“Thanks,” I managed to get out before opening the thermos and taking a slow sip. As soon as the cool, refreshing water hit my tongue, it was incredibly tempting to just guzzle the entire thing down.
“How are you feeling? I imagine it won’t be long now, once you stop fighting it. I don’t need to tell you why it’s bad to fight off a shift, right?”
I nodded slowly, a tactic to help me slow down on the water. Had I ever tasted anything so delicious? “Yeah, Cal… my guardian warned me.”
I couldn’t recall all of the details at the moment, but I knew that fighting a shift was bad, like lethally bad. But I was still so angry, and so tired of having things out of my control. The temptation to keep being obstinate bubbled up inside me. Regardless, I wanted to live more than be stubborn.
I also couldn’t imagine what life after my shift would be like. Could I even be a doctor? I’d always assumed I’d go back to my family, but what if I couldn’t? What if I didn’t have that control?
For the billionth time, my mind was flooded with questions I didn’t have answers to. In the short time that Caleb and I were on good terms, I’d gotten used to asking him anything and always getting an answer.
Where was he?
Was he looking for me? I knew I’d called him but hadn’t asked for help. In fact, I’d told him off. Would he decide I was way more trouble than I was worth and cut his losses?
That didn’t seem like Caleb, but I’d also thought he wasn’t the type to lie or steal from me, so I wasn’t the best judge of character. Especially after Gavin.
“Good. I’m glad he did that much. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but he should be here.”
I didn’t know, either, so why should a random stranger? Even if he was potentially kind.
Or a kidnapper.
“I know,” was all I said before it started again. The pain was constant, the swells of it surging forward like contractions pulling me back under the dark, crashing surface of agony. The up-and-down was nauseating. I wanted to close my eyes and pretend nothing was happening, but this was far too intense to ignore.
“This isn’t an ideal situation, but I want to make sure you understand. Your heart has stopped twice. I kickstarted it when I found you and got you here, where you could shift in safety, but it took a whole lot to get you back the second time. I don’t think you’re gonna get a third chance.”
That brought on the tears again.
“Hey, hey, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it that way,” the man said quickly. “I’m not exactly trained in how to do this. Is there a reason you’re fighting it?”
How did I articulate that complicated mess when my tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth, my mind still so frayed around the edges? I couldn’t, so I just didn’t.
“Right. Okay. Well, I’ll tell you what my guardian said. The pain you feel is fleeting and natural. It’ll hurt in the moment, but let it pass right over you, and when you get scared, just close your eyes and listen to your instincts. ”
The words may have come out of a stranger’s mouth, but I only heard Caleb’s voice from when I’d chosen to take my life by the reins and experience something I’d wanted for a long time, too scared otherwise to just reach out and grab it. For a fleeting moment, it was like he was in the room with me, and I calmed down ever so slightly.
It must’ve affected my scent or posture because the stranger looked encouraged. “Yes, exactly like that! Your instincts want you to live, want you to thrive. You just gotta listen to them.”
Just listen to them…
I closed my eyes and imagined it wasn’t him speaking to me, that he wasn’t closing the grated, barred door, then locking it. It was all just Caleb, except he’d locked himself in the protected storage room with me.
God, I wished everything worked out differently. But, as with much of my life, I wasn’t owed any peace.
That bit of self-pity was fleeting, quickly pushed out by the sensation of my first shift coming ever closer. This time, instead of gritting my teeth and pushing it as far away as I could, I loosened my muscles and let it wash over me.
Ow, ow, ow!
At least, I was trying to let it wash over me. I had a high pain tolerance, having had harsh cycles since puberty, but I was rapidly hurtling towards my limit. It was instinct to try and resist it, to pull away from the pain, but I knew that was the wrong thing to do. I just had to endure, and then it would get better—or at least I hoped so. If it just kept on escalating, I might crack.
I played Caleb’s words back as I tried to settle myself, body part by body part. I could do this. Surely, if I just kept breathing, I’d make it through to the other side. I had to inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Keep doing that without giving up.
“There you are!” the man urged me on. “You’re doing great! I can smell your scent changing. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. You’re almost there. It’s getting better.”
