by Leia Stone
A low growl rose in my throat, and she matched it with a growl of her own. Stepping forward quickly, she forced me to back up until my back slammed against the door.
“Sawyer and I dated for two years. He only broke up with me because the bylaws state you must be single when you enter your mating year. He’s mine, so don’t even think about entertaining this as anything other than a charity case.”
She’d caged me against the door and my wolf did not like it.
“Back. Up.” Fur rippled down my arms, but she didn’t look scared or surprised, she looked … excited.
“Meredith! I thought that was your shrill voice I heard,” Sage called out as she barreled down the hallway.
Meredith, AKA Darth Vader, backed up then and plastered a fake smile on her face. “Sage. Hey, girl!” Her voice held so much fakeness it made me sick. “Just welcoming our new little friend.”
“How sweet of you.” Obvious sarcasm dripped from Sage’s voice. “Brittney is asking for you.”
Meredith gave me one last venomous look and then turned and left with Sage following after her.
Bitch fight averted.
Using my keycard, I slipped into the room, shutting the door behind me as the auto lock clicked into place.
When I looked up at the room, the breath caught in my throat.
I was in a Las Vegas penthouse. At least that’s what this looked like. Travertine floors, fine linens, rich woods, and a huge standing mirror.
“Holy shit,” I whispered as I stepped into the master with an attached bathroom. A huge soaking tub with a rain shower and vanity counter sat along the wall. There was a giant walk-in closet that I would never have enough clothes for. I walked back into the living room and checked out the flat screen TV on the wall in front of a small two-seater couch. This wasn’t a dorm, it was a luxury apartment.
On the coffee table in front of the couch was a small gift basket and note. I picked up the note and scanned it. There was a typed paragraph that was a generic welcome from Sawyer to the mating selection year, but someone had crossed it out with a big X. Along the bottom was written:
I couldn’t let you stay in that place.
Sawyer.
Emotion tightened my throat.
I couldn’t let you stay in that place.
I knew literally nothing about Sawyer, except that he was kind, and I would never forget that. He’d seen a fellow wolf in a bad situation and took pity on me, and I would have to find a nice way to thank him.
In the gift basket was a collection of teas, cookies, and dried fruits. It was sweet, but I couldn’t really focus on it. I needed to call my parents. They were no doubt losing their damn minds.
Holding my phone in my hand … I powered it up.
Sixty-eight missed calls and thirty texts. All the calls were my parents and all the texts were Raven. With a shaky hand, I dialed my mom’s cell.
She picked up on the first ring. “Demi Calloway! Tell me this is a prank.”
I gulped. “No mom. I’m at Sterling Hill—”
“Demi!” my dad yelled—I was clearly on speaker phone. “You left without telling us?”
I was quiet for a moment. I never thought they would be mad … all they ever talked about was how much easier life would be if we were back in Werewolf City. Now I had my chance.
“I had sixty seconds to decide. I thought you would want this for me.”
Two heavy sighs reached through the phone and into my heart.
“We are,” my mom said. “We do, hun.”
“We just never expected it,” my father cut in. “We assumed our banishment extended to you, forever.”
I blew air out through my lips. “Maybe it did … I dunno, but then I met the alpha’s son, Sawyer, at Delphi, and … a few hours later I was being invited here. Now I have a room, and everything is paid for and it’s crazy.”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“I know … I was a mating year girl too. It’s nice, they give you a nice life.” Her voice sounded hollow. Why did she sound sad? OMG did she almost marry Sawyer’s dad?
“What happened?” I asked her. “Did you and the alpha…?”
“No. I never even made the top twenty.” She laughed nervously but it didn’t sound real.
“Mom?”
“Yes, hun?”
“Why did you and dad get banished? You made this place sound awful, but it doesn’t seem so bad.”
I was afraid I was going to hear about it from someone like Meredith, and I wanted to hear it from them instead. I’d asked a handful of times over the past decade and always got the same answer.
Silence.
“Tell her.” My father’s voice was low.
“No, dammit,” she growled at my father, and chills ran the length of my arms. It must be worse than I thought; they never argued.
“Mom. I’m twenty one, I’m not a kid anymore.” Whatever it was, I deserved to hear it from my own parents.
She sighed. “I can’t. I’m not ready.”
Holy shit … this whole time I’d been told we were banished because of something my father did, but now I wondered if it was in fact my mother.
My hands shook. “Mom, you’re scaring me.”
“I’ll tell you when I’m ready,” she said. “Your father and I are surprised, but happy for you. Even if Sawyer doesn’t pick you, you’ll get a top-notch education, a great job upon graduation, and a nice house in Werewolf City. It’s great news … we’re just shocked is all.”
I knew she was trying to steer things away from talking about her, so I let her. “How many window washers does this place have?” I went for humor and was rewarded with her laughter, followed by my father’s. I’d give her a week or so to settle into the idea that I was here and then I needed to know everything. We made a bit more small talk before we hung up and I promised to call them every day.
When I left the room, I found Sage leaning against the hallway wall tapping on her phone. “Ready to shop until you drop?”
