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Bella pressed her lipstogether. She’d heard many versions of that sentiment over theyears since she should have been able to shift but hadn’t. She knewthe reason her wolf stayed hidden—fear.
“Maybe,” shesaid.
Vanessa rubbed Bella’s arm and gaveher a warm smile. “What happened to Renee was devastating for allof us, but especially for you. Your wolf went into hiding out offear, and just hasn’t been in a situation that makes her feel safe.I think that one day, you’ll find your truemate and your wolf willbe so happy she’ll want to shift right away.”
Bella smiled. “Loveconquers all fears, huh?”
“Sure, why not?”
She wasn’t so sure. But she smiledanyway. “I’m going to take off. See you Monday.”
“Have fun and goodluck.”
Bella said goodbye to the kids,grabbed her jacket, and headed out into the cold, thoughts of themixer swirling in her mind like the snowflakes that danced aroundher ankles.
* * *
Her dad had never reallybeen on board with her going to the mixer, because he thought sheshould just choose a wolf in the pack and mate him, instead oflooking to find her truemate. He thought truemates were a romanticnotion, and not based in reality, which was kind of a suckyviewpoint in her mind.
Many of the mated pairs in the packwere truemates. But her dad had chosen her mom as his mate andhadn’t wanted to wait until he found his truemate, and apparentlyneither had her mom.
She knew they loved each other, butthere was something special and fiery about a truemateconnection.
Plus, none of the males inthe pack wanted anything to do with her because she couldn’tshift.
It wasn’t her fault thather wolf was scared. No amount of Bella promising that it was safein the pack, surrounded by her people, would get her wolf to comeout. Her sixteenth year, she’d gotten a pass from the pack. Noteveryone shifted right at sixteen. But when her seventeenth yearpassed by? She spent the next year being called a freak and everyother name in the book, taunted and mocked by those who couldshift. Now that she was twenty-two and still hadn’t shifted? It waswidely believed in the pack that she never would, that her geneswere faulty, and she might pass that defectiveness onto herpups.
Ergo, no males wanting to make a homeand family with her.
She was sure she could shift, but herwolf would simply not come out.
Because that one night,ten years earlier, she’d been in the woods with her Grandma Renee,who was in her wolf form. It was the full moon, and the pack wasall around them. Bella had been running alongside Renee whensomething banged loudly and Renee fell to the ground, dead. Ahunter, who shouldn’t have been anywhere near the pack’s territory,had taken her out while trying to kill a buck.
The pack had retaliated against thehumans, but that hadn’t brought back Renee.
And it had made her wolf terrified toshift.
What if hunters came back?
No matter that none hadever dared to come near the territory after that terrible night.She still was afraid.
At least in Somerset she had a chanceto charm a male before she inevitably had to tell him that shecouldn’t shift. Sometimes they snarled a curse at her beforestalking away, sometimes they just made a face and left.
One day, she hoped she’d meet hertruemate and he wouldn’t care that she had a scared wolf thatwouldn’t come out.
“Over here!” a femininevoice said, breaking up the depressing train of thought. She sawKinley, waving wildly at a table with her brother, Dalton, and twoother females who usually came along: Araya and Lainey.
“Hi, guys,” Bella said asshe sat down.
“You look awesome,” Kinleysaid.
“That’s my cue,” Daltonsaid, as some males came into the hall. Lasers dotted the ceilingand walls, and a strobe light cast starry white lights around thedance floor where a few couples moved to the beat.
Kinley’s friends found males to dancewith, leaving the two of them alone.
“He’s cute,” Kinley said,pointing to a male near the bar.
“Could you be moreobvious?” Bella asked, putting her hand over Kinley’s.
