Page 97 of Mortal Shift
“I’m shifting. I’ll carry you on my back.”
“Oh.” It probably shouldn’t have disappointed me that he had an actual plan, and that plan involved a sensible way of getting to the moon hunt.
“Hey, look on the bright side, Cali,” he said with a cocky grin. “You still get to ride me.”
“Ugh. On second thoughts, I think I’d rather walk.”
He laughed, and the sound transformed halfway through to a feral grunt as he shifted into his wolf form. On four legs his eyes were still level with mine, and there was a silent challenge in them.
“Fine,” I huffed. “But don’t think we’re not going to talk about this, because you are enjoying thiswaytoo much.”
He crouched and I scrambled onto his back, grabbing a fistful of his fur as he launched into a flat out run across the academy’s uneven ground. And I seriously hoped this wasn’t his plan for how I was going to keep up with the hunt, because I would never live this down.
“Hey, watch it!” I shouted, slapping at his shoulder. “I’m a little higher up than you. Branches are an issue, you know.”
His grunted reply sounded suspiciously like laughter, and I cussed and ducked lower over his shoulders.
We somehow made it to the clearing in one piece, and Cole stopped just short, so that we were still in the tree line. I climbed off and fell into step beside him, touched and surprised in equal measure that he’d thought about how I’d feel showing up astride him in front of all the wolves who’d be running tonight.
All the wolves who’d been running tonight.Shit. That wasn’t just wolves from our year, and Ryker, but the best and strongest wolves in the entire academy. Sure, some of them I’d seen in the common room, on the rare times I went there, or passed them in the academy’s hallways, but this was different. This was them taking on their animal forms, closing the gap between their human façade and their bestial nature, destructive and depraved and deadly. And all with something to prove.
Cole’s shoulder butted up against mine and I blinked him into focus to see him watching me with eyes that were both concerned and filled with absolute faith. I cleared my throat.
“Uh, yeah. I’m good. I’ve got this. We should—” I gestured to the clearing barely visible through the tree line, and he dipped his head.
Together, we went forward to meet the hunt.
Ryker’s eyes raked over us, and he gave a grunt and dipped his chin in approval, just the tiniest fraction. But he wasn’t kicking our asses, so I’d take it. A few of the pack were in wolf form and the rest, like Ryker were still human.
“Good,” Ryker said, and all eyes turned to him. “That’s everyone. Prepare to shift into your wolf forms.” He turned a deliberate look my way. “Those of you who have them.”
Gee, thanks Ryker. Just in case anyone had missed it. A chuckle came from a second-year shifter across from me, and Ryker’s sharp gaze snapped to him.
“Something funny, Ortega?” he demanded. The mirth fell from the student’s face, and he quickly shook his head.
“No, alpha.”
“Good. Because everyone here is here by my invitation, and I will not have my judgement questioned by some unqualified pup. Is that clear?”
He swept his gaze round the entire circle of shifters—twenty or so in all—and they all nodded. I hid a smile. He hadn’t been drawing attention to my inability to shift to belittle me, he’d been doing it so he could shoot down anyone else who tried.
“A pack protects its weakest member, so I expect you all to look out for our little pet human…for however long she’s here.”
Ugh. Right, of course. So much for not wanting to belittle me. What had I been thinking? He was just looking for a way to really drive it home, like I needed that. Being surrounded by a literal pack of wolves pretty much took care of that for him.
Cole butted his shoulder against mine in a silent gesture of solidarity, and I straightened my spine. He was right. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known they were going to play games.
“Thank you, Alpha Ryker,” I said, my voice saccharine sweet and a smile ghosting across my lips. “I appreciate your concern for my frailties. I’ll try not to be too much of a disappointment after you so generously selected us.”
Ryker grunted. “You do that. I seem to recall you’re only here because you can trust others to protect you.”
My jaw tightened and amused triumph darkened his eyes. Score one to Ryker. But this wasn’t about point scoring in some verbal sparring match. This was about me proving my worth in front of the best wolves in the academy, and I had absolutely no fucking idea how I was going to do that.
“Prepare yourselves,” Ryker bellowed into the utter silence of the night. “We will shift and begin the hunt.” His eyes raked the circle as those still clothed discarded what they were wearing, and he nodded once more.
“Shift,” he ordered, his voice laced with alpha compulsion, and then he threw his head back and howled. Not a human facsimile of a howl, but a true wolf’s howl bursting from a human throat.
My gut clenched as I watched everyone in the circle erupt in fur and all the breath seemed to rush out of my lungs, so that I couldn’t breathe. My legs seemed to bunch and tremble at the sight. Fuck, was I having a panic attack? I twisted to Cole and saw the confusion painted on his lupine face. Breathe. I needed to breathe. Damned if I could remember how, though. How the hell did a panic attackhurtthis much? It felt like—