I laughed nervously. “Not really.” The most shopping I ever did was like fifty dollars at the thrift store. It could take hours to get decent thrift store finds, but when you stumbled across a vintage Beatles shirt autographed in silver sharpie … you struck gold. You also never machine washed that shirt in case it washed off the autograph, so instead you drowned it in perfume and hand rinsed it gently, avoiding the pen markings.
She waved me off. “Don’t let your little run-in with Meredith get you down. She’s like that to everyone.”
I’d forgotten my run-in with Meredith until that moment. I was actually more worried about spending someone else’s money. “I’m not used to shopping,” I confessed.
She nodded. “I’ll help you. It will be fun!”
Three hours, thirty-six pieces of sushi, and five shopping bags full later, we exited the mall.
“I can’t believe I just spent two grand of someone else’s money.” My eyes were wide as we loaded my bags onto the back of an electric scooter.
Sage waved me off. “I do it all the time on my dad’s card. It’s fine. The cards have a daily limit and it didn’t get declined, so that means we did good.”
I snorted. We had very, very different upbringings. I gestured to the bags. “I only got one fancy dress. Think that’s enough?” The rest were ripped jeans, shorts, tank-tops, and sneakers, and a few flowy bohemian dresses. I also got make-up, a flat iron, and some cool purses with studs on them.
Sage gave me a conspiratorial look. “You want to stand out? Don’t dress like the lemmings here. Seriously, my cousin picked you for a reason. I think he digs the t-shirt and jean shorts vibe.”
She motioned to my outfit.
I chuckled, but the smile fell from my lips. Sage was becoming a good friend and I didn’t want to lie to her. “You know your cousin doesn’t really like me. He just pulled all that because it was the only way to get me out of banishment and he feels bad for me.”
Sage looked at
me like I was five years old. “Aww, is that what he told you? Cute.” She booped my nose and a warm feeling settled into my stomach. What did that mean? Did it mean that … Sawyer wanted me here, like to date me?
Was I really in the Werewolf Bachelor running? Did I even want to be? I thought of his intense blue eyes and the way he’d seen me lose my shit. It was a weak moment for me, a moment of struggle that highlighted how badly I’d been treated while being forced to live out life in banishment. He saw all of that and … he still liked me?
Oh man. Shit just got real.
We rode back to the dorm and Sage helped me to my door with all my bags. She yawned, squeezing my shoulder. “I had fun today. You’re cool.”
I gave her a smile. “Me too. Thanks for taking me shopping.”
She nodded and waved me goodnight before slipping into her room across the hall.
I was about to go into my own room when my wolf rose to the surface and I paused in the door frame.
It hit me then … in that moment.
I was free.
I could go outside, shift into my wolf, and run for the first time ever. And that’s exactly what my wolf wanted me to do. With a grin, I shut my door, grabbed my keycard, and all but ran to the exit of the dorm.
The front desk lady, Kendra, looked at me but said nothing. I was an adult after all and this was basically college, college Werewolf Bachelor style. Slipping outside, I breathed in the cool night air.
A run with my wolf, I couldn’t conceive of it before. I was giddy with excitement.
I burst across the lawn, smiling as the cold night wind ripped through my hair. There were a few students heading back into the dorms. The moon was high in the sky, casting a soft light upon the thick forest that encompassed the school grounds. I slipped into the first thicket of trees I saw and started to disrobe, preparing to shift. I knew enough about being a werewolf that it would tear my clothes if I didn’t shift naked. Reaching down, I grabbed the hem of my shirt, and pulled it up over my head just as a man cleared his throat.
With a yelp, I pulled the shirt back down, covering my stomach.
“Sorry … I, uh … saw you undressing and figured I should let you know I was here.” I knew that voice, even after only meeting him once.
I spun and saw Sawyer, shirtless and in low-slung sweatpants.
Holy mother of abs…
My eyes raked over his chiseled chest and my ability to form words flew from my brain.
“Going for a run?” he asked, pointing to the forest.
I just nodded dumbly, trying not to drool, and then held up my cuff-less wrists. “First time.”
A frown pulled at his lips and he nodded in understanding. “I was going to go too. Want to join me or would you rather be alone?”
Truth be told, I was terrified. I’d never shifted before. It would be nice to have someone to do that with … but him?
I swallowed hard. “I don’t … really know what I’m doing. Like … I don’t even know how to shift; I wouldn’t want to slow you down.”
I knew that racing in wolf form was a big bragging right about who was fastest. My mom talked about the good old days all the time, when she used to run my dad ragged around the campus when they went here.
Shame colored my cheeks, but he didn’t give me a pitying look. He nodded once, curtly. Moving across the space to stand closer to me, I watched as his muscles danced under his skin.
Lord have mercy. He was quite literally the hottest guy I’d ever seen. And I was pretty sure he knew it.
“You could never slow me down,” he whispered as my throat went dry. Then he moved to stand at my back and I felt the heat from his body press against mine. “Undress and I’ll walk you through it. I’ll stay turned away until your shift is complete.”
Everything inside of me clenched when he said “undress.” I know he didn’t mean it like that, but … damn.
I cleared my throat, looking behind me to make sure his back was in fact to me.
