Page 54 of The Awakened Wolf

Tony and Gigi must have muted themselves because an animated but soundless argument commenced in their window. Julius nodded to himself. Yeh simply looked disgusted. My sister’s strategy finally clicked in my mind. Her threat hadn’t been lost on the others.

Goddess, help us.

“Now I’m sure,” Tony said, finally unmuting while Gigi remained red-faced and glowering, “my pack should stay as far away from you and yours as possible, Kiana, because you’ve lost your mind.”

“It’s true,” Evan said, jumping up. “I’m her… firstborn? I used to be a human, but when we were attacked by anti-shifters on the subway, I was badly injured, and—” He swallowed. “I was going to die, but Elyse bit me. She didn’t know what would happen then, or why she was even doing it, but it changed me. Saved me. I’ve only been a shifter for like…” At this he paused, shaking his head. “Shit, it’s only been a little over a month. How can that be?”

He looked at me across the length of the table, his blue eyes swimming with emotion. I wanted to run and throw my arms around him, but he wasn’t my mate, and a display of affection like that would only cause more trouble with the other Alphas.

“Prove it,” Tony spat, and my heart sank.

There was no way to prove it. We could have faked Evan’s old human life, created documents just as we did for ourselves when necessary. Without a time machine, there was no proof of what happened in that subway car. I’d thought that was for the best until now.

“Kiana’s telling the truth about both of them,” my father spoke for the first time.

No.

My gaze flew to meet his, and I shook my head. He didn’t have to do this. Didn’t have to reveal how vulnerable he really was. There had to be another way…

But he kept going. “When Kiana bit me during our skirmish,” he said, taking a deep breath, “I lost my wolf. I felt him leave me and… that is why I can’t shift anymore.”

“Again,” Yeh said, with his annoyingly even tone, “this can’t be proven.” His dark eyes met Phelan’s. “I’ve never known you to be a liar, but these are extraordinary times. How do we know you’re not pretending to be unable to shift to scare us into subservience to your daughters?”

“Elyse,” Jayla spoke up. “You can prove it to them.”

“What?” I frowned, confused.

“With me,” she prodded. “You can prove it right now.”

My eyes widened as her words sank in. There was only one human in the room. “Jayla,” I said. “No. You don’t want to live this way.”

An annoyed huff left Evan at this, but I ignored it. I knew this had been hell for him, no matter how much he had now accepted it. But Jayla still had a choice.

“None of you,” Jayla said, tears shining in her eyes, “are going to get to live at all if you don’t stop Godwin Moone, and it’s going to take all of you, so you have to show them, Elyse. Now.”

No. No. No. My chest burned as I tried to think of a way out of this. All I could see was Charlie’s face, her disappointment that I’d cost every single one of them the life they’d known before… me.

“C’mon, then, Chosen One,” Tony said, his voice growing conspiratorial. “Show us your stuff.”

“Yeah,” Gigi joined him. “Show us that sexy bite of yours.”

The desire to bite them both the old-fashioned way gave me the push I needed, and I shifted with a snarl. My chair slammed into the wall behind us, and the clothes I’d been wearing over my shiftskin hit the floor like confetti. Sebastian nodded as I stalked past him, and his words echoed in my head. Sometimes the ends did justify the means. Sometimes problems were bigger than one person’s morals. Sometimes you had to do what you were born to do.

I stopped in front of my only remaining human friend and bowed my head respect. Her fear stench rolled off her in waves that threatened to drown me. But what was that old saying? It wasn’t brave if you weren’t afraid? Jayla trembled when I pushed my nose against her left shoulder, and Evan wrapped his arms around her. A gesture of restraint as much as comfort. I’d never done this to someone who wasn’t flat on their back; if she tried to pull away, I might rip her arm off like the woman who shot Charlie.

“Tell her it will only hurt for a second, okay?” I asked Evan.

He murmured the words into her ear as he pulled aside her shirt, revealing the smooth brown skin underneath. Part of me recoiled at the thought of the scar I was about to leave her with, but another part wagged her tail with selfish excitement. We had lost Charlie, but now we would never lose each other. Not for a very long time.

“Just get it over with,” Jayla muttered without looking away.

I drew a deep breath, opening my jaws, and then bit down as gently as I could while still breaking the skin. I felt the strange tug I always did when someone’s body split and began to form the wolf. When I was sure it was done, I let go and backed up. Blood trickled from the four punctures on her shoulder and, judging from the queasy look in her eyes, stained my white muzzle. But her medical curiosity took over, and she reached up with her right hand to prod the wound.

“Is that all—” Tony began but then gasped as Jayla pitched forward onto the table with a startled yelp.

Evan leaned over her back, grasping her arms as if this were nothing more than a hangover, but I soon realized he was holding her up so the Alphas wouldn’t think we’d pulled any magic tricks behind the table. I backed into Father’s chair in my haste to give my friends space, creating a domino effect as he rolled into Kiana and she rolled into Sebastian. Everyone, including the Alphas on the screen, cringed when Jayla’s sprouting claws squeaked across the glass as she began to slip.

Evan’s biceps bulged as he drew on his own shifter strength to keep her halfway on the table. Her furry cheek pressed against the glass as her bones twisted and popped, but all in all, Jayla’s transformation went smoother than that of any other wolf I’d created so far, which I assumed had something to do with her subjecting herself to it willingly. That came as some relief, at least. Suddenly the Old Stories of Chann creating mates seemed far less brutal than it had when I’d watched Evan change.

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