Chapter Nineteen

Saturday afternoon, I braided my hair back out of the way, not because it affected shifting, but it just felt more like what a person would wear to go hiking. I donned a whole new outfit of jeans, tight white tee, and sneakers, grateful once again for my sisters who made sure I had clothes to help me fit in here. They had asked me what I was wearing tonight and had approved my choice, so that gave me more confidence.

It was a little harder to think about the fact that I'd have to take all those clothes off in order to shift to my wolf. Also, I had a little glitch in my shifting that hadn't happened since I was going through puberty when I'd also had a lot of anxiety about my changing body. But that was a long time ago, so I shouldn't have to worry.

I heard them coming down the hall and didn't wait for them to knock. Jude and Miles wore running shorts and hoodies, and were full of cheerful banter on the way to the elevator. They had me laughing so hard, I forgot to be worried about the confining box we rode in or anything else. This time, Pax was driving his own car, so we all piled in and off we went. The city was buzzing this early in the evening, lots of people heading out to enjoy their Saturday fun. And, for the first time, I was part of it.

The park was much closer than I expected, given their description of it. Unfortunately, a chain blocked the entrance with a sign hanging on it that indicated the hours were from dawn to dusk.

"I guess we can't go, then," I said, disappointed but a little relieved too.

"Oh no, we got this." Pax pulled up to the gate, and Miles hopped out of the back seat and went over to the chain. "Remember, I told you it was closed." Miles opened the lock and dropped the chain to the ground where Pax drove over it. Then Miles replaced the chain and got back in the car. We drove into the parking lot and into a dark corner where a tree would hide us from the highway. "Just not closed to us."

"You have a key?"

"I have the code." Miles grinned at me and opened his door. "Let's run, people. There's no strict curfew on the weekends, but if we get in too late, we will have to listen to a lecture."

Undressing went better than I thought. In the dimness, I was able to pretend they couldn't really see me, but the intimacy of the moment still hung over me. Shifting as part of the class was reminiscent of running in the compound area with guards who were also in wolf form. My father might have every animal form at his disposal, but all his employees to the best of my knowledge were wolves. He claimed they were the most loyal shifters. Which brought Angie to mind, and I sent a wish into the night sky that she was safe. We had agreed not to contact one another for at least a year for safety reasons, so I had no way to know how she was doing.

I tossed my clothes onto the front seat of the car and shifted into my wolf, joining the other three at the trailhead nearby. They were larger than me, as was common among wolf shifters, but as we began to run, I was easily able to keep up with them. Or maybe they were being considerate. My wolf was thrilled to be out with them and showed off a little, bouncing ahead and twitching her tail as she bounded over a log or scrambled up a pile of boulders. I'd never experienced her behaving like this, but it was fun because I felt exactly the same way. Mates, she announced as we padded along the trail. Ours.

We don't know that. Not yet.

Mates.

Our wolves were having a great time together, but it was early days to admit they were ours forever. We were only on our second date, and I was fairly sure my father was out there somewhere hunting for me. If he'd even come back from his run yet. Maybe he was willing to just forget about me? He hadn't had any trouble impregnating other women until he got a child he actually wanted to rear. And supposedly he'd loved my mom, whatever that meant to him because that feeling certainly hadn't extended to me. Not if love required showing affection.

Shoving these thoughts aside, I followed Miles' wolf up a hill and stood next to him with the others around us. We overlooked the heart of the city here with all its lights and activity, yet we were all alone in nature. The sounds of cars and other urban noise was muted, frogs and crickets louder.

I loved it. Nature hadn't been warm and green and sweet smelling in the compound, too icy and cold all the time. I could have stayed here forever with these males, their fur thick and full, their eyes glowing in the semidarkness. It was magical, but it was also time to go back. So we turned and ran the way we'd come, and I took it all in because part of me could not believe it wouldn't end, but the rest hoped against hope for a happy future. And try though I might not to get attached, not to dream that Fate would be so kind, I wanted that future with these kind, sexy, smart, funny, wonderful males.

We stopped for burgers on the way back, starving from all the running, and got back a bit after midnight. Because it was the weekend, we still should have been fine, but a white envelope with the Werewolf Academy logo on it taped to my door caught my attention. "Maybe we are late?" I reached for it and slit the side open, dumped out the single sheet of paper inside. And everything—the evening, the whole semester so far—faded into obscurity at the message.

"What is it?" Pax took the paper from my hand. "From your expression, it's not a good thing?"

"No, it's very very bad."