Page 43 of Clawless

I wasn’t sure what that was going to look like, but close proximity was probably required. So, instead of going back to Omega House, we agreed I should stay in his room. Word had spread I wasn’t feeling well, and when Penny brought a food basket over, I invited her in so she could see how at home I looked in Reed’s personal space. I also asked her to get word to Marnie that I was feeling up for a visit. If Reed and I were now an item – and Penny’s wide eyes told me we were – I wanted to make sure the news didn’t blind-side my friend.

She came by on Tuesday night while Reed was at packball training. Now I knew why she was so uneasy around him, it hurt my heart to watch her slink into his room. “He’s not here,” I assured her. “But I’m so glad to see you.”

“Me, too.” She gave me a quick hug and I got her a coffee from Reed’s fancy machine, while I made myself a warm milk. When we were settled on the sofa, she asked, “Are you feeling better?”

I pulled a face. “Not really. I’ve had bad cramps for a couple days. It makes it hard to eat, or sleep… I’ve pretty much been surviving on warm milk and peanut butter.”

Her eyes bulged and she looked at my stomach. “You’re not…”

“Pregnant?” I squawked and nearly dropped my cup. “God, no.”

“Sorry, I just wondered...” She bit her lip and looked around the room. “But you and Reed are really a thing?”

“Do you mind? Reed told me how close your families are. If you have any kind of feelings for him, Marnie, I’ll put an end to this right now.”

She stiffened, then sank back against the sofa. “I can only imagine how he described my formative years.”

“He said you had it tough. That there was huge pressure for you to shift. I understand why you didn’t, but I wish you’d told me! All that moaning about being a dud, and you’d been dealing with it your whole life… And the way Reed has been treating you, it’s over. When you’re ready, he wants to talk to you about it. And if any asshole ever puts you on your knees again, we’ll take a ball each as a souvenir.”

She giggled, then dropped her head into her hands. “I should have stood up for myself, I know. But it becomes so much a part of who you are. Or who you’re not. Clawless. Powerless. Even useless, since there’s nothing worse than being a shifter who can’t shift.”

“But that’s not you anymore. And even if it was, it doesn’t take away from you as a person. You’re loyal. Kind. Funny. And strong as fuck for surviving what you have.” I threw my arm around her, ignoring the clenching in my belly. “We’re shifter sisters, right? And this thing with Reed is only going to make us closer, because I’ll be a real Marshall.”

She nodded, but then looked at my collar. “But what about Jasper? Is it really over between you?” I turned my head and showed her the little lump behind my ear. She gasped. “Is that the tracker he was talking about?”

I shuddered at the memory of walking into the principal’s office and realizing I was about to relive one of my worst nightmares. “They did it early in the morning after our movie night. Jasper, Principal Bregman, a couple of the security guards. They were all in on it.”

Marnie shot forward on her seat with a cry. “What? Carter said he found you collapsed in the hall. He told me you were sick, but not because of that!” She looked furious at her brother’s subterfuge. “Assholes. Would it kill them to be honest about something for once in their alphadouche lives?”

“No doubt he’d tell you he was protecting my privacy. From what Penny said, I’m the only one who got tagged.” I gave a weary sigh. “It’s just not something I can forgive, Marnie. Not just the way it was done, but that Jasper thinks I’m so high-risk I need round-the-clock monitoring. I know Den Night was a disaster, but he didn’t even come to me for my side of the story. He just sent his goons…”

Marnie leaned in and gave me another hug. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You must have been so scared.”

“Like you said. Clawless. Powerless.” I rubbed my thumb over the faint scar left by Jasper’s claiming mark. “I’m going to read everything I can about shifting, Marnie. I was hoping we could kind of do that together. Like a research project?”

She gave a mirthless laugh. “I’m your girl. My mom made sure I’m an expert on breaking stubborn shifts.”

I gave her a sympathetic look. “Reed said he’ll get the pack elders to look into it, too. Maybe even get copies of the pack lab research. If there are answers in there, it would make what I went through a little easier to take.”

We got chatting about other things, so I didn’t mention that there were going to be a few other changes around the place. Reed had agreed to no more High Table in the dining room for the Marshall pack. We would all be eating together now, irrespective of rank. And there’d be no more dog bowls for the duds. Everyone would eat the same food. Over the holidays, Reed and I planned to talk to his dad about getting the funding for improvements to the lower-ranked dorms, as well. Maybe just small things at first, but anything that would narrow the divide. As far as I was concerned, the whole system needed a kick up its furry butt.

But before I could start dismantling the pack hierarchy, I had to survive my first public outing on Reed’s arm. First period was Biology, and he walked me to the door, kissing my cheek as my freshman classmates gawked from their seats. It was a pretty tame kiss, but the warmth in his brown eyes made me blush, and I got a high-five from the moon-eyed girl in the seat next to me. I kept my lunch date with Marnie in the dud breakroom, but Reed met up with me straight after and walked me to Deportment. He had a study period, but when every guy in the room melted into the furniture at my entrance, he decided to stay and partner me for the dance class. It was something called the two-step and was all kinds of awkward with the teacher critiquing my every move. But I figured she’d earned the right to throw a little shade my way after Jasper had tossed her out of her own studio.

When she corrected my form for the millionth time, I asked Reed, “Is it two left feet or four left feet in the shifter dance community? Because when it comes to the two-step, I think I qualify for either.”

Reed grunted what might have passed for a chuckle. “I think once you get this, you’ll have a solid grip on the shifter world.”

I stopped dead. “Are you saying I have big feet, Alphason?”

He gave me his blank face. “You won’t hear any complaints about your proportions from me, Omega.”

Was this flirting? I had no clue. But I relaxed a little and stopped fighting him every step, which made the dance class move along a little more smoothly. My good mood held until we were heading out of the studio, and Ms. Vine said, “The right partner makes a lot of difference, Ms. Marrow. Just remember to let them lead, and you will stumble less in life.”

I gritted my teeth, which Reed clearly didn’t miss, because he was fighting to keep his bland mask in place as we headed out into the hall. I elbowed him in the ribs, which got me a raised brow. “What’s your next class?”

“Gym. Unfortunately, it’s one of the cheer sessions. For some reason, I really feel like kicking and punching you.”

“I’ve got Poli Sci, but I’ll clear my calendar for later. I thought we might try a little wrestling if you’re up for it.”

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