inside, to a set of stairs leading down into a finished basement with beautiful plank flooring, barber chairs, and lit up mirrors. The entire space is wide open and welcoming, the faint scent of hair dye fumes clinging to the walls.
I wait awkwardly at the base of the stairs as three of the females are immediately selected from the group and placed in the salon chairs to await their pampering.
“So, why’d you decide to come?” Trinity asks, leading me toward the couches set up on the far side of the space. The rest of the group is already over there, flipping through hairstyle magazines and watching reality television from the hanging flatscreen.
“Oh, um, I needed a break, and I figured it would be fun,” I offer, hoping that doesn’t sound as cringy as it felt.
But Trinity just smiles kindly at me before hip bumping another girl over so she and I can perch ourselves onto the couch. “Are you nervous about the ceremony?”
I place the backpack between my legs on the floor, fingers curling around the handle like I’m afraid someone will rip it away from me at any moment. “Definitely. You?”
“Yeah. But I’m excited too. I feel...empty lately. You know?” she asks, thick black lashes fanning across her cheeks with every blink. “Like my soul is missing that other part of me. I can’t wait for my new spirit to come and fill that space.”
My chest gets tight again, and I have to work to swallow down the lump that rises in my throat, because I know exactly what she means. It was easier to ignore when I was younger, but every year I’ve spent without gaining my wolf spirit, it’s been harder to ignore that missing puzzle piece. Like I can’t truly be me without her. Knowing I’m going to keep on feeling like this, knowing that I’ll never get my wolf because I’m leaving, it hurts more than I can put into words.
I decide to change the subject. “How did you guys find Lycan hairdressers?” I whisper, not wanting to offend the trio behind me, and knowing that their hearing is much better than mine.
Trinity laughs and settles back on the leather couch. “We’ve been using them for the past couple of years. They stay off Twin Rivers territory, and since they don’t belong to a bigger pack, Alpha Burke lets them be, so long as they treat the females whenever we want.”
I frown a little at that. Typical of Burke to force them into working on our pack simply because they live nearby our territory.
Trinity nudges me. “You’d know that if you ever came with us.”
A twinge goes through me at her words. I know she doesn’t mean to sound like she’s reprimanding me, but the truth is, she probably is. Out of everyone, Trinity was the one I was the closest with before Burke came along. I was always a loner, but whenever I did things with the pack when I was younger, it was with her.
But that all changed when Burke took over as alpha. It became very clear that he’d set his sights on me for whatever reason, and I wanted nothing to do with him. So I started staying home, skipping pack gatherings so I could be out of sight, out of mind. My mom helped me, kept me with her as her helper, kept me busy and as far away from Burke as possible. Unfortunately, that distance extended everywhere, until I became the pack outsider.
I clear my throat awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. “Yeah, I just started helping more with the healer side of things, and my mom just always cut my hair…” It’s a lame excuse, but what more can I say?
A look of genuine sadness crosses Trinity’s face. “I’m so sorry you lost her, Seneca. That we all did,” she says softly. “It was such a shock.”
“Yes, it was.”
It’s the most she dares to say, because the truth is, my mom shouldn’t have died.
The thing about shifters with the rare magic of healing is that they’re susceptible to giving too much power to help others. It’s why they have to pace themselves, to train for years, and to learn how to concoct other remedies to use besides just magic. If healers push too hard, if their magic runs out, their power can start pulling on their lifeforce.
My mother knew this, worked to counter it, and never blurred the line between her gift and her life. So when