In any other situation, I’d have snapped at him, but at that moment, I didn’t have any control of my mouth. So, I just laid there, reminding myself to breathe, breathe, breathe.
Finally, when I was about to pass out, my heart stopping all over again, something shifted. The irony of that word wasn’t lost on me. A strange keening escaped my mouth, a sound more animalistic than human.
It was happening.
“Yes! Keep going! You’re doing incredible!”
Everything completely enveloped my mind all at once. I was growing, rapidly becoming taller, yet it felt like I was shrinking into myself. My joints were turning and bending without my input, throwing me upwards like I was on my hands and knees, except those limbs were rapidly disappearing in front of me, thick fur rolling out in waves to cover them as they shrank.
It was body horror—there was no way around it. Snapping. Popping. My head rushed, my temperature spiked, and my nose grew longer and longer within my vision before my brain adjusted and erased it from perception. I screamed, but it wasn’t screams that escaped my mouth, just awful noises that no doubt would haunt my nightmares for years to come.
It was an academy of biological chaos, a symphony of discordant movement and change. My stomach roiled, my eyes burned, and it felt like my blood was boiling in my veins. Caleb was not kidding when he said it was painful. It was by far the worst, most all-consuming agony I’d ever experienced.
Then it was over.
It ended so quickly, like somebody flipping a light switch. One moment, I felt like I was being drawn and quartered by my own internal functions. The next, I was just... there.
What the absolute fuck?
I stood there a moment and caught up with everything that’d just happened. I’d gone through a profound metamorphosis, and even though it was one I’d been told about, and dreaded for so long, it was still nothing like what I had envisioned. I didn’t think it was possible to even try and imagine what it was like, and for the better. If I’d known ahead of time, I’d have been too intimidated to even attempt it.
I tried to take stock of the situation, but I felt blindsided by just how intense everything was. Before, my vision had already been blurry due to my glasses falling off somewhere during my frantic run, and that’d only been worsened by my dire condition. But now? Everything was in vivid Technicolor, refined and sharp in a way I’d never experienced.
Oh. I supposed that wasn’t the worst thing.
But as soon as I noticed my vision, all the smells hit me. It was beautiful and nauseating at the same time, nearly searing my nose with the sheer volume of everything I was picking up. Gasoline and diesel from cars. Exhaust. The smell of tar—weak from the cold, but still there. Dust. Street vendors selling mouthwatering gyros a block or two down the road. Ice cream. A BBQ. Was someone crying?
Plus… a whole lot of sex.
Naturally, I gagged. A normal reaction, but what felt off was the physical process involved. That’s when it hit me that my body was completely different.
I was standing, but not on two feet.
Instincts slammed into me like a wall, and my train of thought went alongside it. You’d think I’d be used to that, given how much it was happening, but I was blindsided. Reason and complete sentences were replaced by… echoes of feelings.
Hunger.
Thirst.
HuNgEr!
Blood. Teeth. Danger? Danger!
Where was den? I should be in den. I was too vulnerable. Too exposed.
HUNGER???
A growl escaped, startling me. Yet, at the same time, it felt so right.
Then there was the rumble of my stomach. I needed to sink my teeth into flesh, to rip and tear. I wanted blood all over my tongue. I…
I wasn’t alone.
My head jerked in the direction of the other heartbeat I’d picked up, my lips automatically pulling up around my teeth.
“Hey there,” the body said before their words turned into random gibberish. Part of me was vaguely aware he was speaking a language I understood, but that part was small, barely there at all. I was acutely aware he was something I could chase, could hunt , then sink my teeth into.
I took a step towards him, or at least attempted to, but I wobbled so hard that I nearly fell over. I managed to regain my balance without eating total shit, but my legs were still wobbly. It was like they’d disconnected from me, moving in an unnatural rhythm.
I supposed that tracked, given I now had four limbs, but it was frustrating for whatever primordial force had taken over. How was it supposed to hunt? Running was the most natural thing in the world, but I didn’t even have the walking part down yet.
“Wow, look at you. You are a pretty thing, aren’t you?”