It was.
“Okay.” My voice cracked and I hated myself for it. I was not a boy-crazy girl. Never had been. You either wanted to be with me, and that was cool, or not. I always knew where I stood and I didn’t chase men. This Werewolf Bachelor was like my worst fucking nightmare. Did he like me? Did he like fifty other women? Was I just here because of some bylaw or because he wanted to date me?
Without over thinking it too much, I pulled my shirt off and tossed it on a nearby flat rock. Blowing air through my teeth, I unclipped my bra and tossed that next. My inner wolf’s desire to run was overshadowing my fear at being naked in front of Sawyer, even if he wasn’t looking. I was sure they all grew up being naked all the time and it was no big deal, but it was to me. He seemed to understand that. It seemed like he was a great guy, which was rare in my experience.
“Sawyer?” I tossed my panties on the nearby rock and stood completely naked.
“Yeah?” His voice had dropped three octaves and I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d seen me throw the panties or not, but the desire in his voice was thick. It brought heat right to my core.
I just realized that I’d never thanked him for his rescue from Delphi, from the cuffs. “Thanks for … getting me out of that place.”
Silence.
When he finally spoke, his voice was husky and serious: “You belong with us.”
Us. He meant the werewolf species of course, but damn at this point I was totally hoping for a rose at tomorrow night’s dinner. I wanted more of him, to get to know him better before he married some Barbie and I never saw him again.
“What if … I can’t shift?” I croaked.
I mean twenty years in magical handcuffs surely broke my wolf, no?
As if answering that thought, my wolf stirred to the surface and Sawyer laughed, a bright trilling sound that had butterflies turning in my stomach.
“The girl I saw today … her wolf is alive and well and waiting to be freed.”
His confidence in me was sexy as fuck, but now I felt performance anxiety. What if I half shifted and got stuck? It had happened before, my parents told me about it. Or what if I just sort of grew fur but nothing else and was a furry human?
Only one way to find out, I guess.
“Okay. I’m ready,” I told him before I lost my nerve.
“Alright, close your eyes.” His voice was smooth and deep and so damn distractingly sexy. Talking to someone without looking at them was a total turn on.
With a shaky breath, I did as he said. Standing here, naked, eyes closed, back to back with the alpha’s son in the middle of the woods, was hands down the weirdest thing I’d ever done.
“Imagine you are driving a car, your hands are at the wheel. Look down at your hands.”
What the what? Okay … was this some New Age visualization shit?
I did as he asked.
“For over twenty years you have been the one driving the car, you’ve been in control,” he said, and I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or if he moved the slightest bit closer to me, because I felt more warmth at my back. “It’s time to let her drive. Let your wolf take the wheel, watch as your hands turn to claws.”
I swallowed hard, pulling my thoughts away from his sexy voice and back to the hands on the wheel.
I’m ready to let you drive, I said to my inner self, my wolf. Then I visualized my human hands on a steering wheel and watched as my fingers lengthened to claws. Fur puffed out on the top of my hands and my bones cracked.
“Now let go. Just let it all go. Lose control,” he whispered.
My whole life had been an exercise in control. Don’t shift, don’t show your fur, don’t let your teeth lengthen, don’t this, don’t that, and for the first time ever I just dropped it all. Like a brick wall being smashed to bits, I let it all come tumbling down.
A scream ripped from my throat as pain flared along my spine and I flew forward onto all fours. Fire ripped through me, pain mixed with heat.
“Breathe throu
gh the change. Your wolf knows what to do,” he said from behind me.
“Everything … hurts,” I panted, my voice barely human.
A cool hand landed on my back and my entire body melted under his pressure. Everything within me relaxed then, and that’s when it happened. I’d never forget the sound of my own bones snapping. It was a sharp sound that come from within me and outside of me at the same time. The heat lessened, as well as the pain, and I just … transformed. The fur I was used to popping up on my arms flared to life on my entire body. I literally felt my face grow as my nose protruded into my line of sight and I saw that it was a white silvery fur. My tongue rolled out of my mouth as I panted to cool myself off. When I looked down, I saw four white and gray paws.
“Oh fuck…” Sawyer’s voice behind me was like sandpaper.
Okay … not the reaction I expected. More like, “Your wolf is beautiful,” or, “I really like your markings.” I spun around, to see what was wrong and a terrified howl ripped from my throat.
What. The. Hell?
Sawyer stood over my naked body, my naked human body. I was curled into a ball at his feet.
My heart pounded frantically in my wolf chest as I shook my head. I was a wolf looking at my human form, then I was my human looking at my wolf.
What the hell was happening? Was I dreaming, was I hallucinating?
My human form sat up, draped both arms across her chest, and looked at me with two wide blue eyes.
“Not … possible.” Sawyer knelt beside my human form, looking at her with a slack jaw. I was shaking from shock and he wrapped a warm arm around me, tucking me into his chest.
I blinked and then I was looking at everything from my human perspective, nuzzled into him, shaking as my teeth chattered.
What was happening?
I was … two people.
Split?
“Sawyer!” a male voice yelled from the trees, and he stiffened.
His voice was frantic: “You have to shift back.”