Page 36 of Take Me
Her light brows rose up on her forehead. “Rafe took care of you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I think. I fell asleep and he was still there. But he wasn’t here when I woke up.”
“You fell asleep while he was in your bed?” Her head jutted forward in disbelief while her eyebrows pulled together.
I hid behind my hands. “He forced a shift on me.”
She blinked. “Oh.”She puffed her cheeks out. “Well, that explains why you fell asleep.”
“But it wasn’t even like that, even if I hadn’t been exhausted.” My shoulders slumped.
Tracey nodded as she sat on the edge of my bed. “Rafe is a good guy, even if he is broody and an ass.”
I rolled my eyes. “You heard my dad talking about him and what he did for us.”
Tracey gave me a sheepish grin. “Yes, but I also saw Rafe when he got back this morning. He looked like he was making the walk of shame.”
“Did he look angry?” I bit my lip.
“He looked confused but then Knox tackled him to the ground and nothing else mattered.”
“This Knox character…” I trailed off. He had probably saved my life, even if it was a terrifying way he had done it.
Tracey leaned back and kicked her shoes off. “He’s a bit intense but as a Guardian of the Pack, he is more in tune with his wolf than anyone else.”
“What did he mean when he said I’m a sigma?”
Tracey pressed her lips together. “I don’t know if I’m the one that should tell you this.”
I groaned. “You’re my best friend, why wouldn’t you be the right one to tell me?”
Tracey licked her lips. “Because I won’t know for sure until you shift again. Your first shift was a bit hazy. I was trying to keep you from killing me.” She sat up quickly and her eyes got big. “Oh my gosh, did you try to kill Rafe last night? Please tell me you did.”
I shook my head and she fell back to the bed. Her hair created an arc around her shoulders as she connected with the mattress again. “No, my wolf was super content. It was an overall strange experience.”
“Well, in any case, I won’t be able to know until you shift again, which should be in a few days if your body feels ready again.”
I rolled my shoulders. Most of the soreness had left my body and I sighed. I knew as soon as I took a hot shower or bath, the rest would fade away. “I think I should be ready to shift again on the full moon.”
Tracey grinned. “You won’t just be shifting, you’ll be running with the rest of the pack. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
I pressed my lips together. “As long as Knox stays away from me, I should be okay.”
Tracey laughed and shook her head against my pillow. “Well, Knox is exceptionally unpredictable. I can’t speak for him, but I have a feeling he will be waiting for the prisoner to shift so he can get into his mind. The wolf mind is easier to get into than the human. Knox or Mav should be able to break the barrier on his thoughts. We have to know the witch that did this to him and possibly the wolf.”
I had completely forgotten about Carden. “He doesn’t have to shift?”
Tracey’s eyes left my ceiling fan. “The Guardians do their training in their wolf form for over the course of a year. Think of it as SEAL training but more brutal. The ones that can’t shift back at the end of it are executed.”
My mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“Because their minds are broken and that’s why their human half can’t come back. Only the most powerful survive.”
Chapter 42
Jade Rivers
My parents had been gone two days and I was getting back into the swing of things even though Tracey kept bothering me to move onto the pack lands. Which was something I couldn’t do. I needed to be self-sufficient. Moving in with the pack that wasn’t even mine didn’t scream independence. It screamed desperation. I needed a paying job. I needed responsibility for myself. I couldn’t do that if I was still relying on others. I had all of my resumes typed up and printed out.I could do this.There was part of me that was a wolf but I wasn’t going to harp on that. I could survive in this town and my life without constantly having to worry. I would live my life to the best of my capabilities. The rest be damned.
