Page 31 of Pack Kasen: Part 2

Everyone in the room.

Except me.

I drag my notebook closer, flip it open and pick up my pen, preparing to take notes because I know economics, but I know shit about how to be a shifter.

He nods at a little girl with bright red pigtails. “Saskia. Why don’t you tell us about the three forms?”

She’s utterly adorable, maybe six or seven. She gets to her feet, stands tall, and, after glancing at me, speaks slowly and clearly. “The three forms are wolf-wolf?—”

“Human-wolf.” Leo leaps from his seat, snarling as he curls his fingers into claws that he drags through the air like Wolverine.

“Leo, what have I told you about doing that in here?” Gregor asks mildly.

He slumps into his seat. “To save it for after class or play time. I could take someone's eye out.”

I look down, hiding my smile.

“Saskia?” Gregor prompts.

“The three forms are wolf-wolf, human-wolf—but only alphas and betas can do that—and third form. Only Aren can do wolf-human-wolf.”

Wolf-human-wolf?

I sit up in my seat, curious. “He can?”

She nods, pigtails bobbing. “It’s how he won the Wolf King Trials. It’s a wolf's head, human body and wolf claws. No one can win a fight against the third form. That’s why the alpha he was fighting ran away and hid under his bed.”

Gregor is definitely swallowing a smile as he nods somberly. “Thank you, Saskia. You can sit down now.”

“The third form, as Saskia correctly noted, is rare. Aren is the first alpha in three generations to master it. It comprises the strengths of a humananda wolf.”

Leo turns to me. “I tried to bring him for show and tell, but he wouldn’t show.”

I bite back my smile. “He wouldn’t? What a terrible man.”

“Unfortunately,” Gregor interjects. “Third form is not appropriate for show and tell. It is a lifesaving ability that consumes a great deal of strength and energy that is better spent saving the pack than showing his claws in class, Leo.”

The rest of the class isn’t as exciting.

A lot of what Gregor covers seems designed to highlight things I don’t know.

Shifter history. Pack hierarchy. And he gives me a brief glance when he asks the kids to explain the role of the Luna, the female leader of the pack.

I take notes diligently, and when class is over an hour later, my stomach is well and truly growling—so is my wolf—and I have nearly six pages worth of notes.

I walk out clutching my notebook, the last to leave as the kids sprint to the house, the creek, or wherever else they like to hang out after class.

Aren is leaning on the wall outside the schoolroom, arms folded.

He nods at my notebook. “How was class?”

“Interesting.” Beats any economic class ever.

Leo is sprinting down to the creek, clearly with one goal in mind, when I flinch as a woman yells, “Leonardo Kasen, don’t youdareleap in that creek before you’ve done your homework!”

Shoulders low, dejected, Leo swings back around and walks to his mom waiting for him outside the bunkhouse.

“I thought there would be more growling in lessons,” I say to Aren as we walk to the log house.

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