22
Savannah
Regina turned and walked back to the pack.
Huh. I think I like her better now, but maybe not a whole lot better,Wolfie said.
You and me both. I studied the dense crowd of milling werewolves. So many bodies.
We’re going to get trampled to death,my wolf chirped with mad glee.
I straightened my shoulders and headed toward the crowd. It’s like a track meet or a marathon, I told her. Only this time, we’re all going to be snarling, panting, wolves.
My wolf’s irritation prickled. Honestly, when you used to run track, you did plenty of snarling and panting and wheezing, so maybe you shouldn’t throw stones.
I laughed aloud, drawing glances from several people as I passed. I had absolutely no idea where Sam was, and there were too many scents to single her out. I could sense Jaxson, though, with every fiber of my being. His magnetism pulled on me and guided me through the crowd.
Someone jostled me. I stumbled, but they grabbed my arm and set me upright. “Hey, you’re the new girl. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to knock you.”
It was a guy I’d never seen before. White-blond hair, blue jeans, bulging wolfy muscles. Not bad, if I’d been anyone else.
I shrugged. “First time. Just a bit lost, looking for Jaxson and Sam.”
The guy grinned. “Have you ever seen one of those stampedes of African wildebeest? It’s like that. Don’t get trampled.”
Great. I was just hoping I could keep up. “Honestly, I don’t even know where we’re running to.”
“Ah, we kind of all memorize the route. Just follow the pack. We run out to the point.” He winked. “First one to jump in the lake wins.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about diving into the water as a finish line.
I pushed through the crowd of muscles and asses until another voice called out, “There you are! I turned my back, and you disappeared!” Sam grabbed my arm and started pulling me forward. “Where were you?”
“I just went for air. Ended up having a chat with Regina.”
She stopped and planted her hands on her hips defensively. “Was she giving you a hard time?”
“No. Actually, she wasn’t a bitch—to my surprise. And I guess I got a better perspective on things. Pack history.”
“Cool. Reggie has a little loremaster in her, so she doesn’t tend to forgive and forget. Glad you guys are working things out. She’s good people. Fierce. Loyal.”
Sam pulled me out of the crush of bodies and over to the side under a tree.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
She tossed me a cheap pink nylon bag that had my name on it: Savannah “Fury” Caine.
Not LaSalle. Caine. I’d forgotten that for a time.
Sam yanked her T-shirt over her head and then popped off her bra.
“Whoa, lady!” I gasped.
She laughed. “It’s go time. Throw your shit in the bag, and Regina and her people will make sure it gets to the bonfire.”
“Isn’t she running?”
“Nah, she’s supervising the bag team tonight. Glad you guys have made up so she doesn’t order them to accidentally misplace it,” Sam added, laughing.
I really hoped she was joking about that.
I looked around as Sam unclasped her jeans. Half the werewolves were stripping. Wolfborn, like me. The others were shifters and could transform, clothes and all.
If I was going to be a werewolf, why couldn’t it have been the other type?
Because being wolfborn is more fun. Who needs clothes, anyway? They’re kinda silly and pretentious,Wolfie observed. Now get naked. I want to run.
I glanced at the mass of bare asses. Men, women. Nobody seemed to care. This was going to take a long time to get used to.
“Come on, slowpoke,” naked Sam said. “It’s cold, and I want my fur coat.”
I sighed and stripped as quickly and discreetly as possible, then stuffed all my shit in the pink bag. Clothes, wallet, cell phone. I assumed it would be safe, or they wouldn’t do it this way, right?
Where was Jaxson?
I looked around wildly, then saw him among the trees. A massive wolf, staring back at me with deep golden eyes. A shiver ran over my skin.
It felt like he was looking through me, into me, seeing whatever was truly inside.
Then he put his head back and howled.
It was unlike any howl I’d ever heard. Low and unearthly, it vibrated the world around me. But the howl wasn’t for me—it was for my wolf. I gasped as she leapt in my chest, and then the transformation came, swift and fierce, like ripping off your lover’s shirt.
One second, I was a woman, then every part of me broke at once. The breath was ripped from my lungs, and I didn’t even have time to scream. I collapsed onto my hands, and when I landed, I was a wolf.
Holy. Shit.