Page 79 of In Her Own Rite

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EMERSON

“It’s been three weeks,” I say, walking into the gym. I asked Maren and Quinn to hang back today, so I could see Seb alone. I glance around the gym to see that there’s no one else here.Good.

“Morlaa’kutto you, too,” he says, looking up from his seat on the mat.

“You said I would have three weeks to prove myself. I can do four pull-ups, I’ve more than doubled the weight I can lift, and Quinn says I’m getting a lot better at boxing and self-defense. Let me keep training.”

“Em—”

“Seb, I have everything in me that I need to do this. I can run three miles and shift on command.Andmy healing is stronger, which Gabe thinks I can use to buy myself more time in the ring.”

Seb sets his jaw, eyeing me. “You shifted on commandonce, on a run in the woods. Do you think you can do it again, now?”

“Yes.”

“Show me.”

I take a deep breath and put my feet into fighting stance. I remember Quinn’s words in my head.Pool your energy. Root below into the earth. Send it up into the ancestors’ space.

I exhale and try to connect to my inner wolf. The second I feel her, I bow my conscious mind over to her, and suddenly I’m tumbling, rolling in on myself, and folding into my wolf form.

I look up at Seb, victorious.

“Good,” he says nodding. “Now back.”

My wolf wants to run and play, but I do my best to find my conscious mind and let her take control. A few seconds later, I’m unfurling, my arms and legs unfolding, and I scramble to my feet.

Seb looks at the ground to give me some privacy. I pick up Maren’s shifting shirt and the pants I borrowed from Quinn and snap them into me.

“So?” I ask.

“Well, it takes too long and you look like shit doing it. And we need to train you to shift back onto your feet, not your ass. But okay.”

“Yes?!” I say, jumping up and down. “You’re saying you’ll keep training me?”

“Yeah. But it’s gonna get harder from here, not easier.”

“Okay,” I say, nodding. “I can do harder.”

“Not physically. We need to start the mental training.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

He nods. “We’ll start that this afternoon. For now, let’s get a workout in. Run for five minutes around the track.”

I start walking towards it.

“No. In your wolf form. Go.”

We get homein the afternoon and find Quinn and Gabe in the kitchen. Gabe still can’t put weight on his foot, but he’s leaning on his crutches while Quinn follows his orders on how to make lunch.

“Hey guys,” I say, walking in. “Guess who’s allowed to keep training?”

I put my hands up and do a little twirl for them.

Quinn grins at me. “That’s awesome, dude. You deserve it.”

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