Page 75 of Dead Wolf Walking (Bad Moon Academy 1)
“Where are we going? Should I bring a knife?”
He shoots me a worried look. “Do you have a knife?”
Laughing at his sudden worry, I shake my head. “No, but the cafeteria has plenty, and I’m certain Morg has a few.”
“Ah, yes, Morg does like her weapons…” He trails off, and his mouth turns down.
Huh. I wonder what that’s about.
Everett grabs my arm when I start toward the back door and draws me toward the front one.
“I thought we were running.”
He nods. “We are, but we’re going this way this time and had you not been inside your head arguing with your wolf a few minutes ago you would have heard the plan. Now I guess you’ll have to be surprised.”
Scowling at him, I pull my arm from his hold and walk next to him. We head across the plush grass and away from the academy. Aside from the hill leading up to the building, the forest surrounds the school on all sides. Soon enough, we’re surrounded by trees and Everett stops walking.
“Ready to shift?”
“Yup.” I search for a good tree to hide behind as he starts to strip in front of me. “You do that like it’s not weird,” I say before heading to my tree.
“It’s not weird. Bodies are beautiful. You shouldn’t be ashamed.”
“I’m not ashamed.” I duck behind a tree and start to take off my tank top.
“You’re hiding.”
Ugh. Solid point.
“I’m not used to flashing my naked body around like you are.”
“Because human society has made you feel like you have to hide yourself away from the world.”
I scoff. “Because walking around naked is no big deal.”
“It’s not,” he says as I hook my fingers into the top of my shorts.
“Oh?” I ask. When I step out from behind the tree and finish undressing, Everett groans. “You’re right, definitely nothing to worry about.”
If I could hear Joan right now, I’m sure she’d be singing my praises, but I still haven’t dropped the mental shield.
Everett shifts, and I smirk when his wolf prowls closer. Not a big deal, my ass. He asked for it, though. So I bend over and straighten my clothes, ignoring his growl. Once I have a neat pile, I reach for Joan.
Don’t forget what I said.
Yeah, yeah. No clothes, no snacks,she says.
I draw her forward and release control, letting the shift take over me. When we’re on all fours, she picks up the clothes. Everett yips and starts into the trees. We follow after him, trotting along at a steady pace until he starts to run.
If I didn’t have clothes, we could beat him,Joan says.
Suck it up, buttercup. We need the clothes.
Despite what she said, we catch up to him with ease, and he playfully bumps his shoulder into ours. We dodge fallen branches, duck under brush, and weave through the forest until the dull roaring of water fills our ears.
A river?I ask Joan like she knows this place any better than I do.
Your guess is as good as mine.
