Page 14 of Summertime Secret
Flushing, I bow my head as warmth spreads through my limbs. I always feel this way when I am with him. As if nothing can touch me. Nothing in the world could hurt me. With Edon, I am invincible.
Darkness falls inky and dark around us. Overhead the skies glitter with a blanket of stars that I find myself lost in. It is really so beautiful out here. Moon Haven is quiet below us, lights burning in a few homes, and I can see the whole campground as well.
Edon explains to all of us how the camp got started. “Jonah and Jetta found each other outside of their packs. They were cast out due to jealousy. Jonah was meant to be an alpha, but he had no pack. Until he found Jetta. They created this place to start again, to start their own pack. It’s made up of different shifters, different species, something that is unheard of in our world.”
Sat around some glowing lanterns, the entire group seems enthralled with his story. I know that I am. I want to know everything about this place, about this world. I am so infatuated with the magic of it, and with Edon, I need to understand what it is.
“Jetta wanted a place where we could just be...us. Just be kids, just be wolves, just be wild, just be...free. We camp, we hike, we go fishing. We shift together, hunt together, we train together. It is the best place to spend your summers while you navigate this life.”
The others give a hum of understanding. My heart aches for them, for how difficult this must be for someone their age. If it was not for Edon and the camp, they might be out there all alone going through this unbelievable metamorphosis.
“For me it began at fourteen. I heard my wolf talking to me. Wanting to protect me. It felt as if I was going crazy at first. Hearing this, feeling this, this creature inside of me. I could not know that there were so many others out there with their own wild inside them.”
Edon nods towards the camp where even up here, we can hear peals of laughter and growls of different animals. They’re playing games. Chasing each other through the camp. Being kids as they should be allowed to be.
Moving closer, I rest my head on his shoulder. I wish I could take some of his pain. Some of the loneliness he felt for so long. He does not have to be alone now. And neither do I. We have each other. Whether we’re this form or something else, we belong together.
Nodding at the others, he tells them they can begin their shifts. Two of the bigger boys stand first, tearing at their clothes. There is no shame or shyness. With a roar and a crack of bone and twist of flesh, they explode into two huge cats. One is black, thick, gleaming fur and bright green eyes. The other is sable colored with glowing gold eyes.
They are beautiful. I ought to be shocked. Scared. I ought to besomethingafter seeing this amazing transformation. They push at one another with their noses, making sounds that sound similar to laughter. Ducking their heads at Edon, they head further up the mountain to do whatever it is big, shifter cats do.
Next, two younger girls stand up. Their shift is fast. Before they can even get their shorts or tops off, they’ve become something else. Two sleek, gray wolves with shimmering blue eyes. They circle each other, then the rest of us, before running up the mountain side.
“This is not their first shift,” Endon explains as he nods at the campers who now frolic above us, chasing one another or hunting.
There is just one shifter left, besides Edon of course. He is small, quiet, with shaggy brown hair with one shock of white running down the center. Taking heaving breaths, he crouches on the ground after tearing his clothes off. I watch in rapt fascination as he twists, shakes, and then roars as he stands on his hind legs. He is a thick tufted bear. Even in his wild form, you can see the strip of white in his dark fur.
“That was good,” Edon says gently, reaching out to stroke the young bear. “Much better this time. Remember to breathe, to let him take the lead while you shift. He would never hurt you. It is his job to protect you at all costs. Now, go, play with the others.”
Nodding his head in a very human gesture, the bear turns to wander off. I can still hear the others above us, chasing each other, rocks skittering, brush crunching beneath their paws. I smile at Edon. Because he was right. This is the best place for them. For all of them.
Standing, I reach out to Edon. Taking my hand, he stands, tilting his head at me. His eyes ask the question I am ready to answer.
“Do you want to do this, sunshine? Be part of my world? If not, we will create our own world. Just you and I.”
“Yes, Edon, I want to find my wild. I want to let her be free.”
Chapter Ten
Edon
Everything in my life, my entire world, narrows down to one thing. One woman. One sentence from her. “Yes, I want to find my wild.”
Bessi was born to be a shifter. Even if she is missing some of the magic that makes us all up. I tried to explain as best I could to her, as well as to the others, how it can come to life in any of us. It is uncommon for a human not born into a pack or bitten by a shifter to even notice the voice in their head, the wild animal that is a part of all of us.
Some shifter bloodlines go back centuries. Back to the start of time. Others have grown their packs and lineage by joining with other outcasts or breeding with pure shifters. It is there in all of us, thismagicas Bessi calls it. I think she got it right—because what we’re feeling, what we’ve shared since the moment we met,it ismagic.
“Come here, sunshine,” I purr, yanking her against me, scenting her as my nose runs up her jaw. God, she smellsso good. I could scent her from miles away. It is a perfume that will stick with me for the rest of my days. That will call to me as I hope mine calls to her.
With the campers running through the woods, we’re alone. They will be at it for hours. None of them will want to shift back before dawn. We go on at least one of these outings a week while we’re at camp. They get free reign of the woods surrounding Moon Haven, and those select few who know about the camp and what it is, don’t mind.
Leading Bessi down the mountain a little, I take her to my favorite spot. It’s not just the plateau overlooking Moon Haven and Camp Midnight Storm that I love coming to. It is this spot. Through the rock and beyond hanging moss, there is a shallow cave.
“Oh, my! Edon it is....”
Nodding at my mate, I smile. Inside the cave is dark, save for the stream of moonlight pouring in overhead. There is a small lagoon that does not belong here but is here all the same. It is a hot spring that almost seems man made with its smooth river rock and glowing depths. Once you step inside the water, the skies overhead sparkle down at you and it feels like you’re the only person on earth.
“This is where I want to mate you, Bessi. I am not of a pack. There would be a ceremony if I were. We can do one if you want. If we begin our own pack. All that matters now is you accepting me as your mate and taking my mark on your skin.”
