Seconds after he’d transformed, the pack was all furry. Eli looked at me and waited for me to nod to check in with him. Then, Ethan shifted and started to run with Eli toward the edge of the circle where they’d lope into the forest.
For the rest of the night, they’d play and run and walk as wolves, but me and Sabina?
We wouldn’t, because something was holding her back, and it was on me as the only normal one of her three mates to uncover what was wrong.
When I grabbed her chin and gently twirled her to look at me, I saw she was relieved to be standing here in her human skin, and I shook my head at her. “You’ll have to run with them soon.”
A hum escaped her. “That’s not my purpose.”
I arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
“The alpha, beta, and enforcer run with them.” Her lips twitched. “They don’t need me. I hate running.”
Nose crinkling, I told her, “It’s different as a wolf. You’ll love it. You liked it on the other plane, didn’t you?”
“I did. But that was different. Here, I’m not supposed to do that. I’m not supposed to run with you.”
I frowned at her, because she either sounded incredibly certain or she was really good at bullshitting me.
Who knew, it was probably both.
A laugh escaped her, and she elbowed me in the belly, before she muttered, “Gotcha.”
I rolled my eyes. “I knew you were bullshitting.”
She sniffed. “No, you totally didn’t.” But it didn’t stop her from snatching my hand, turning me to face the totem, and asking, “I wasn’t sure if you could shift with clothes on.”
My brow furrowed. Was that the issue? I’d have thought days of being naked in the other realm would have calmed her down. “You can. It wrecks your clothes. If you’re powerful enough, it even makes them disappear.”
“Why?”
I scoffed, “Like I’d know. The Mother works in mysterious ways.”
Her lips twitched, but she scanned the totem with an attention to detail that surprised me. “Isn’t it strange?” she eventually commented.
“Strange ain’t the word, doll,” I replied wryly, not particularly interested in the totem, even though I knew she was, because hell, I’d seen it all my life. It was the exact opposite of completely new to me.
She glanced at me, then muttered, “I’d never have said that to Eli.”
My lips curved, and I squeezed her hand. “I know, but he’s all bark and no bite where you’re concerned.”
She shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t have said it to Ethan either.”
I sighed, tugged on her hand, and swirled her backward into me so that she was leaning against me once more. “They’re your mates. You can say whatever you want to them, and if they don’t like it, well, it won’t cause a war. You’ll just argue. Simple.”
“I hate arguing.” She sighed. “I’m not very good at it, plus, it’s such a waste of energy. There are much better things I’d prefer to do.”
“Oh?” I teased, grinning when she shimmied against me.
“Yeah, oh,” she remarked wryly, “but not just that, I don’t want to offend anyone.”
“What do you mean?”
She hummed. “When everyone stepped into the circle tonight, I heard a cluster of whispers.”
“You did? That’s great news!” Anything that enabled her to be more at one with her powers was for the good. We’d need all the skills the Mother granted her to take the pack forward to where it needed to be.
None of us were exactly sure where that was, but we figured we’d find out once it started to unfold.
“Yeah, but not.” Her nose crinkled much as mine had earlier, and I watched as she ducked her head between her shoulders and muttered, “I don’t think Merinda was very popular.”
I thought about that, then shrugged. “Probably not. Eli doesn’t realize that though. He thought the moon rose and fell on her.”
“She was his mom. Of course, he thought that,” she chided softly.
I just hummed. “She was mine too… I think that’s a measure of the woman. For her to do what she did? It says a lot about her.”
“I agree. I was just surprised is all. I thought they’d be hostile to having a new omega because they loved the old one so much, but they weren’t. Aren’t. They’re curious about me. A little nervous, a lot wary. They can scent I’m a wolf child, but they also sense my power and are happy if Eli is.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “The council is going to be