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“No,” Atticus says firmly. “You need your appointment, little queen. We’d never cancel that without your permission.” He waits until I nod, and smiles at me. “We’ve just arranged with George that you’d do it over video call instead.”
“Oh,” I say. I can feel the tension fading out of me, my shoulders relaxing, and the ache in my jaw reminds me how I’ve been clenching it. I give him a smile, a real one. “Okay.”
“He wasn’t exactly pleased, but he thinks that this trip will be beneficial for you, so relented.”
I nod, appreciating that they’ve covered all the bases, and now I can truly just enjoy this weekend without worrying about that.
I glance around once more, taking in the view, loving how it just feels so right. The way the wind is whizzing past my ears, rustling my hair, the feeling of the uneven ground because of the twigs, mud, and stones. The giant trees hanging over us, the smell of the different wildflowers and even the few berries that are a little further inward.
It reminds me of life in the pack, before I lost everything.
My wolf is itching to shift, to get out and stretch her legs properly. We’ve got a lot of land at home, plenty to lounge about, and there are good parks and stuff close by, but there’s nothing like this.
Not like real nature. She wants to be out, but I can’t allow it. I’m not yet sure that this is what is good for us.
No. I think we need to wait until we’re more secure before pushing any boundaries.
If I want to survive, I can’t let anything disrupt that.
“So, what are we doing?” I ask.
“Well, we have it on good authority that you need to spend more time with your wolf,” Fin says, and it’s like a bucket of ice cold water has been thrown down my spine. I hate how worried I am to shift.
How I’m just once again proving that I’m not normal.
“That you need to bond with the pride,” Atticus adds. “You need to learn how to be a shifter again.”
A sad resignation fills me, and I nod slowly.
“You need to learn how to be a wolf again,” Fin says, and I smirk. Fake it until you make it, Nora.
“Oh, and the cats, bear, fox, and mythical are going to be the ones to teach me that?” I ask, popping my hip. Mal growls, not liking that I stopped stroking him. Or maybe he’s just unhappy that I’m doubting his ability to help me.
“You better run, little warrior,” Mal says, and I glance down at the tiger in surprise. He grins, and it looks a little aggressive, but my wolf and I can feel the playful energy coming off of him. He wants to play.
“Five,” Atticus says.
“Four,” Fin adds, when I still don’t move.
I gasp, a gleeful energy coming off my wolf, and I don’t bother trying to fight it.
I focus on making sure my clothes shift with me, and, within seconds, I’m on four feet. The midnight blue paws are shining up at me, and I feel so much better now that I’m not fighting her energy.
Orson smiles down at me, an indulgent look on his face, as he reaches out to stroke my head a little
They give Orson and I a few minutes, but when Micah shouts, “Three”, I know my time is done. I dart off, and let my wolf guide me away from the shifters.
The hunt is on, and I’m the prey.
It’s amazing.
When the final number is shouted by Voss, and I feel the energies of my mates following, I let out a loud howl so that they can find me.
Well, their noses would guide them my way.
It feels great, being out here, being surrounded by nature. My wolf’s whining has stopped, and it means we can actually just focus on playing.
I get tackled by an orange and black tiger, and he licks my face before nudging me to run off again, and that’s how the next however long is spent. I don’t know how long we’ve been playing this game of catch, but my wolf loves it.
