“Some can’t shift?” I asked.
“No, but they were rejected by their mate. Tossed out of their pack with nowhere to go. Or they didn’t agree with the alpha or their family tried to overthrow the alpha and lost. You know how it is, shifters don’t just punish the one who did the deed, they punish everyone in the family. It’s messed up.”
“Why are you here?” I asked.
She rolled up her sleeve and revealed an angry looking circular scar. “I was chosen. Or some shit. But my pack said women can’t be chosen. So they burned it off.”
“A crescent mark?” I’d never heard of a woman getting a mark from the goddess.
“The mark of a protector,” she said. “Ironic, isn’t it that I ended up tossed aside after it showed.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“It’s better this way, I didn’t need their shit. I’m happy here. I’ve found a home and a family of sorts. Sure, people come and go, but there’s some of us who will never leave. We have each other’s backs,” she said.
“What about Alec?” I asked. “What’s his story?”
Her expression grew solemn. “It’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to wait until he’s ready to share.”
“Is it as bad as yours?” I asked.
“Worse,” she said. “You wait here. I’ll see if I can find you some shoes. Then I’m taking you to Greta. If anyone can figure out what’s going on with your wolf, it’s her.”
I nodded and forced a smile. Sheila’s story wasn’t so different than mine. She was a victim of things beyond her control. For a culture who prayed to a female deity, they sure were terrible in the way they treated the females in their packs.
I had planned to go to school, to become human and blend in. But that was before my wolf had made an appearance. Now, I was wondering if I could get away with staying here for a while. At least until I could get my wolf sorted out. If I was going to live with humans, I couldn’t risk shifting unexpectedly. And it turned out there was a lot I needed to learn about shifter culture.
They had tried to break me in Wolf Creek, but in the end, maybe I was exactly where I needed to be.