Chapter Eighteen

If I'd thought Thaden would treat me differently after everything he'd told me, I'd have been disappointed. Luckily, I'd long since lost that kind of naivety. Well, mostly. And at least now I understood why he was acting the way he was. That should have made it easier to stomach.

And yet, somehow that made it worse. I saw Thaden only when he needed to feed, and then he was cold and distant. He wasn't outright insulting me anymore, which was something, but somehow this felt…worse.

My feet dragged to a halt as I reached the track through the woods that led to the clearing where Ryker held his lessons. I didn't much fancy getting there before Cole. I wasn't afraid of the other shifters—I mean, I probably should have been, given that any one of them could rip me limb from limb, but I wasn't—but I didn't think I could stomach dealing with any other students making snide remarks about me right now. At least if Cole was with me, they'd keep quiet. And if hiding behind Cole made me a coward, well, it was hardly the worst thing I'd been called since I got here.

Footsteps crunched across frozen ground behind me and I turned quickly.

"Hey, princess," Cole said, his eyes tracing my outline, and then he frowned. "Hey, Jax, go on ahead. We'll catch up."

Jax nodded and cut ahead into the trees, leaving me alone with Cole.

"What's wrong?" he asked at once, and I shook my head.

"Nothing, it's fine."

"Did you just ‘nothing' me, princess? Because you know how I feel about you hiding what's worrying you. Do I need to take you back to our dorm and spank the truth from you?"

My breath caught in my throat at the threat and a comfortable heat spiked between my legs. Cole chucked roughly, nostrils flaring.

"Hey!" I objected, slapping his shoulder. "You are not allowed to use your stupid shifter senses for…that."

"Oh, aren't I?" he said, catching my hand and backing me up against the tree, then pinning my hands above my head while his eyes roved over me hungrily. "Says who?"

"Um…" I licked my lips, trying to think of some kind of response that would make actual sense.

"Fuck, you're hot," Cole breathed, and ducked his head, claiming my lips in a smoldering kiss that had me melting against him. And then he pulled away.

"But you still didn't tell me what's wrong."

"Thaden," I said bluntly, and then ducked his eye. "I'm sorry, I know he's your friend, but…"

"But nothing," Cole said, releasing my hands but pulling me against him to plant a soft kiss on my forehead. "You're my mate. Tell me what he did."

"I just…" I looked down at the ground. "It's stupid. I thought things would be different, after…you know. But if anything, it's worse." I felt my cheeks burn, and my voice slipped out as a whisper as I forced myself to look at him. "It makes me feel dirty."

Fury flashed through Cole's eyes above me and his jaw tensed. "I'll speak to him."

"No, don't." I blew out a breath. "I appreciate it, honestly. But we need this alliance. And I can handle Thaden. He just…gets under my skin."

"You don't have to handle him. Just say the word."

I shook my head firmly. "No. I'll deal with it. Don't bother giving me that look, Cole Bryant. I am more than capable of standing up for myself."

He let out a throaty chuckle. "Don't I know it? My beautiful, fierce mate."

"Yeah, well, I'm not as fierce as Ryker," I said, stepping out of his grip. "So we should get going before we both get our asses kicked."

Cole let me go but caught hold of my hand, wrapping it in his as we set off through the wooded track, and Thaden's mind games seemed a whole lot less significant. With my mate by my side, there was nothing I couldn't do.

The walk took only a few minutes and then we emerged into a clearing—where I couldn't help but notice pretty much every shifter in our year was already gathered. A quick scan of the gathered faces told me Ryker wasn't here, so we weren't technically late yet…but I had a feeling we were about to have bigger problems. More than one dark look was being sent in Jax's direction, and towards us as the other shifters noticed our arrival.

"Look who's here," Kallan said, stepping from the cluster and looking us over with a cold smirk. "I thought starting shit and then running away was more your pack's style."

"You're the one who should start running," I snarled, and it was only Cole's hand around mine holding me back.

"Aw, what's the matter? Did you go running back to mommy?"

"If you ever go near her again—"

Kallan swaggered forward, Eva and Harvey on his flank as ever. "You'll what, dhampir? Try to bite me with your filthy abomination fangs? Because I've got teeth too, and they're bigger than yours. Want to see?"

Cole thrust me behind him. "Back the fuck up, Kallan, while you can still walk."

"I don't think I will. Your pack–"

"Is not here right now," Ryker's voice snapped from behind me. "And nor is yours. I'm the only alpha here, and like fuck are you going to waste my time arguing about who's got the biggest dick. Back up, the pair of you. And Cali, why is it when there's trouble you're always standing right next to it?" He looked from Cole to Kallan and back. "Did I fucking stutter? Move. Now."

His words carried a rumble of power, and both Cole and Kallan averted their eyes from each other as it hit them.

"Asshole," I muttered under my breath, glaring at Kallan. His head whipped round and he stared daggers my way.

"Don't think I've forgotten you, dhampir," he spat, and then his mouth curled sadistically. "I'm looking forward to comparing how you and your mother taste."

I wasn't sure if Cole was holding me back or I was holding him back, and before I could work it out, Jax pushed through the crowd.

"That's my luna-in-waiting, pup."

"She's my bitch-in-waiting, so stay out of things that don't concern you, pup. And when my pack wins the war, I'll make a pet of you so you can watch."

Jax threw himself at Kallan with a roar of anger.

"Down!" Ryker bellowed, and Jax crumpled into a crouch mid-stride, head bowed under the weight of Ryker's dominance.