Pretty? What did pretty matter? What mattered was food. The hunt. Blood on my teeth and in my fur.
“I fi… you’re pwekky hun… ght?… orry, Isom… way.”
Once more, there was that strange sensation where I should’ve understood the words and couldn’t. They were just random noises my brain filtered out. There was only room for thoughts of sinking my teeth into my prey and ripping it apart to sustain myself.
I stalked closer, each step adding a little more certainty to my new body. Bit by bit, it all felt more natural. More me. Like I’d always been the beast, and everything that came before was just a perversion of what I was meant to be.
Finally, after what seemed like a dog’s age but only took a few minutes, my nose pressed against the thick enclosure. I had to take a deep breath, taking in the scent in a way I never had before. I could pick out the rust, the notes of different metal, the smells of oil and dampness. Once more, the assault was overwhelming. And managed to distract me from eating the only living thing in my vicinity.
That distraction lasted a minute at max, but it was enough because a knock sounded on the far side of the room, somewhere beyond the shelves blocking my view.
“Oh, that’s for us! Well, for you, but I don’t even know if you can understand me now, so I’ll just be right back.”
I growled, baring my teeth as I remembered there was prey. I surged forward, my chest slamming into the grating, and I was pleased when I felt it slightly give.
“Did you have any trouble getting this down here?”
“It wasn’t exactly easy, but also not the craziest thing I’ve done for pack.”
“Thanks a million. This one has some serious bloodlust, I can already tell. This will help a lot.”
Faint voices drifted my way, and though my wolf could care less about the sounds prey made before their deaths, the tiniest part of my brain knew what they were saying was important. I tried to listen, I did, but it was like overhearing a conversation while underwater and intoxicated. I was certain they were talking about me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“You sure you’re okay handling this on your own?”
“I’m sure, but you have informed Tayen of what’s going on, right?”
That was when I smelled the blood , thick, heady, and still warm. I salivated, and my attention shifted from fighting my way out of the grates to discerning exactly where that delicious smell came from.
“I had Prescott run the message to him. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got orders before you even managed to get home.”
“Fine by me. I’ll keep her safe, make sure she doesn’t hurt anybody.”
“Alright. Call any of us if you need help.”
“Will do.”
There was a sound of the door closing, then the set of heartbeats turned to just one. But that delicious, intoxicating scent didn’t fade. Instead, it only grew as footsteps approached, becoming tangible once my prey stepped back into view.
“Got you a snack! Bon appetit !”
Except it wasn’t the prey that was bleeding, or at least not the two-legged one. Instead, there was a carcass over his shoulder.
“Thought you’d like that. Well, nobody can say I’m not a good host. Alley-oop!”
With that, he plucked the carcass off his shoulders and gave it a good swing, tossing it over the top of the grating. It landed graciously in front of me, limbs akimbo.
I had food.
I dug in with abandonment, teeth dashing, claws slashing, making a real mess of it. I reveled in my birthright, swallowing down viscera and meat alike. It was freeing, and the most delicious meal that I ever had. Nothing was ever as satisfying as the warm, red liquid spilling across my tongue.
Time became strange after that, my entire world narrowed down to just the successful hunt in front of me.
Because, for the moment, the wolf was content. Happy, even.
A girl could get used to this.
Before I knew it, my belly felt full to bursting and my mouth was deliciously salty. I felt warm and satiated through and through.
“Eh, nothing like a first hunt, right?”
My head tilted slightly towards my previous prey, the one that had brought me food, but he wasn’t worth the effort of a full turn. In fact, I decided he wasn’t worth any effort at all and plopped my ass right on the floor.
Sitting wasn’t enough. With a belly so full, I needed a nap. A real nap. I flopped onto my side, expecting the coolness of the floor before I remembered the thick pile of linens. Well, how wasn’t I supposed to get comfortable on top of all that?
With an egregious yawn, I settled in and let myself fall deep, deep asleep.
I woke up to a sensation not far from going down a water slide. It felt like my body was randomly, rapidly moving away from itself, and my eyes fluttered open.
