Snort.
We’ll be right there, my dad assured me. Don’t worry. We’ve got a car not too far from here waiting to take you back to the Compound.
All this effort to communicate was taking its toll, and my head began to ache in earnest. The pain in my hip flared and a whooshing noise started in my ears. I’m feeling a little woozy all of a sudden …
Hang on—
2
I woke to white walls and the smell of disinfectant, latex, and coffee. The room resembled a typical hospital room, clean, bright, and sterile, except this one catered exclusively to werewolves. It was underground because wolves weren’t known for their calm cool natures, and dirt was damn hard to claw your way out of if you went crazy.
No one else shared the space with me, which made things easier. Newborn wolves meant chaos, and less chaos was preferable, since last night I’d managed to achieve the impossible. I’d become the only living female full-blooded wolf on the entire planet. My new identity was going to rock the supernatural status quo, and the sooner I could prepare for the fallout—which was inevitable—the better. Hauling my ass out of this hospital bed was a good place to start. “Hellooo,” I called. “Is anybody there?”
While I waited for a response, I flexed my leg and tested for pain. A small twinge lingered high on my thigh, but otherwise it felt normal. I couldn’t actually see the wound, since the top of my leg was wrapped with enough gauze to stuff a throw pillow. Recalling the mincemeat it’d been, I was more than happy to go without a visual. I had no idea if I would scar from the ordeal or not. I had a lot to learn about my new body.
A conversation started on the floor above me. My father’s low baritone stood out. I cocked my head, half expecting to hear a bionic beep as I homed in on the conversation. It was amazing how clear it was, like they were in the same room with me. I tested my vision on a tiny container across the room. I could read the fine print on the label, no problem.
Footfalls hit the steps and my father, Callum McClain, the Pack Alpha of the U.S. Northern Territories, stepped into view. “Well, it’s about damn time.” I flashed him a big grin. It’d been a while since I’d seen him and I’d missed him. Since I’d left the Compound seven years ago, we’d only seen each other a handful of times. We’d been extremely cautious about our meetings, because being spotted together would’ve set off alarms in the supernatural community. Any gossip could have compromised my alias, abruptly ending the independent life I’d worked so hard to create for myself.
“Jessica, you scared the hell out of me.” My father strode to my bedside. With a full head of dark hair and no wrinkles in sight, he didn’t appear a day over thirty-five.
“I scared the hell out of myself.” I chuckled. “Shifting into a wolf hadn’t been on the evening’s agenda. Plus I kind of thought I was dying, so that put a serious damper on the whole thing. My limbs felt like they were being sawed apart by a dull blade.”
“The first time is always rough,” my father said. “Especially if I’m not there to guide the transition. It’s much better if you don’t fight the process and stay calm. The tranq would’ve eliminated the pain. Why didn’t you use it?” My father slid a chair over and pulled it next to the bed and sat. “That was our agreed-upon failsafe if you ever started to shift. You were to inject yourself, knock yourself out, and we would find you. No damage to you in the process. You could’ve died jumping out of your apartment and it’s lucky the gunshot didn’t sever your spinal cord. I put my trust into you, into our agreement. I expected you to follow it to the letter.”
“I’m sorry.” I plucked at the bedsheets like an errant child. “I tried to reach the dose, but I didn’t make it. I have no one to blame but myself. I transferred the case from my bedside stand to the bathroom cabinet a few years ago. I thought it was close enough, but honestly, I never thought I’d need it. It’s been over ten years since I hit puberty and we’d always been told I wasn’t genetically coded to shift.” I paused for a second. “I’m sorry. I thought you were being overprotective as usual.”
“Dear Jessica!” Dr. Jace entered the room, his familiar white hair fanning around his face like a fragile halo, his expression full of open amusement and wonder. “You gave us quite a fright! You’re a miracle, young lady, truly a miracle.” He shuffled to my bedside, grabbed on to my hand, and patted it affectionately. “Who would’ve thought it possible? A true female among us. Amazing! Truly amazing!”
“Doc Jace.” I tilted my cheek toward him so he could give it a quick peck. “It’s great to see you again. It’s been too long. You’re looking well.” This man was the closest thing to a grandfather I’d ever known. He was an Essential human in our Pack, like his father and grandfather before him—meaning he knew our secrets, worked for us, but was not supernatural himself. Essentials were a necessity in every supernatural Sect, since the human race had no idea we existed. They were doctors, teachers, lawyers; individuals recruited to play a special role within the Sect. Doc Jace was a brilliant doctor, an extreme asset to our Pack. “I’m so glad you’re here”—I flashed him a grin—“because you’re just the man to answer a burning question.”
