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"Okay, Scar," he said and took my hand in his.
It took us a few minutes to get to the gates in front of the compound.
"Open the gates," he ordered to someone.
I wrestled with the growing need to shift into my wolf. Nothing else around me mattered.
The gates opened and I walked into the forest with Cade and a few others behind me. In the forest, with trees around me, I dropped to my knees. The need in me was so strong, but I had no idea how I was supposed to shift.
"Just let it happen," Cade whispered from beside me.
I closed my eyes and gave in to the need. It took a few moments, but then I felt my body change. It was painful, but I could handle it as my human form shifted into my wolf. The pain was nowhere near what I'd just experienced earlier.
This time when I opened my eyes, I was a wolf.
"You're beautiful," said Cade in awe as he stood in front of me.
I cocked my head at him and he smiled at me. My heart warmed at his words.
I looked down to my front legs and paws. I had soft midnight-black fur covering me.
In a moment, Cade changed into his wolf and he stood beside me, magnificently powerful. The color of his fur matched mine. He walked closer and nuzzled me with his wet snout. I loved the feeling of his fur against mine.
The two of us stood side-by-side, facing the forest.
I felt alive and I closed my eyes for a second to adjust to the intensity of my senses before I ran for the first time in my wolf form through the forest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Scarlett
The feeling of running as a wolf through the forest was indescribable. Instinctively, I ran with Cade running protectively beside me. I pushed as hard as I could, feeling my powerful legs carry me through the forest so fast that the trees I was running alongside began to blur.
I felt a peacefulness settle over me as I enjoyed the feel of the air brushing past my face. The feel of the wind gliding through my fur was soothing. I ran as fast as I could, but Cade stuck beside me. I glanced to him and he looked at me briefly.
You are so beautiful,I heard him murmur to me. I felt like a giddy girl at his words. Every girl wanted to be told that they were beautiful, but the difference with Cade was that he didn't have to say the words because he made me feel beautiful.
The smell of something I couldn't place hit me and my running faltered for a moment as I tried to figure out what it was.
Stop, Scar!Cade shouted through the mind-link desperately. I dug my paws into the dirt and came to a stop.
I turned to look at Cade, but he was already standing protectively in front of me. He looked like he was braced to attack. I looked past him but couldn't see anything, despite the distinctive smell filling my nostrils.
Cade's eyes fixed on the row of trees in front of us.
What's going on?I asked him.
While I waited for Cade to answer, I saw the others move in front of me beside Cade. It almost looked like they were preparing for an attack.
Cade?I questioned again, feeling the initial feeling of fear.
It'll be okay, Scar, just stay where you are,he soothed as he kept his eyes on the threat ahead of us. A threat we still couldn't see.
Despite his words, I felt a sliver of fear creep up my spine. He might be saying one thing, but I could see from their actions that something wasn't right. What had been an innocent and carefree run in the forest had just turned into something unexpectedly deadly.
I kept my eyes fixed on the trees in front of us, but I couldn't see anything. The silence was deafening.
I sniffed the air. The initial smell that had hit me became stronger. It was then that I realized it was another wolf. Another whiff of the air told me the smell was too strong for only one wolf, there had to be more than one.