My vision was blurry again, which jolted me fully awake, and I jerked into a sitting position. Or I tried to, then I realized my body was changing again. My limbs were shrinking, and my fur was sloughing off, but it all disappeared into smoke, obscuring my vision.
If my limbs cracked when I shifted into a wolf, they creaked when I shifted back into my human form, and it hurt, making me ache all the way down on a molecular level. This wasn’t the same sharp, freakish pain as my first transformation. As it continued, instead of falling deeper and deeper into a primal clamor that swallowed my rational thought, I felt myself coming back for myself, bit by bit.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, I was finally me again. Emily. A human!
Why did my mouth taste so bad?
“Aren’t you looking better? Here, heads up, you’re gonna want this.”
I blinked and looked towards the grating, vaguely remembering I was in some cage. Right, it was the guy who’d told me I had to turn or die. More of my memories from before my shift came to me, though they were hazy.
It wasn’t until a water bottle slapped me right in the chest that I realized the man had tossed me something. Oh, right, I had thumbs now, I could catch… it’d been a wild day.
My fingers felt stiff, even swollen when I fumbled with the bottle, but I managed to get the cap off as the guy unlocked the door between us and stepped in. All I could do was hastily gulp down the water. It was the most delicious thing I’d ever drank, and I was content to speedily down it.
Until the man cleared his throat.
I paused, remembering his warning about sipping. I didn’t want to listen, but I also didn’t want to puke my guts out, so I slowed down.
“How ya feeling?” he said, an easygoing grin across his features.
“I…” How was I feeling? I didn’t know. I drank some water before I spoke again.
“I don’t need my glasses,” I said finally, looking around and realizing my vision had cleared after transforming. It also far surpassed my usual visual acuity before the day started.
“Oh, yeah. Didn’t your parents tell you about that?”
I shook my head, taking yet another drink of water before I answered. “They’re human. They don’t know about any of this stuff.”
First, he looked confused, then disbelieving, but he didn’t challenge me, which was good because I didn’t have the patience for it. Although all of my aches and pains were disappearing, I felt… fatigued, like I’d run a bunch of races the day earlier and now didn’t have enough energy, or the weekend after a killer test. The big demand was over, and now I was just dealing with the slowly diminishing aftereffects.
“Hey, I suppose now that you’re properly yourself, I should introduce myself. My name’s Declan. Declan Bray, but I prefer to go by my last name.”
I let out a dry laugh. “What, like James Bond?”
“Hah! No, I just don’t feel like much of a Declan, but I was named after my Opa, so… you know how it is.”
“I’m adopted.”
“Ah.” He flushed slightly, and I chuckled again. It wasn’t often that I got to pull the adopted card, but it was still entertaining when it hit right. “That’s on me for assuming, then, uh… Miss…?”
“Emily,” I said finally, but I didn’t feel I should disclose my last name. I was grateful to the guy for helping me, but that didn’t mean I trusted him implicitly. I still had no idea of his motives, or even who he was beyond his name. Caleb had indicated there were a lot of dangerous people interested in a first-time shifter. It was a good sign that so far, Bray was keeping his distance and being helpful with my shift, but that didn’t mean everything was copacetic.
Thankfully, I was able to distract him with a question. “How long was I like that?”
“Like what? A wolf?”
“No, a ballerina,” I said much more sharply than usual. I figured he understood I’d just gone through the first shift without my guardian. I was grateful that’d never happen again.
But would a second shift be just as painful? Or would it grow slightly easier and easier until it was as effortless as Caleb’s shifting? I had so many questions, and I wished I could ask my guardian. But I supposed, for the moment, Bray would do.
“Four hours. It’s getting late in the evening. I think you’re good for the night, but I’m not sure about tomorrow.”
“Wait, I’m gonna shift again?” I’d thought the first shift was a one-and-done thing until the next full moon. I hadn’t even considered that. I supposed with the way Caleb had framed the first shift as being such a dangerous and unpredictable time, there would be more than just the one event.
I still felt so vastly underprepared. How had something I’d dreaded for several days still managed to sneak up on me like this?
