Chapter 58

Megan

The first hints of Friday sunlight peeked through the blinds and hit my eyes. I started to stretch and then smiled as I felt Sam's arms still around me. Wolf nudged me. We were of one mind. She was here, and I knew without doubt that I could shift at will. She rubbed her head against me and gave me a wolfy grin.

Sam stirred, his hand lightly squeezing my bare skin. He sighed in appreciation as his eyes cracked open.

"Morning, Mrs. Wolfe."

I giggled. "My name hasn't been officially changed yet."

"All in good time," he replied, his fingers caressing my side. We lay still for a minute, and last night started replaying through my mind. With a sudden jerk, I bolted upright, clutching the blankets to my chest.

"Oh no." I gasped. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I wailed into the blanket, my stomach writhing with anxiety.

"What? Megan, what's wrong?"

My face flamed, and I could hardly bring myself to look at him. He propped himself up on his elbow, concern covering his face. My eyes darted to his face and away and then back.

"Last night. We didn't…I'm not…you didn't. Oh, crap. Sam, what if I get pregnant?"

His face relaxed, and I wanted to slug him.

"You won't."

My eyebrows probably disappeared into my hairline. "Seriously? It only takes once. Once. You know how many times Camilla Smith had sex? Uh huh. Once." Camilla was a sophomore and seven months pregnant.

"No, I'm not saying that. You won't get pregnant this time. Not from last night."

I gave him a scathing look. "Is there some wolf protocol that has built in birth control?"

He chuckled. "No. But if you were, you know, ready to have a baby, I'd be able to smell it."

My jaw swung open, and I turned horrified eyes on him. My brain raced a mile a minute.

"You can smell if I'm…what, in heat?" the words screeched out of my mouth.

He collapsed back onto his pillow, a laugh working its way up from his belly.

"Well, I never thought of it that way, but yeah. I guess so." His blue eyes twinkled at me before I pulled the covers up over my head.

"This is so mortifying," I mumbled. My whole body flushed with embarrassment. He sobered beside me and tugged the blanket back from my face.

"Seriously, Meg." His eyes were intense and vulnerable. "Do…do you regret it?" he asked softly.

I looked at Sam beside me. He looked at me pleadingly, unsure of himself. Love swelled in my chest as I searched his face and looked in his blue eyes.

"Not even a tiny little bit," I answered as I leaned over to kiss him.

****

We were late for school.

****

I called Grandpa on the way to school.

"Just now getting to school, Meggie-Girl?"

"We're running a bit late today." I felt myself blush. "Um, I decided to stay a wolf. To stay with Sam." Sam squeezed my knee, his cheek lifting as he kept his eyes on the road.

"I'm so pleased to hear it, sweetheart. Sam is a fine young man. He'll do right by you. Your Grandma Elsie would be proud of you, too."

"Thanks, Grandpa."

"I love you, Meggie-Girl. Swing by when you have the chance. I have a wedding present for you, now that it's official."

I giggled. "Okay. I love you."

"Love you, too, Megan Elizabeth."

****

I finally ran into Rachel before lunch. She took one look at me and her jaw nearly came unhinged.

"You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it!" her voice, starting in a hushed whisper was getting louder as her eyes got wider.

"And I'd prefer the entire student body not know about it," I whispered as I dragged her down the hallway where students had dispersed. She gaped at me, words completely failing her now. I'd never seen Rachel so speechless—not even when I shifted into a wolf for the first time in front of her.

"Was it good?"

Laughter burst from my throat. That would be her first question. "It wasn't like what you always think it will be—I mean, it was kind of romantic—a little frantic, but also kind of awkward. It was…" I shrugged, searching for the right word. "…sacred," I finished, serious again. "And it sealed the deal. Not just, you know, that."

Rachel nodded knowingly. "You chose him."

"I did. I do. He's worth it."

She smirked. "Should I say congratulations?" Her nose wrinkled as a smile formed. My answering one felt too large for my face.

"I'll take congratulations. But let's get in line. I'm hungry."

