Riley:What did you mean by you liked deer?
Me:Do you remember how in junior high you were team Jacob, and I was team Edward?
Riley:Of course. We had shirts and water bottles. I might still have that shirt somewhere...
Me:I should have been team Jacob. I can relate to him better.
It was the only way I could think to tell her I was a wolf shifter without saying it outright. I didn't want to take the chance that someone might watch both of our phones.
My phone immediately started ringing, and I picked up with a laugh. "Before you say anything... my phone has spy stuff on it and who the hell knows what yours has on it."
"Jax knows if he does something to my phone, I'll bite his nipples so hard he'll cry." Damn, she was vicious and had only gotten more so with age. She would absolutely do that if it came down to it.
"That's way too much information, Ri." I laughed and then blew out a frustrated huff of air. "I need to stay here for a while and figure things out."
"And you're sure you can trust these people? Do you know who your biological parents are? It seems like a pregnancy would be pretty hard to miss in a small town. Especially if you’re team Jacob."
"No one has said anything yet, but I don't think word has spread far. It doesn't help that there is another group, and they don't get along with each other." I shut my eyes as the sun beat down on my face. "I also kind of have two boyfriends now."
"Holy shit. Welcome to the club!" I heard male voices and a giggle from Riley. "We're getting ready to leave. Call me or text me to check in. We can come get you if you need us to."
"Thanks, Ri."
We hung up, and I got out of the hammock without falling on my ass. Dante opened the slider and stepped out of the house.
"How's the wolf?" I slid my phone in my sweater pocket and gave him a friendly smile. I'd kill him with kindness if I had to.
"Probably going to cause us a lot of problems. Taking in strays is bad for the pack." He purposely walked close to me as I headed for the door and bumped into my shoulder.
My teeth came out. "What the fuck is your problem, Dante?"
His laugh made the hair on my arms stand on end. I hoped it was my human hair and not wolf hair sprouting. "You're my problem. Look at you, you can't even control your wolf! You must be a good fuck for Cole to risk the members of this pack over."
My nails dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched my fists. It was taking everything in me not to rail on him. The desire to put him on his back was so strong I rushed into the house without a word or a glance in his direction.
Dante was going to be a problem, and my wolf wanted nothing more than to put him in his place. I shut my eyes and took deep breaths, counting backward from ten as I stood in the kitchen.
Feeling out of control of my emotions was foreign, and I didn't like it at all. Was this what all wolves went through?
"Ivy?" Eli came from the hallway and approached slowly. "Sweetie, your hands are dripping blood."
I looked down and quickly unfurled my fists, revealing claws instead of fingernails. "Sweet baby fawn, what the fuck?"
He took me by the wrists and guided me to the sink where he turned on the warm water. "What caused this?"
I winced as the water ran over my palms. "Dante."
He hummed and grabbed a clean towel out of a drawer. "Dante can be hard to deal with." He turned off the water and wrapped my hands. "It shouldn't take these long to heal. I'm already healed from falling earlier. Did you have injuries growing up?"
My eyes went wide, and I pulled my hands away from him, ripping the towel off and staring at my hands that only had faint scratches instead of the gouges they had when I put my hands under the water. "I've been hurt before and it never healed this quickly."
"Before their first shifts, pups are most vulnerable. The first shift happens around twelve years of age." He ran his fingertips over the palms of my hands, and I shivered. "You need to calm down. That's why your teeth and claws are still out."
"I need..." I pulled my hands away and shook them like that would get them to go back to normal. My wolf was clawing to get out. "I need to run."
"Maybe we should-"
Before he could finish, the change tore through me, shredding my clothes. I would not be buying expensive workout attire anymore, that was for sure.