A human… Now that was strange. Even if they were different species, everyone else in our pack had fallen in love with other shifters. None of us had ever been fated to a human before.
"What if my fated mate is a human, too?" I asked.
"Who knows?" She grinned. "We're twins, so maybe fate will play a big joke by pairing us both with humans."
I fantasized about that in my head. A human would be unusual, but not bad. I wouldn't mind. Shifter or human, it didn't matter as long as my mate loved me.
Lupa got up with a big stretch. "Well, it's getting late. I gotta rest so I have enough energy to visit Hazel tomorrow. It's a long way to town."
"Okay. Good night."
"Night, Lev. Feel better."
Lupa shook off her human skin, transforming into a familiar wolf. But just before she took off, the temperature suddenly plummeted.
The unnatural cold snap made me shiver. There was no wind blowing across the grass—why did the temperature drop?
Then I saw it. A large wisp of black, like a curtain of smoke, descended from thin air. As the mist dissolved, it left behind a tall, pale figure standing between me and my sister. Spiralling black horns jutted from his head, the color matching the inhuman claws on his hands and feet. Inky hair flowed down his back, turning oddly translucent near the tips. He wore a thin black cape, almost like a gown that billowed despite a lack of wind.
The fur rose on Lupa's neck. Her lips curled to reveal her fangs.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The figure didn't respond.
Instead, he turned around to look down at me with surreal ice-white eyes.
He was... beautiful.
Four
Animus
I'd intended on a dramatic entrance, but as soon as my claws touched down on the earth and I felt the presence of the hare shifter staring at my back, I turned around.
He looked different up close. More handsome than I expected. His smooth hair wasn't quite brown—there were slight bands of gold and black, a shade of agouti, just like the pelt of the hare he shifted into.
My gaze travelled to meet his eyes. They stared up at me, unblinking. There was something odd about the way he looked at me. There was no animosity, no wariness, no intense urge to stab me with the closest sharp object. His gaze was neutral with a tinge of curiosity.
This one… He wasn't like the others. He wasn't afraid of me, and he didn't hate me.
It felt good not to be instantly despised—until I remembered my plan to kidnap him. His opinion of me would change in about five seconds.
But a docile mark was good. Despite my slow buildup of magic, I wasn't all-powerful. It would be easier to whisk him away if he wasn't thrashing in my arms.
Looking down at the quiet hare shifter, I almost felt a sense of pity. He had no idea what was about to happen.
On the other hand, the she-wolf behind me was about to wage war.
"Who are you? Answer me!" she ordered.
With a sigh, I turned to face her. Her wolf ears perked upright and her maw was twisted into a vicious snarl. Every hair on her pelt stood upright, making her look bigger than she actually was. If I didn't feel the thrum of magic coursing within me, I might've been intimidated.
But a wolf can't attack what it can't reach, and I didn't plan on staying.
"Must I have this conversation every time?" I asked. "Surely I'm not that forgettable."
Lupa glared. She was rash, not stupid. Although she didn't speak my name, she must've realized who I was by now.