Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Idon't get far before they appear between the trees.
The first one is massive, bigger than any wolf I've ever seen at the Academy, with black fur that seems to absorb the moonlight instead of reflecting it.
Pale eyes that glow slightly in the dark lock onto me and his whole body goes completely still mid-step, every muscle freezing like he's been turned to stone.
We stare at each other for a long moment, wolf to wolf, and I watch his eyes track down my body and settle on my fur.
I can see the exact moment he realizes what color I am because his ears go back flat against his skull and his whole stance shifts into something more alert, more dangerous, more focused.
Knox. I know it's him because I've seen this wolf before, standing outside my window just days ago. The same black fur that absorbs light, the same pale eyes, the same predatory stillness.
Another wolf emerges from a different direction, moving with fluid grace that speaks of a lifetime of being comfortable in this form.
His fur is lighter colored, golden brown with darker patches along his spine, and he's nearly as large as Knox.
He moves like an Alpha even in wolf form, with confidence and authority radiating from every step he takes.
Caspian. His eyes lock onto me immediately and he makes a sound low in his throat that's not quite a growl but definitely not friendly either.
It's a warning sound, questioning, and I can see him assessing me the same way Knox did.
His gaze finds my silver fur and his ears flatten against his skull just like Knox's did.
He takes a step closer and I instinctively back up, my back legs tangling again and nearly sending me sprawling into the snow.
A third wolf appears from yet another direction, smaller than the other two but still larger than I am.
His fur is dark brown, almost black in the shadows, and when he gets close enough I feel the broken bond between us pull tight under my ribs.
The sensation is painful even through the distance and the wolf forms, a sharp tug that makes me want to whine.
Nico.
He takes a step toward me, drawn by the bond whether he wants to be or not, and I bare my teeth without thinking.
The warning is instinctive, my wolf responding to a threat even though my human mind knows he's probably not going to hurt me.
Probably. The teeth-baring works though.
He stops moving, his tail dropping slightly in what might be submission or might just be hesitation.
They form a loose circle around me, three wolves who could tear me apart if they wanted to but are just standing there watching me with expressions I can't quite read on wolf faces. All three of them are staring at my silver fur with shock that's visible even through their wolf forms.
I try to shift back again, desperate now. I focus as hard as I can on my human form, on skin instead of fur, on being the girl I was before this nightmare started.
This time something gives inside me.
The shift back is just as violent as the shift to wolf.
My bones start breaking in reverse and the pain is somehow worse because I know what's coming now.
My spine shortens with a series of cracks that echo through my wolf skull.
Each vertebra compresses back into human shape and I can feel the tail I didn't want retracting back into my tailbone.
The sensation is horrible, like something being pulled back inside my body that was never meant to be there in the first place.
My skull reshapes itself and the pressure is unbearable. My wolf muzzle shortens back into a human face and I can feel my jaw breaking and reforming, my teeth shrinking and losing their sharpness. The change in my skull makes everything spin and I lose my sense of balance completely.
My ribcage contracts. Each rib cracks and bends back into its human shape and for several agonizing seconds I can't breathe at all because my lungs are changing size mid-breath. When air finally comes back it hurts like my chest is too small for my lungs now.
My legs and arms are reforming. My paws are lengthening back into fingers and I can feel each bone snapping back into place, knuckles forming where there were none before.
My wrists crack back into proper human angles.
My legs are changing from four to two and my hips have to reshape to support upright walking instead of running on all fours.
The fur retracts and it's just as painful as when it erupted. I can feel it pulling back into my skin like thousands of needles being yanked out all at once.
I hit the ground hard when the shift finally completes, snow shocking cold against my bare skin.
For a horrible moment I think I'm completely naked because I can feel cold air everywhere my clothes should be protecting me.
But when I can see again, when the shift is finally complete and I'm gasping and shaking on the frozen ground, I realize my clothes are back.
The same sleep shorts and jacket I was wearing before, as if they were never gone at all.
That doesn't make any sense. My clothes should have been destroyed by the shift, shredded by the transformation from human to wolf and back. But they're here, intact. I'm too confused and exhausted and terrified to understand why.
The three wolves have shifted back too, and they're all fully clothed as well. Knox in his usual dark shirt and pants, Caspian in what looks like training gear, Nico in Academy casual wear. All of them staring at me like they've seen something impossible.
Caspian recovers first. He moves toward me and I flinch instinctively even though I know he's not going to hurt me, but he's just helping me sit up when I start to tip sideways from exhaustion. His hands steady me when my arms won't support my weight. "Easy. The first shift is always the worst."
I try to speak but my throat doesn't work right yet. It takes me three attempts before I can form words that sound mostly human instead of animal. "My clothes. They're back. How is that possible?"
"Shifter trait," Knox says from somewhere behind me. "Normally it takes wolves years of practice to bond their clothes to their shift. The fact that your body did it on your very first try proves how powerful your Silverpelt blood is."
That still doesn't make complete sense to me but I'm too exhausted to push for a better explanation right now. My whole body feels like I've been hit by a truck and then run over a few more times for good measure. Everything hurts in ways I didn't know were possible.
Nico is still standing several feet away, and I notice he's being careful to keep his distance even though I can feel the broken bond pulling him closer with every second.
There's something in his expression that looks almost like guilt mixed with wonder, but I'm too wary of him to trust anything I see on his face right now.
He betrayed me once in the worst way possible.
Why wouldn't he do it again? Why isn't he running to tell everyone what I am?
"First shift at eighteen," Caspian says quietly, and there's something like awe mixed with concern in his voice. "This could have killed you."
I want to snap at him that I know that, that I read the books, that I don't need him explaining things to me like I'm stupid when he's the one who destroyed my trust. But I'm too exhausted to fight and my throat hurts too much to raise my voice.
"We need to get you back inside," Caspian says, his tone leaving no room for argument. He's still holding onto me, which is the only thing keeping me upright at this point. "Can you walk?"
"I don't know. Maybe." My legs feel like they're made of something that isn't quite solid anymore.
"Try."
He helps me to my feet and my legs immediately threaten to give out. Caspian's arm goes around my waist, supporting most of my weight. I'm too tired and too scared to be embarrassed about needing help from someone who was trying to break me just days ago.
That's when I hear a new voice cutting through the trees, cold and unfamiliar.
"Well. This is interesting."
All three males go rigid instantly. Caspian moves to position himself between me and whoever just spoke, his whole body shifting into a protective stance that speaks of Alpha instincts taking over.
Knox and Nico flank us immediately without any apparent communication between them, forming a barrier with their bodies that blocks me from view.
A man steps into the clearing, older than us by several decades, dressed in expensive dark clothing that marks him as Council even before he speaks.
His eyes sweep over the scene with practiced assessment, taking in four students who clearly just shifted, the defensive posture of the three males, and me being supported by Caspian because I can barely stand.
"Chase Valemont," he introduces himself with the authority that says he expects us to care. "Council enforcer. I'm here investigating reports of unusual activity at the Academy."
"There's nothing unusual here," Caspian says, and his voice has gone flat and cold like I've never heard from him before.
Even when he was cruel to me, there was heat behind it.
This is something else entirely, something dangerous.
"Just students who shifted during a full moon. We were heading back inside."
"Is that so?" Chase's eyes find me despite Caspian's attempts to block his view completely.
His gaze travels over me slowly, assessing, and I see his eyes narrow slightly when he looks at my hair.
Can he see something? Did some of the silver from my wolf form bleed through to my human form?
I can't tell without a mirror but how he's staring at me makes my skin crawl.
"And who's this?" he asks, taking a step closer to our group.