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“Remember one thing, if nothing else: tell no one.” She holds my gaze, staring intensely into my eyes. “No one. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Okay. Now, you have to go. They’re waiting for you in the meeting hall.” I wish she would give me a single encouraging word, but she says nothing, only leading me out of the room by one hand before giving me a gentle but firm nudge.
I have no choice but to go.
I head straight for the stairs leading down to one of the access doors. No way am I revisiting the scene of the crime—and that’s what it feels like, a crime. Because that’s what I committed against one of us. And that’s why I’ve been summoned. Even if I didn’t mean to do it, even if it was a result of my first shift, I have to answer for my actions. That doesn’t mean I have to walk through the aftermath.
One thing I notice is silence. The same silence I noticed when I left my room. Closed doors. They’re all afraid of me. I can feel that fear in the halls. It presses in on me from all sides and only lets up once I’m out in the open. That doesn’t mean I feel better, though, because I have to find a way to drag myself across the lawn to the meeting hall. The lights glow bright inside, and I could almost mistake the glow for something warm and welcoming.
They’re going to exile me. If I’m lucky. All anyone ever wanted was for me to shift, and what happened when I finally did? I wish I had someone with me. Someone on my side. I can’t count on my parents. I can’t count on anybody. I only have myself, but then what else is new?
I don’t want to go inside, but I know there isn’t any choice. A deep breath doesn’t do much to calm me down before I reach for the knob and open the door to my future as an exile.
“There she is!”
I couldn’t be more surprised if they all jumped out wearing party hats and throwing confetti at me. All the pack elders, all of them applauding and smiling. They’re proud of me. They’re all proud of me.
Including my dad, who is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Daniel. They’re both beaming. “I knew you could do it,” Daniel says, taking both of my hands in his. When he does, everyone applauds again, laughing and smiling and even hugging like they had anything to do with it.
“We’re so proud of you, Lili.” For the first time in years, my father hugs me. I always knew deep down inside that he loved me—he had no choice but to put distance between us until my wolf finally arrived. But an actual hug from him brings home everything I missed. Everything I didn’t even know I missed.
“Stop hogging her, Benedict.” Mom pulls me away from him and takes my face in her hands. “My girl. You’re as strong and fierce as I always knew you would be.”
I killed someone. Brutally. Yet they’re celebrating. Was it truly so important for me to shift? I knew it mattered to the pack, but this much? I’m starting to feel a little patronized. More than a little, in fact. Why isn’t anyone berating me, shouting at me, or forbidding me from ever doing something like that again?
“And the next generation will be stronger and fiercer still,” one of the other lunas declares. “This is only the beginning. This pack will extend through generations to come.”
“Let it be so.” Daniel is riding high, his chest puffed out, clapping my father on the back like they somehow helped things along. I can’t pretend not to know how obsessed he’s been with whether or not I’ve shifted yet, so this must be a huge weight off his shoulders. Still, it seems like he should be a little more concerned with the whole witch problem than he is with me.
But a happy, unified pack is a powerful pack. I’ve unified us even though I’ve killed one of our members. I keep expecting somebody to ream me out over that, or at least mention it, but nobody does. It’s as if Dexter didn’t exist. Not that I’d mind much if he never had, and I certainly won’t miss him.
But I’m different now. Changed. Not only because of my wolf’s sudden arrival. I took a life, and I enjoyed it. I’ll never be the same Lili again.
Maybe that’s not a bad thing since the old Lili was lonely and miserable and usually either fighting off a bully or recovering from the damage they did. I can’t forget those closed doors and the almost tangible sense of fear in the air. I’m someone to be feared now.
That’s what’s on my mind as I walk back to my room in a daze after being praised for the better part of half an hour. The elders are still celebrating, but I managed to beg off with the excuse of fatigue after all of tonight’s events. Everyone was very understanding. Yet another change in my life. People are understanding toward me.
