Page 1 of A Trial of Fate

Chapter One

Sitting on the crystalized shores of the green sand beach, I stretched out my long limbs and basked in the warming sun. My golden-brown hair draped over my shoulder, waving in the breeze skittering over the open ocean.

If anyone were to ask themselves, “Where is Skylar?” The answer would be here with a book or two as my only companions. The Solace Shifter Pack didn’t have the most extensive library, but new collections ventured in from the southern human kingdom often enough to keep me intrigued.

Today’s waves were calm and relaxing, gently rolling and shifting the olivine sand along the isolated alcove. The tall cliffs surrounding this secluded beach were the remnants of an ancient volcano’s caldera.

I loved my hideaway and the solitude it often brought me when I needed a break from my shifter pack life.Don’t get me wrong, I care deeply for my kin and would do anything to defend them.I wouldn’t hesitate to die protecting my people—none of us would. That was the shifter charm for ya, right there. And even though I wasn’t a full-blooded shifter, they were my pack.

A splash caught my attention, and along the outer corner of the caldera, I could see a group of young shifters diving off the cliffside. I smiled, closed one of my favorite romance books, and sat up to watch the daring teens test their bravery among their friends. This was an old tradition among the Solace pack—a test of their nerves and to see who among them was aware of their animal awakening within.

As shifters, we shared the spirit of an animal that gifted us with heightened abilities and allowed us to change into another form at will. In our early teenage years, tied with puberty, our animal spirit awakened, and we became aware of their presence. It wasn’t until early adulthood, however, that we manifested the ability and harnessed enough control over our magic to shift into our animal form, which wasunique to each individual shifter.

“I’m surprised you haven’t joined them already,” a familiar voice called out behind me.

I couldn’t help the girlish grin from spreading across my face or the blushing in my cheeks, no matter how hard I tried to stop it. I could feel his power pulsing and vibrating over my skin, delicately caressing my senses with the mere sound of him.

“Gilen Warrick.” I fixed my gaze on the teens jumping into the open water. I wouldn’t be the first to turn and look, happily continuing to play the dance of dominance with him.

“Skylar Cathal,” he whispered, saying my name slowly and announcing each syllable in an inquisitive tone, moving to stand behind me.

The warmth of his body seeped into my own, and I couldn’t help leaning back into him. I tilted my head up and flashed him a large, playful grin with far too many of my teeth showing. “And how are you doing today?” I asked, knowing exactly why he had come. “I see you found me in my hideout.”

“It wasn’t hard to guess where you were.” His warm honey-colored hazel eyes softened as a smirk teased the corner of his mouth, complementing his comely expression. “Why didn’t you show up for training today?”

“Oh, did the alpha call us?” I asked, trying to avoid getting into trouble. “I had no idea. I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t hear it. Human interference, yet again.”

Gilen sighed heavily and ran a hand through his mid-length wavy golden hair. “Come on, Sky. Don’t play the pretty, clueless damsel role with me… It’s beneath you. I know you’re smarter than that.”

“Whatever do you mean?” I exaggerated with a heavy sigh, flinging my arms outward and folding them over my chest as I slumped back into the sand. “Wait,” I said, arching my brow and turning to give him a playful half-smile. “Did you just call me pretty?” I added a wink just to seal everything in.

Gilen rolled his thick shoulders and sank down next to me in the green sand. “You’re telling me you didn’t hear our alpha’s call? Again?” His hardened rule-following stare bore into mine, and I had to bite my lip to stop from confessing the truth.

“Sky, come on. It’s me. Tell me why you didn’t come to training today.” He paused, furrowing his brow. “Are the others picking on youagain?”

“No,” I snapped. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.” I absently rubbed my arms, recalling the taunting and bullying I took from the other shifters our age when we were kids… all because I was half-human. My station in the pack improved when my animal’s presence emerged, but I was still far from a favorite.

“What is it then?”

Oh no. I was cornered.

The truth was that I had heard the alpha’s command earlier today, but I chose to ignore it. That was the secret I was deathly afraid to tell Gilen. It was the fact that I could ignore our alpha’s command, not that I simply didn’t hear it. Even though Gilen was one of my closest friends, no one besides my family knew about this special ability. I was afraid of what others would think if they knew.

Well, first, I know they would be pissed off that I had lied to them all these years. Blaming my human side was an all too easily convincing lie, but after that, I had no idea. Would they be scared? Would they call me a freak and shun me like some of the members of our pack? Would our alpha see it as a threat to our safety and force me to leave? I think that last question scared me the most, but it also gave me a thrill imagining what other kind of life I could have outside the pack.

Just to add some trouble, over the past few weeks, my animal had been sending random pulses of strong magic through me, making me extremely anxious. All my senses were on high alert, but I had no fucking clue what it was. All I knew was that it was giving me the worst headaches in the world, and I needed space. That was why I ignored the alpha’s call and came here to my green sand beach today.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said as I rolled over onto my stomach to break his piercing gaze. “I didn’t hear the alpha’s call. Must be my human side running interference again.”

“Right.” Gilen huffed in annoyance, shaking his head.

I could hear the disappointment in his voice as guilt ripped through my heart. Gilen and I had grown up together. From day one, we were inseparable friends, and I trusted him. If I were to open up and be my true self with anyone, I believed it could be him.

Gilen knew I was hiding something. But he would never push me to tell him, and that was one of the biggest downfalls in our friendship. He didn’t challenge me and expected me to fall in line with formalities and the pecking order of the pack. The difference was that I liked to push those set rules he loved and create my own.

The problem wasn’t him, though; it was me. I knew that I was different.

A piercing scream erupted from the cliffs as one of the young girls in a group of teenage shifters leaped into the ocean.

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