“I was so worried.” His voice was shaky as he breathed in my scent. He froze for a minute and pulled back. “You smell different.”
I pulled back and opened my mouth, but Megan cut in.It isn’t time to tell him yet. We have secrets to unveil before we can tell them the truth.
“I think I figured out the nature thing.” I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around the white pot the Goddess placed there, and I felt something zip along on my skin. He pulled back and smiled.
“I knew you would figure it out.” He ruffled my hair and pulled me into his arms. “Now we can move on to the next lesson.”
“What’s that?”
“For you…cloaking yourself.” He shifted and I jumped onto his back and we were running back to the pack house.
I laughed as he jumped off a dead tree and we soared through the air. The feeling of the wind in my fur was amazing. Wind in my fur… I looked down and I saw that black fur had grown down my arms.
“Dad…” He skidded to a stop hearing the worry in my voice, and I hopped off. I was staring down at my arms and panic set in. “Is this supposed to be happening?”
“Calm pup. It just means you are getting closer to shifting.” The fur rippled and panic burst in my chest.
“I’m not ready yet.” Panic stirred in my stomach. I knew without a doubt if I shifted before I covered my scent, there would be no going back for us. We would never be able to hide our true selves, and we would be doomed to repeat our last life.
“Pup, it’s okay.” Loki rubbed his head against me and I shook myself.
“If I shift before learning how to cover my scent, I won’t be able to.” I grabbed Loki’s face.
“Yes, you will. I’ve been able to.” I shook my head and I could feel Nix come closer to the surface. My eyes shifted, and Nix was staring into Loki’s eyes.
“Listen to us. If we shift before learning to cover our scent, we won’t be able to cover ourselves. There are certain things we can’t tell you, but in this, I am certain.”
“How are you so certain, pup?” Loki settled at my feet and Nix pushed against the surface. Fur sprouted on my arms and face and Loki chuffed. “A moon blessing.”
“What?” I choked out, my voice rougher than normal.
“You have a moon blessing on your forehead.” Loki’s snout touched my forehead and a silver light flared at the touch. “I believe you.”
Nix pulled back, tucking herself deeper into my dark forest.I’ll have to stay far away from you, as will Megan, or else we might trigger a shift.
“Are you leaving me?” I felt my eyes shift back and the fur receded.
Never.Her response was soft, but firm.
“We will work on teaching you to hide yourself tomorrow.” Loki promised. “You already missed the training start time with the girls. I told Tina and Lynn to start without you. So when we get back, after we eat, we can work on not shifting.”
“I’m scared.” I felt my skin ripple again. “I feel like I’m losing control.”
“You are,” Loki answered honestly. “But I can teach you how not to. Now get on.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
W
e made our way back to the house and into my father’s office before I saw anyone else. An Omega brought in plates of rare steak. “Dad?” My stomach clenched looking at the meat. I couldn’t tell if I wanted it, or my body was rejecting the idea of eating it.
“You need a lot of meat. You wolf is begging you to shift. It’s her time to shine now that the power portion has been handled. But you have things to worry about other than shifting, and this will help keep Nix under wraps.” He nudged the plate in front of me. “Try it. I know it probably doesn’t look appetizing, but I promise you, you will enjoy it.”
I reached for a fork and knife, but my nails shifted to claws before I could wrap my fingers around the utensils. I snatched up the meat and tore into it, blood dripping from the meat. Itwas still so rare. Nix settled farther back into the forest in my mind’s eye, and Megan settled next to her.
I’m sorry Amy. I seem to be losing control.Nix started to pace as I continued to tear into the meat. By the time I had finished off the first, Megan had completely laid down. But Nix was still antsy.
“How do you feel?”