"Work up an appetite, did you?" she said snidely as she poked my ribs.

"Shut up. Seriously. I could eat a horse."

****

The day ended on a high. I floated through every class. Wolf was with me. She would be forever. But more importantly, I'd be with Sam forever. The thought made me giddy. I was his as much as he was mine. A sappy sigh escaped as I rounded the corner to the gym. Sam was there, blue eyes twinkling at me, a secret, sly smile stretching across the whole lower half of his face.

Skipping, I went over to him, and he bent down and kissed me quick. The bell was about to ring, and he still needed to get himself to class.

"Have fun in gym, Mrs. Wolfe." His breathy whisper in my ear made me giggle, and I felt Wolf stretch herself out, preening for Sam. I winked at him and turned to go through the door. A squeak escaped as he gave me a quick squeeze on my backside before sauntering off down the hall.

I continued to float into the girls' locker room. It was practically deserted. I glanced over at the bulletin board for the sports calendar and realized that the girls' basketball team left early today for a game over in Centerville. That meant our gym class was going to have about seven people in it, and I knew at least three of them were out, because they hadn't been in my earlier classes. With a smile still plastered to my face, fairly oblivious to the rest of the world, I went toward the lockers at the far side of the room where it opened up to the left into showers and a few rows of long benches.

"Oh! Shelby, you scared me." I gasped as my peripheral caught her reflection in the mirror inside my locker. I glanced over to find her staring at me, her eyes radiating hate like I'd never encountered. "Shelby? What's wrong?"

She stood, the muscles in her arms bunching as her hands twisted into fists. Her nostrils flared, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. She raised her chin and inhaled, her lip curling in disgust.

"He was supposed to be mine! How many times do I have to try to kill you? Why won't you just die?" She hissed the words. I had no time to process her meaning as her face suddenly melted, her jaw jutting out and canines protruding from her gums. Her eyes sank into her head and were pushed out to the sides as ears struggled through her hair. Black fur rippled along her arms as claws swelled from her fingers.

My mind completely blanked in shock. The moment I registered that Shelby Atwood was indeed a werewolf, Wolf took over, and I shifted within two seconds, teeth bared, hackles raised, a dangerous growl sliding through my teeth.

Shelby's shift was arrested, and she morphed back into her skin, her clothes still intact.

"No! How can you—" Her eyes went from feral to fearful, and her mouth parted, a shocked gasp escaping. Her pounding heartbeat reached my ears as we stared each other down. Wolf growled again, and Shelby turned and fled through the emergency door at the back of the locker room.

Immediately, the alarm blared to life, and I looked around, realizing my clothes were in a heap of ripped pieces, and I was standing as a giant wolf in the girls' locker room. Shifting back as quickly as I'd become a wolf, I snatched the towel out of my locker and shoved the remnants of my clothes back in right as Coach Theobald came dashing in, her hair coming loose from her ponytail and frazzling around her face.

"What happened?" she asked as she swiped an errant piece from her eyes.

"I'm not sure. Shelby just took off out the door. No idea what happened." I hoped I sounded normal and that my voice didn't waver as the lie slipped off my tongue.

Coach Theobald groaned. "I'll go page the office. Also, don't worry about suiting up. Use today as a study hall," she said over her shoulder as she jogged back to her office outside the locker room.

I heaved a breath as I looked down at my blue towel clutched tightly around me. That had been far too close.

Sam. We need to go. Shelby Atwood is a werewolf. Can you get us excused from class?

What? Are you hurt? What happened?

She shifted on me—she wanted to hurt me. Wolf came out to play, and Shelby ran out the emergency exit. I need to find some clothes. I'll be ready in five.

Already have Dad calling in to excuse us both.

Can your dad do that? Have me excused?

His name was added to your school file as an emergency contact when we got married.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed that this, too, had been done behind my back, but happy for it now.

Megan? Are you safe?

Yeah. I'll fill you in more once we're on the way.

How could Shelby hide that she's a wolf for the two years she's lived here?

