“Not really, no.” A sly smirk spread across Fallen’s face, and as she continued down the other side of the hill, I took my time.
Her goal was to walk the edge of the property line before going back inside. We’d already made three laps around the territory and still nothing. Nothing for her to hunt and no signs of danger, just birds, trees, and an unsettling silence between us. Scouting the edge of their territory was incredibly boring.
So I stood on top of the hill and watched.
Dozens of acres surrounded the manor, the grass cut low to give the pack a clear line of sight if they were ever attacked.
The trees crowding around the territory, however, were close together. It was hard to see much of anything from outside the woven branches, and I’d gotten lost beneath them while following one of Ash’s dirt trails.
If I ever hoped to leave the territory, I wouldn’t be able to do so without some help. It was so easy to get turned arou
nd in there that I’d stopped trying.
It wasn’t like I wanted to stay, but running in circles didn’t excite me, either.
“You coming?” Fallen called up from the bottom of the hill, her ears pinned back in annoyance.
“Yeah,” I said, giving the manor a final glance before finally making my way down the other side of the hill. “I’m right behind you.”
The only time I got to see Ash was in the evening hours after dinner. Every night, the pack gathered behind the manor around a large bonfire. Every single one of them shifted into their wolf pelts, their coats just as sleek and beautiful as Ash was herself. Oddly enough, She never took on her wolf form, not even as the rest of the pack joined in a chorus howl.
It was strange, I thought, to see an Alpha isolating herself amongst those she loved most. At first, I thought she did it so I wouldn’t feel so left out. However, with Ash constantly distancing herself from me, it was hard to tell.
The itch to shift came and went, but ever since that second time along the trees when Ash had to sedate me, I hadn’t experienced the pain I’d faced before.
It felt like I wanted change forms, but for whatever reason, I never got very far. Starting with a tingle at the back of my neck, it was as though I was anticipating something. Funny thing was, as soon as I acknowledged it, the feeling of my wolf passed.
It was more active at night as the rest of the pack gathered in front of me, but it was more like a sneeze that never actually happened. There was the buildup, the preparation, and then…
nothing. The feelings simply slipped away.
Considering how Ash had to sedate me, I was pretty sure that had a lot more to do with it than me finally gaining control over my wolf. I couldn’t sense things the way I did at the hospital, and whenever Fallen asked me to smell for something, the target scent was lost to me.
She was pushing me, they both were, but I wasn’t ready yet.
The other wolves, however, flaunted their sleek bodies and beautiful coats in front of me as they formed a semi-circle around the bonfire. Orange embers lifted into the night sky, joining the millions of stars that were clearly visible so far away from the city.
The bit of light from the manor was nothing compared to what I was used to back home. It was also deathly quiet once everyone else went off to bed. Aside from the crickets, the night slept the same as everyone else.
My sister would’ve done anything to experience something like this. Maybe not the turning into a wolf part, but being surrounded by nature was definitely something Val would’ve enjoyed.
“Pay attention,” Fallen growled under her breath, nudging me when I didn’t respond to something Ash had said. “This is important.”
“Sorry.”
The chocolate wolf huffed, then went back to her place inside the semi-circle. The other wolves looked in my direction before turning their gaze back to their Alpha.
Ash stood in front of the fire wearing a light evening gown with her dark tresses pulled up away from her neck. Warm firelight surrounded her in an ethereal glow, and as she spoke, that strange tingling hummed in the back of my head.
“As you know, the turn of the moon will soon be upon us.
This is a time when the pack runs as one, new wolves included.” She gave me a pointed look, then continued when the other wolves nodded in agreement. “It has been an age since a human has run with us and longer still since one has joined the pack. Jo, come up here please.”
My heart skipped at the mention of my name, and when everyone looked back at me, it felt as though I was in school all over again. I was never good at giving presentations and now was no different. I envisioned myself moving to the space beside Ash, but that was as far as I got.
My muscles tensed and my jaw locked in place as I fought my nerves back.
“Jo,” Ash said again, her voice just as warm and understanding as before. “Come here.”