Page 58 of Drive me Wild (South Island Shifters)

Martha looks at her, opens her mouth to say something, but closes it as swiftly as it had opened.

Declan leans in. “My Nana is an elder of our clan and must be obeyed. Even by you and I. I might be the Alpha, but her wishes will always be honoured as she was a previous Luna. Even Martha can’t deny her.”

Ravin pushes the basket over to me.

“Thank you for this. You didn’t have to. I love my job. What animal are you?” I know I had told Declan I didn’t want any animal talk tonight, but curiosity is getting the best of me now that I’m beginning to feel more at home. When it comes to Ravin, I don’t need to ask since she’s Declan’s sister, and it’s obvious what form she takes, but it’s the polite thing to do.

“A wolf, like my big brother, only my colours are white and brown. I have my mother’s colours.”

Ravin re-joins her husband and daughter. Then I turn to Margaret.

“Wolf. And I also want to welcome you to the family,” she says.

I smile. We get around a few more people who are also wolves, then I meet a brown bear, and I find myself at a stop in front of Brendan. I already know him as the guy who fixed my tyres, but now I discover he’s a leopard. Anger, or maybe uncertainty, flashes in his eyes at the end of our introduction, which causes me to wonder that he might not think of me as a good fit for the clan.

We next stop at Martha.

“Martha, will you please acknowledge this change? Winter will be your Luna one day, and you’ll obey her.”

She looks at me with a hard, cold stare. “I’m a white stork. The irony isn’t lost on me either.” “Most of the midwives are storks here,” Declan confirms for me.

“A lovely bird. I’d like to see it sometime,” I say. She looks at me, her eyes widening, surprised that I’ve asked it of her. She’s the only one of the clan I’ve requested to see their form so far.

“One day,” she says.

Moving on, we stop at Officer Graham, who is holding hands with another woman. “I’m Kelcy, and like Graham, whom you’ve already met, I’m a bear.”

“They mated last week. Graham hasn’t told me yet, but I know,” Declan whispers in my ear.

“You can stop with the commentary; it’s distracting, and I’m not sure I like you digging around in your clan’s heads without their knowledge.”

“Graham was thinking about it on patrol last week. He was doing it on purpose.”

“Shhh…” I scold him as I turn my attention to one man sitting back in his chair, legs stretched out ahead of him. His arms are folded across his chest, and he’s looking at the ground.

“Come on, Rafe, it’s your turn,” Declan heckles him.

“Shut up! I don’t want to talk about it. And she’s already seen my form. Next person,” Rafe replies, sulking a little.

“Oh, come on! You enjoyed Winter looking after you,” Declan says.

“Best four hours of my fucking life. It doesn’t change the fact of what I am,” Rafe says.

“Are you the little blue penguin?” I ask. He nods. “You are adorable, Rafe.”

He groans. “All you women think it’s cute. It’s not cute. I’m six-foot-fucking-six. I should be a wolf, or a bear, or even an Orca, but a fucking little blue penguin? Couldn’t I at least be a big penguin? Like an emperor? That would have been awesome.”

We all burst into laughter. “You’re handy in a fight, brother. Never forget that,” Zane says. Declan squeezes my hand tightly. The rest of the group tell me their animals. It’s an impressive mixture of species, and they all seem happy with Declan’s clan.

“Any questions?” Declan asks as my stomach growls.

“One.” He cocks his head to the side. “Where’s dessert? I’m starving.”

“One of us already! Yeah!” Rafe hollers across the room as Declan beams at me. At this moment, I know Declan and I are meant to be, but tonight—and in the upcoming days—I’ll digest all the information I was given tonight. The idea of shifting into a wolf form myself is a little scary and something I need to talk to Declan about and soon.

For now, I want to enjoy the time with his clan and get to know them better. However, it doesn’t escape me that several members have already left the party.

I can’t help the doubt that creeps into the back of my mind that I might not be entirely accepted within the clan as readily as Declan believes I will be.

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