“Of course,” he said. “I will always do my best to answer your questions, Jessica.”
“How did I survive? I thought I wasn’t coded for wolf, that it would be impossible for me to make a full transition, and if my body chemistry did change late after puberty I’d likely die from the ordeal. But I’m alive.”
Doc absently stroked his short beard. “Males carry their wolf markers on their second Y chromosome, very uncommon indeed, but they are there, coded very clearly. You have never had any such indicators and no second chromosome. My best guess is your body must carry the gene, the one that marks you as a wolf, elsewhere, perhaps in a noncoded region. But as you can guess, I will be doing exhaustive research on that very topic.” He patted my hand. “Exciting work it is.” Puzzling over our genes was his life’s work. “Having you make a successful transformation as a female is revolutionary. We are blazing a new trail with this research. It will be marvelous indeed.”
I already knew it was revolutionary, because females didn’t exist in our race. My birth had sparked a frenzy of discontent, which was enhanced to a breaking point by a certain unsubstantiated but extremely well-circulated myth proclaiming I was pure evil, a menace placed on earth for the sole purpose of bringing down the race of wolves. Once the Pack found out about my new status as a full-blooded wolf, there was going to be a huge uproar, and everything I’d built for myself would slide straight down the drain. Without going into all that with the Doctor, I asked instead, “What time is it? How long have I been out?”
“It’s seven o’clock in the morning,” Doc answered. “You’ve been asleep for nearly eighteen hours, which is not uncommon for a wolf recuperating from a traumatic injury. I’m guessing you’re ready for some coffee and some breakfast? You must be famished. Shifting utilizes an incredible amount of energy, and newborn wolves are more hungry by nature.”
“Yes, coffee and food sound heavenly.” My stomach growled on cue. “I’m actually starving.” Dr. Jace left and I turned back to my father. “I’ve been asleep for eighteen hours? Are you telling me it’s Monday morning already?”
“Yes, it’s Monday.” My father leaned forward in his chair. “But don’t worry about missing work. I’ve already been in contact with Nicolas. He’s already on his way. You’ve actually been asleep with a little extra help from the Doc. He wanted to be perfectly sure you would heal completely with no complications, and I wholeheartedly agreed with him. Injuries like yours take time to mend, especially for a newborn. I’m just thankful you came back to us in one piece. That was a hell of a ride you took us on.”
I was relieved to hear my business partner and best friend, Nick Michaels, was on his way. It would be good to have another ally here, since I had no idea how this was going to play out. “The whole transition was insane, but I don’t really remember how it went down.” I corrected myself. “No, that’s not exactly what I mean. I do have a clear memory of the pain, but for some reason I can’t remember the actual turning very well.”
My father sat back. “It’s not uncommon to disengage with your wolf during your first turning. Your change was an unexpected, traumatic event. As we discussed, fighting the process can make it excruciating. Your wolf likely took over while your human side remained in a shocklike state. It happens. It’s not ideal, but it happens.”
I was mildly surprised by his reaction, but ultimately happy he wasn’t going to hatch an immediate plan to chain me to a bed until I could master more control. “It didn’t feel like I was in shock, but I guess I could’ve been. In the end she toggled something between us and handed me control again. I’d been a passenger up until that point, but when I finally slid into the driver’s seat, I took one sniff of my injuries and passed out.” My first tough werewolf moment and I’d passed out like a champ.
My father regarded me quietly for a moment. He ran a single hand through his thick dark hair. It was a gesture of stress, and he didn’t do it often. “Well.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what happened there, but it can take a wolf many years to master Dominion over their wolf. If your wolf willingly handed control back to you, it seems you’re not going to have a problem with mastery.” He leaned in closer, his eyes alert. “It’s a sign your human side is strong, and that’s a damn good thing.”
A wolf was required to prove Dominion over his inner wolf before being allowed to reenter human society. By instinct your wolf wanted complete control—demanded it. The human side had to be powerful enough to override the wolf’s urges at all times. No exceptions.
I bit my bottom lip.
That wasn’t exactly how it’d happened. I knew I’d stopped her from killing the farmer, but I had no idea how to do it again if I had to. But I was content to drop it for now, and asked instead, “How did you know I changed? How did you find me?” I grew up on the Compound, so naturally I knew a lot about wolves, but I’d been kept in the dark about a lot of things too.