“It’s impossible to say for sure,” Bray said. “Everybody’s different. There are general trends, but I knew a guy who shifted every two hours for his entire first week. I also knew a girl who was stuck as a wolf for three days, then never shifted again until her next period. But I’d guess because four hours is lengthy for a first shift, you’re good for tonight and tomorrow. However, I wouldn’t bet money on that. Far too risky.”
I couldn’t even go home! If I went to my parents, I’d be a danger to them. Even though I couldn’t recall everything from when I was in my wolf form, I remembered the intense drive to hunt Bray, to chase and tear. I was under no illusion that I could stop myself if it was the middle of the night at Mom and Dad’s, and for that same reason, I couldn’t go to the dorms, either. I could practically imagine the headline. Wild animal decimates college population.
But what other options did I have? Where else could I go? Should I just stay in the cage? I didn’t think it was probable that Bray would be willing to be my guard for multiple days. That was asking a lot of a complete stranger who’d already done so much for me.
“I realize your phone is shot, or got dropped somewhere, but now that you have your head on straighter, do you know your guardian’s number? I’d be more than happy to contact them and wait here until they can pick you up.”
“I…” Was I ready to go back to Caleb? I’d been so angry at him when I was fighting this shift, but now I just wanted to be in his arms. Was that pathetic? If he’d stolen from me, what did that mean for us both?
Ugh. Nothing was ever easy, was it?
“Okay,” I said finally, hating how uncertain I sounded. If Bray noticed it, at least he had the good sense not to say it out loud, because if he did, I’d lose my nerve. After a beat, I recited the number printed out on the note that had led me to meet with Caleb at the bar. I hadn’t even realized how hard I’d memorized it, but it was branded into my brain, as easy to rattle off as my Social Security number.
I found myself holding my breath as Bray dutifully punched in each digit, and despite being several feet away from him, I could hear each ring crystal-clear, as if the phone was pressed to my ear instead of his.
Although things were stressful, I had to admit there were some perks to being a wolf.
We’re sorry. The person you have reached is not available.
This voice message box is full.
Goodbye.
Fuck.
Bray looked at me, and I at him, both of us clearly disappointed by what we heard. The silence held a palpable weight, and I just couldn’t bring myself to ask for any more help even though I obviously needed it.
“Well, then, do you wanna come to my place until we can get a hold of your guardian? I realize wandering off with a stranger isn’t your go-to option, but if your parents are human, it’s not safe for you to go there. I’m assuming they’re not your guardians, given the circumstances.”
“They’re not,” I admitted. “My guardian and I… had a fight.”
God, that was such a lame way to put it, but that was all the information I was willing to give. And the full explanation was far too much to divulge when I still felt so exhausted.
“Could I just stay here?” I asked. “I don’t expect you to stick around the whole time, but show up at mealtime? Drop off some supplies?”
“Uh, I don’t think I can keep all the employees out of this space for several days. On top of that, my little sister needs me around.”
“Alright,” I said, hoping I wasn’t allowing myself to fall into a deeper trap. “Let’s head to your place, if you don’t mind having me.”
The stranger offered his hand and flashed a smile that didn’t look too different from a Disney prince. He wasn’t that much older than me, if he was older at all, yet he came across as far more put-together. Granted, I was a late bloomer, so that part wasn’t my fault.
I took his hand, allowing him to pull me up before I brushed off my now-filthy, worn-out clothes. I didn’t understand where they went when I shifted, but whatever. I had too much else to worry about.
“Oh, I suppose I should let you know this before we go,” he said as I straightened myself out. “But I’m from the Black Hawk Pack. Is that a problem?”
“Problem?” I asked, tilting my head. “Why would it be?”
“Well, you’re not part of my pack, so I assumed you were Lincoln Hills.”
Was there tension between the packs? I thought I remembered Caleb saying something about it at the mall when we had to leave suddenly. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.
“As far as I know, I don’t belong to any pack,” I said.
“That’s a real shame, then,” Bray said as he headed towards the door, motioning for me to follow.
“Why is that?”
“Because we’re wolves, and all wolves need pack to survive.”
Oh.
…but I didn’t think I could do that by lying.