Page 12 of A Trial of Fate

“What’s wrong?” Gilen asked, daring to take another step closer. His chest brushed up against my arm, his proximity causing goosebumps to trail along the base of my neck.

“This is most certainly not the time or place for this kind of conversation.” I motioned around the yard at the gathering shifters. Gilen tilted his head to the side, pursed his lips, and then, out of nowhere, firmly grabbed my arm.

“Hey!” I yelped, pushing back against him.

“Stop,” he snarled, dragging me along toward the nearby willow trees. “Come with me, Skylar… Please?”

I gritted my teeth but reluctantly gave in to his plea, following him once he loosened his grip on my arm. I stole a glance back at Rhea, who was holding her arms up, silently asking,What the hell are you doing?

I motioned back,I have no clue,I added with a melodramatic sigh and an eye roll that I knew Gilen would notice.

Gilen guided me into a collection of willow trees lining the creek at the northern side of the training field. Darting around groups of shifters, he led us into the thick layer of western hemlock that surrounded the alpha’s main residence, his home. He knew this route like the back of his hand because this was our secret hideaway.

As children, we would play endless games of hide-and-seek in these woods. Talon, Rhea, and Shaw would join us, but Gilen and I somehow always managed to win. It was where we would tell each other our secrets, whisper our greatest desires, and also share some of our darkest fears. I told him about being afraid I would never feel my animal, and he shared his concern about not being strong enough to become the alpha that fate had thrown onto his shoulders.

When we were older, it was here that Gilen showed me the first painting he had ever dared to create on the surface of a small rock. He always had a passion for recreating the beauty of the world around him, and over the years, between his duties as the alpha’s son and vigorous combat training, he had gotten pretty damn good. Alistar even allowed Gilen to paint his portrait for the alpha’s mural that hung in the hallway of the manor with our past leaders.

The willow trees provided enough of a divide for us to speak privately with one another and hear anyone if they called out for us. Once we ventured under the thick covering of leaved branches, I crossed my arms in defiance, waiting for Gilen to begin. I leaned my back against the trunk of the willow tree, impatiently tapping my foot against the wild, overgrown root system that peeked up through the dirt. Gilen was the one who had some explaining to do, and I was not going to give him an inch until he started giving me some answers.

“You know, don’t you?” His ruffled hair fell in front of his face as he deeply sighed, looking down at his feet. He reached up his hand and fisted his hair in frustration, clutching it tightly as the muscles in his arms flexed. He was nervous. I had never seen him stumble and fidget like this before. I fought back my instinct to try and comfort him… desperate to understand what was going on inside his head.

“I believeyouhave some explaining to do,” I stated as firmly as I could.

He turned away from me and growled into the open night air. “Not like this, Sky. I didn’t want to havethisconversation right now—”

“Excuse me?” I wasn’t going to allow him to turn away from me, so I boldly blocked his escape path. I didn’t care if he was conflicted. I was prepared to beat the answer out of him if I needed to. “What is going on, Gilen? You marked me with your scent on the beach today and somehow memorized mine?”

“It was out of my control,” he countered, looking even more nervous than he had before. “It was my animal!”

“What was?” I spat back at him, narrowing my dark brows with venomous anger lacing my words.

Gilen swallowed heavily, stammering as he spoke. “I-I’m losing control, and I don’t know what is happening.” This took me by surprise. Gilen was always the confident one, the most grounded between the two of us. Never questioning who or what he was.

He reached out his hand and brushed his fingers across my cheek. Startled, I staggered backward a step, but he countered, matching my movements perfectly. Looking at him, I couldn’t help succumbing to the openness etched in Gilen’s stare.

“I’m going to shift tomorrow,” he whispered.

“You don’t say?” I raised my brows at him as he huffed a humorous laugh. I could feel the thrum of his animal’s power pulsing like the wild wind. Begging to break free. I knew his skin itched with the need to shed his human form and embrace the other half of his soul. It was like that for all shifters.

“So what does this all mean, Gilen? You have never shown this type of interest in me before. Why now?”

“I don’t have an answer for you, Sky. As I said, I’m losing control, when it concernsyou. My animal, well…” He paused for a moment before beginning again, wrestling with a truth I was dying to hear.

“Well?”

“I don’t have an answer for you right now,” he said, and even in the dark, I could see the creased lines of his brow, the tension building in his shoulders, as he shut his eyes tightly, fighting with himself.

I turned to the side, creating some much-needed space between us. With him this close to me, it was hard to breathe, let alone think straight. Summoning courage from the depths of my animal soul, I bravely admitted what I needed to hear.

“You need to tell me before your shift, Gilen,” I said. “I need to know how you really feel about me.”

I remember the exact moment that my world changed, and I realized my feelings for Gilen went beyond just friendship. It was the morning I woke up and, for the first time, felt my animal’s presence stir inside my chest. I raced as fast as I could to tell Gilen the news first. When I found him on the training grounds sparring with his father, I couldn’t help blushing as I watched him. From that moment on, my heart raced whenever he entered a room, and he stole my breath away with the simple ease of his smile or the sound of his laughter. He was more than just my friend.

A tingling sensation crept into my mind, and the pull of my attention turned from Gilen to the booming voice inside my head.Move out and cover your areas.It was Alistar. He had sent out his command to his pack members, a unique gift only an alpha could control.

“Fuck. This is not how I wanted to do this. I needed more time!” Gilen snarled as he turned to release his anger, punching an indent into the trunk of the tree. The bark shattered from the indent made by his fist, but I merely rolled my eyes in annoyance, unflinching at his sudden outburst of violence.

When shifters were pushed past our tolerance, our animals took over, which at times resulted in rash outbursts. I knew I was guilty of them, and Gilen was no exception.

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