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I pivoted my head to look at him. “Don’t give more than I can provide.”
Brody placed his hands on my shoulders. “You can do this. When the sun finally sinks beneath the trees, the pack is going to be ready to shift. They’ll be more energetic than usual. The younger members of our pack will seem damn near feral at times. Don’t let it spook you. Every instinct we have grows stronger underneath a full moon, which is why it’s imperative that you keep your cool. The entire pack will feed off your energy, so if you get angry, they’ll get angry. If you get frustrated, they’ll get frustrated.”
I nodded. “Keep my head screwed on straight, got it.”
“And if you need any help at all,” Dean said as he came up to my left side, “I’ll be right over here over your left shoulder.”
I smiled at him softly. “Thank you.”
He winked down at me. “Not a problem at all.”
“All right,” Brody said as he took a few steps back away from me, “on my count, we shift. Three. Two. One! Go!”
All at once, we bent our heads back and gazed up at the reflection of the full moon barely peeking through the waning sunset. The sounds of fabric ripping and stitches popping filled my ears as we all emerged, slamming into the ground on all fours. I peered over my left shoulder, watching Dean’s desert-colored wolf approach my side. His icy eyes stared forward, locking with the road that led directly through the middle of the pack’s chalets.
And as Hudson’s all-black wolf came up to my right, I felt Levi and Brody behind me.
When are we gonna run?
I need to eat. I need to hunt.
I smell deer.
Chase the deer.
FOOD SOUNDS GOOD! LET’S GET FOOD!
Your wolf is always hungry, huh?
The sound of Hudson’s cheek voice made me look toward my right at him.
And yours isn’t, Mountainman?
As howls erupted toward the night sky, I felt mine bubble in my gut. I raised my head toward the darkening sky, unsure of how to let the howl erupt from my throat. I unhinged my jaw. I clenched my throat. I dug my claws into the dirt, scraping them and sharpening them as my instincts took over.
And as an earth-rumbling howl pierced the night sky, I heard the pack follow suit.
Allowing a chorus of howls to fill the space around us.
Ready? Brody asked.
I peered behind me and caught a glimpse of his chocolate brown wolf with slate gray eyes. Ready.
Then, we’ll be right behind you, Levi said.
As I lunged forward, taking off down the road, I tried my best not to allow the group-think of the hundreds of members of my pack flood my mind. Some of the thoughts were hard to shake. Many of the wolves were hungry, just like mine, and the saliva that dripped from my jowls made me shiver. The idea of dealing with a rabid pack scared the ever-living hell out of me. But I knew I had to do this. I knew I had to guide the pack through this. It was yet another way to get them to trust me, which meant that they’d trust me that much more whenever I handed this pack over to someone else.
Plus, I had my guys with me, and they knew how to protect me from myself.
Well, at least Dean did, anyway.
I wanna play tag!
I wanna swim in the river!
I wanna tackle a deer and eat its heart!
Tag! You’re it!