I'd bet every hair on my hide that she's related to Victor.

I'd like to sink my teeth into his worthless hide.

I wrinkled my nose as I shook out my used gym clothes. I didn't have anything else at hand, but at least I had a sports bra. I looked again. Ugh. I had no spare underwear.

"Megan," Coach Theobald called.

"Yeah, Coach?"

"You've been paged up to the office. Sounds like you're leaving early."

"Thanks! I'll be right there."

I jammed on my wrinkled, T-shirt that could have smelled fresher and mesh shorts and hurriedly plunged every scrap of my ruined clothes into my bag to take home. I didn't need any more raised questions. It was a miracle no one wandered in while Shelby and I had had our fur on.

I texted Rachel on my way to meet Sam.

—Stay away from Shelby Atwood! She's one of them.—

—?!?!?!?!— came her swift reply. Hope she didn't get caught texting in class.

—Call me on your way home.—

—OK!—

****

Dominic blasted out the door the second the tires hit the driveway. His eyes were wild, his hair unkempt. His face still held traces of the previous night's activities, his arm was in a sling and he held it protectively across his middle where his ribs still ached.

"You're not hurt?" were the first words out of his mouth as he looked us both up and down.

"We're fine," Sam answered for us. "But how could Shelby Atwood live here, mingle with us for two years, and keep her wolf side to herself?" He slammed his car door shut.

Even novice as I was, I understood the ramifications of this. If we couldn't pick out each other, our world just got a lot more dangerous. Especially with wolves like Victor Atwood roaming free.

"Let's get inside. There's more. I heard from the patrol." Dominic ushered us gingerly inside and limped in behind us. He sniffed.

"Megan?" he asked, startled. I blushed to the roots of my hair. Sam laughed.

"Um, so Megan is going to stay an official member of the pack." Sam grinned as he looped an arm across my shoulders.

"Ha!" Dominic Wolfe laughed so loudly I jumped. "I'm thrilled. Truly." He smiled down at me in what could only be called a fatherly fashion. An answering grin tugged my lips upward.

Mary had put a tray of cookies on the table and was getting the milk out of the fridge. She thunked it down and ran to us, having overheard Dominic. Her eyes lit up as we entered, and she ran to embrace us both.

"Welcome home," she whispered as she released us. My heart warmed. I was home.

Sam snagged a cookie, offered me one, and then sat at the table. "What did the patrol find?"

Dominic shocked us both. "Amalie Rivers and Jonathan Stone caught a wolf from Victor's pack today."

I felt my eyes nearly leave their sockets as my mouth swung open.

"How? Where?" The questions tumbled from my lips.

"He was at the border of our land, but it was right at the entrance to the heavy forest." He looked at Sam. "It was the spot right by the big boulder."

Sam's head tipped back. "My favorite spot to enter and exit the woods. My scent, and Megan's too, would have been all over that spot particularly."

"Mine would be at least a few days old, though," I added.

"I'm still not ruling it out. Someone has tried to hurt you twice. They've succeeded in capturing me once. Dad, too. It's clear they're after one or both of us or maybe all three of us," Sam responded.

A shiver slipped down my spine. Sam was right. Somehow, we were connected to some manic plan. To what end though? Kill us both? To what purpose? I thought of Shelby today in the locker room.

"Shelby said something today. Right before she shifted. She snarled and said, ‘He was supposed to be mine. How many times do I have to try to kill you? Why won't you just die?' I think she's behind, or at least knows more than she should about, the attempts on my life and maybe the abduction. What if she was behind the car and the arrow? To get you? To get me out of the way? That sounds completely crazy out loud. And she can't have masterminded your abduction. There's no way she has that kind of power or resources at her disposal."

"She's a wolf. She's not thinking in human terms. She's thinking in mate terms. I think it's the first solid lead we've had on any of it," Dominic admitted gruffly. "We need to find her. She knows things we do not. In the meantime, Son, I think it best we go and have a chat with our guest. He's the same wolf you scented at the theater and at your school."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Maybe some answers at last."