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7
Whispers and stares followed me as I made my way to Greta’s tent. I wasn’t about to stop and chat. How was I supposed to explain what happened? For them to have thought I was captured, it meant that Alec told them that right away. Then, he went and got himself captured. What did the residents think when they saw Alec hauled off? Or had he managed to get captured away from them?
I shook my head, trying to make myself stop worrying about the logistics of the strangest failed rescue attempt. And yes, he failed. If he went into captivity with the intention of trying to turn one of my assailants, he was doomed from the start. The fact that Kyle turned was pure luck. Without him hearing about my mark, it never would have happened.
I avoided eye contact when I saw Mario walking toward me. I felt awful. We had borrowed his car, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk.
“Hey, Lola, I’ve got a new car arriving next week. Want to help me build the engine?” Mario asked.
I looked up at him, surprised that he picked up right where we left off. “That sounds fun.”
“I’ll make sure I save some of the challenging stuff for you to help with,” he said with a grin.
I smiled back. It was unlikely I’d be around to help him with this project, but I didn’t have the heart to disappoint him. Especially since he sounded so genuine.
“Lola, I’ve been waiting for you.” Greta had just walked out of her tent. A rush of relief washed over me.
“You better run. She doesn’t like to wait,” Mario said.
“When you get as old as me, you don’t have time to wait,” Greta called.
“I better go.” I waved to Mario before hurrying over to Greta. I was confused about my place here and wasn’t sure who was friend or foe. Alec hadn’t even mentioned who the spy was. But I couldn’t deny that the shifters here had been kind to me. They’d taken me in and let me be part of their community without asking for anything in return. Well, aside from the obvious. But were they all like Alec? Waiting for the right moment to use their friendship with me to their advantage? Or were there actual nice shifters here?
“Took you long enough to get out of there,” Greta said.
From anyone else, the comment might have sent me into a rage. From Greta, it was playful. “I had to cause some damage on my way out first.”
“Well done.” She held open her tent flap for me.
I ducked into her tent, my response playing in my mind. Kyle had caused some serious damage on our way out and I had yet to get any of the revenge I’d promised. Shame settled into my gut. I wanted to be strong and stand up for myself, but here I was, getting rescued again. That had to stop happening. First step, freeing my wolf.
A restless, fluttering sensation swirled in my chest. I froze in the center of Geta’s tent, trying to decipher what the feeling was. I’d thought about my wolf, then I had felt something. The feeling swept through me again. I smiled despite the fact I had no idea where to go from here. All I knew was that my wolf was responding.
“They used the toxin on you, didn’t they?” Greta asked as she settled into one of the chairs.
I walked over to the table and took the chair opposite her. “Yes. But I think it’s worn off.”
Greta smiled. “You’re feeling your wolf.”
“I think I’ve felt her a few times in the last day or so. I definitely felt her just now.” I looked at the older woman. Her eyes were bright, her smile infections. I couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Do you think it means I’m ready?”
“Do you know what you want now?” She asked.
The question took me by surprise, though it shouldn’t have based on my previous conversations with Greta. On the drive here, I thought the whole situation would require days of reflection and wresting with my own demons. But as soon as Greta posed the question, I knew the answer.
“Yeah, I do,” I said.
She nodded. “Then I imagine you are ready. The first shift is always easiest on a full moon. Tomorrow is your night.”
My stomach twisted into knots. Anticipation made my chest feel tight. The stirring of my wolf rose to meet it.So, you’re ready now.I found myself falling back into the habit of speaking to my wolf as if she was someone else. At least this time I managed to do it in my head.
Of course she didn’t respond, but I got the sense that she approved of my decisions. The funny thing was that all the crap I gave Alec about not stepping up to embrace his role as alpha was exactly what made me realize what I needed to embrace mine.
The mark on my hip wasn’t a curse. It was a gift. I wanted Ace and Tyler and everyone else who hurt me gone. I wanted to make them suffer for what they did to me. If I managed to prevent anyone else from going what I went through, I should take the chance.
My life hadn’t been easy, and I knew that it was a miracle I was alive at all. It almost felt like I needed to do something bigger to celebrate the fact that I survived. Challenging for the title of alpha at Wolf Creek would be fucking huge. Besides, it would cause immense pain to the people who hurt me.
There was only one thing they wanted. Power. They wanted to keep Wolf Creek prisoner and stay at the top of the food chain.