"That is the last anyone will say about any war that may or may not be coming," Ryker snapped in his usual voice. "Save that crap for outside my lesson. Do I make myself clear?"

"The Iron Shadows shouldn't have trespassed," someone shouted, but I was too slow to catch who it was—and I doubted they'd be dumb enough to say it twice.

"There won't be any Iron Shadows left soon," Harvey sneered. "We'll wipe them out."

"Over my dead body," Jax spat from his crouch.

"Oh, that can be arranged. Just as soon as we've finished playing with the dhampir bitch."

Cole surged forward and I was almost too slow to pull him back this time.

"Enough of this shit," Ryker growled, alpha compulsion layering his every word. "I want the fucking lot of you in forms without mouths. Shift. Now."

I felt the power slam into me and saw the tension roll through Cole. He gritted his teeth, fighting hard and buying himself long enough to yank his shirt over his head before his bones started to crack and crunch.

The breath rushed out of my lungs in a sharp burst as I watched and my stomach churned, tying itself in knots as I tried to get a breath and couldn't. Why couldn't I breathe? My legs felt weak watching my mate forced to obey, and—

My throat clenched around a cry of pain that had no air to carry it. My eyes widened, feeling like they were going to pop out of my skull, and my legs, weak from air loss and the sudden pain, gave way under me. What…what was happening? Pain wracked my body from head to toe and I doubled over, bracing myself on one arm.

Cole, fully wolf, was at my side in a heartbeat, worry unmistakable his lupine face, though it seemed blurred around the edges. No, it wasn't him, everything was blurry.

My arm snapped in a haze of fiery agony, and this time the scream burst from me, layering over the anxious whines of my mate.

"Back up," Ryker snapped at him. "Now."

I wanted to protest that Cole was my mate, Cole wasn't the one doing this to me. Cole was the one trying to protect me. I didn't want him to leave. But my mouth felt strange, and my lips weren't moving properly to form the words.

And then a new agony erupted across my shoulders and words were driven from my mind. I hit the ground hard, laying prone and kicking in the dirt as the pain spread through my whole body like it was trying to rip me apart. My back arched and I screamed…but the sound that burst from my lips was a howl.

I froze, listening to the dying echoes as the pain faded like it had never been there. I looked around in confusion, twisting to take in Cole's face, and relieved that it—that everything—was no longer blurred. But something was off. Wrong. The colors were all muted, somehow.

"Well, would you look at that?" Ryker said, staring down at me. "Seems like you've been holding out on us, Ellis."

I…what? Dazed, I blinked hard, trying to get my eyes to see right again. Yeah, that wasn't working. I lifted one hand to rub my eyes…and saw a paw lift from the ground. Yelping in surprise, I scrambled back, or tried to, but somehow I had four legs and zero fucking control.

What the…Why the…

Was I a fucking wolf?

"Everyone get the fuck out of here," Ryker said. "Lesson's over."

Movement flashed around me, some people shifting back, others turning and loping away still in wolf form. One lingered, the large, sullen beast glaring at me in silence, and even if I hadn't seen his form before, or been able to taste his scent in the air, there'd have been no mistaking that it was Kallan.

Kallan. The asshole who'd dared set foot in my packlands and threaten my pack. A snarl ripped from my throat and I lurched to my feet.

Ryker's laugh cracked through the air.

"Yeah, why am I not surprised? Kallan, fuck off. Cole, stop your mate because if I have to, I'm going to put a hole in her throat."

Abruptly, a bigger, slate gray wolf was blocking my path, and his warm, delicious scent filled my nostrils. I drew in a deep breath, drowning myself in the ambrosial odor, and felt the aggression easing out of me as he stepped closer, nuzzling my shoulder gently. I leaned into his soft touch, thrumming my contentment and desire.

And then my legs collapsed from under me.

I snorted in irritation from my undignified heap on the ground, and at once Cole was beside me, using his strength to support me as I struggled back to my feet.

"You two are sickening even as wolves. Fucking mated pairs."

Mates, not mated, I tried to say, but only a series of unintelligible grunts made it out, and I managed to bite my tongue in the process.

Ryker looked smug. "Oh, yeah, I could definitely get used to you being in a form that can't speak."

I settled for glowering at him for all of three seconds until I realized what this meant.

I was a shifter. Somehow. It didn't make any sense. My mom was a human—there was no doubt about that—and my dad a vampire. The council had done the tests to prove it. But they must have missed something, because there was no mistaking the fact that right now I was a fucking wolf.

A wolf. Shit.

A sharp, earthy scent rent the air beside me and I jerked my head round—my front leg almost slipping out from under me—and found myself staring at Cole in his human form.

"Hey, it's okay," he said. "There's nothing to panic about."

A whine slipped from my lips and I backed up a half-step without meaning to.

"It's going to take some getting used to, but this is a part of you, princess. You can handle it."

He twisted round and looked up at Ryker. "Why now, though? She's been trying to shift ever since the assessment last year. What's different about today?"

"The alpha command," Ryker said grimly. "She's shifter—or at least some part of her is—so my command hit her just as hard as the rest of you." He shook his head. "If I'd known it was that fucking simple I'd have done it months ago."

The alpha command. So it was Ryker's fault I was in this mess. Well, that figured.

Except…mess wasn't the word I'd use. Not really. I could feel the raw power in my coiled muscles. Uncoordinated, sure, but strong. I wasn't weak little Cali who couldn't defend herself anymore.

Well, didn't that just change things?