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I knew it now, yes, but I thought it could be different.
I thought it could be more.
I said, “Okay.”
Aileen nodded, satisfied. “Then we’ll begin.”
“You’re going to spit on dirt and leaves and make me eat it, aren’t you.”
Patrice chuckled. “Someting like dat.”
It was exactly like that.
I left them in the clearing.
I walked through the woods, knowing I wouldn’t be alone for long.
My path was lit by the moon and stars.
I trailed my hands along the trunks of trees, the bark rough
against my skin.
I thought of my mother, so fierce and wild, telling me that I was the guardian of the forest.
I wondered what she would think of me. Of who I’d become. Of what I’d made for myself.
I heard footsteps behind me, and I fought back a smile.
I was being hunted.
I took off running.
A howl rose up behind me, and the chase was on.
I ran as fast as I could, branches slapping against my arms and chest, the wind whipping through my hair. I didn’t shift. I didn’t need to. I was alive, alive, alive, and in this place, in this magical territory, the blood of all those who’d come before me sang in my veins.
I burst through the tree line, the lights of the houses bright.
I barely made it halfway to the blue house when a great weight landed on my back, knocking me to the ground. I hit the ground with a crash, a growl at the back of my neck, the breath hot. I gasped as a wet nose pressed into my hair. “Asshole.”
There came the grind of muscle and bone, and I closed my eyes.
“Got you,” Kelly whispered. “Got you, got you, got you.”
“You did.”
He rolled off me, panting at my side. I turned my head, grass poking against my ear. His eyes burned orange as he looked at me, searching for something.
I nodded.
He sighed. “You’re sure?”
I was. Now more than ever. “Yeah. For you. For them. For myself.”
He grinned, wild and beautiful. His teeth were sharp.
It was so simple, wasn’t it?
