Nico dug his thumb into a spot below my shoulder blade. “It’s your body getting used to the change. It’ll take some time for you to get used to it.”
“Christ, does it go away? Or do I learn to live with the pain?”
“It goes away. The first week or so is the worst. Honestly, the pain will probably go away faster once you shift.”
It had been two days since Nico had claimed me. Even though my wolf was incredibly strong, I still hadn’t shifted yet. She was right there under the surface, but for some reason, the wolf wouldn’t come out. I wasn’t sure what else I needed to do to bring her out. We’d all thought that when Nico claimed me, it would be pretty immediate. Now, I could do nothing but sit and wait. It was frustrating.
“When do you think that will be?” I asked.
Nico sighed. “Well, I’m not sure. I think you may need a little more time. The wolf probably needs to adjust to the change the same way you are.”
That wasn’t the answer I’d been hoping for. I couldn’t worry about it too much, though. It would happen when it happened. Nothing else we did would speed it up. The other thing that hadmy attention was the change that had come over Nico. Ever since he’d claimed me, things had been different with him. It wasn’t anything bad, but there was something about the way he carried himself, his natural aura, and his confidence. All of it was… more intense. I’d discussed it with his friends, and they'd noticed it too.
It started the morning after my claiming. He didn’t actuallyactany differently, it was just that even his presence was more demanding. I found myself fighting the desire to submit to him. I wasn’t a submissive person by nature, so the feeling I was fighting whenever I was around Nico was strange. I’d learned enough about how powerful an alpha could be and knew that when they finally paired up with a fated mate, they became even stronger. A chosen mate could increase strength, but a fated mate? It was beyond anything I’d anticipated. I’d even watched Luis and Sebastian when they were around him. They bowed their heads in respect, but it seemed to be subconsciously like a physical force was emanating out of Nico and forcing us into submission.
The weirdest part was that it was kind of pleasurable. My body seemed to crave to submit to an alpha. There was probably some ingrained part of our DNA that desired a strong alpha to lead us, to take care of us, and to intimidate our enemies. If that was what he was going for, then he was doing a damn good job of it.
Nico sighed. “Okay, my fingers are going numb. Is that any better?” he asked.
“Much better. Thanks,” I said.
As much as I wanted to be excited about the developments of the day, I couldn’t muster that emotion within me. Instead, the all-too-familiar anger started to boil up inside me again. The rage reared its ugly head anytime I thought about the royals. My imagination always took over, and I couldn’t stop myself fromthinking about the awful things they were doing to my parents and Abi. My wolf bared her teeth; she was as pissed off as I was. A growl erupted from my throat.
Nico raised an eyebrow at me, and my cheeks flamed. I slapped my hands down on the island. “I’m sorry. It makes me so mad, though.”
Nico wrapped me in a hug from behind. “I know. I’d be acting the exact same way if this were happening to my family. There’s nothing wrong with being angry.”
“Those assholes. If they were here right now…” I growled again and clenched my eyes shut.
Nico kissed the side of my head. “It’s okay. But, Maddy…”
“Huh?”
“You’re gonna ruin the marble if you aren’t careful.”
I glanced down. My nails had turned to claws and were digging furrows in the stone of the counter. “Shit, sorry.” I took a few deep breaths and watched as my claws morphed back into nails.
“You’re really getting those partial shifts figured out,” Nico said with approval.
“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “Now, if I could only figure out how to shift completely.”
Nico took his seat beside me again. “Look, I think you’ll go through the same adolescent stages most shifters have to experience. Your wolf was dormant for so long that it’s no surprise that it’s weird. The pills your parents gave you probably messed up your hormones or something. That’s probably why you’re having trouble shifting. Like I said before, be patient and give it time.”
It still made me angry that they’d done that to me. The fact that my parents had hidden so much from me wasn’t something I could easily forget or forgive. The only thing that worked as consolation was the fact that I truly did believe they gave methe pills because they thought it was for my own good. Besides, Kenneth had told them I needed the pills to stay alive. It also weighed on me that the last time I spoke to my parents, I’d yelled at them. My rage at being lied to had spilled out of my mouth in furious words. I tried not to imagine that being the last thing I’d ever say to them. The thought was too much to bear.
“I think it’s time to start your training,” Nico said.
“What training?”
“For when you have full control of your wolf. You can’t shift yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get you ready for when it does happen. You need to be around other wolves, to understand how we fight when we’ve shifted, to learn what our movements are like. I don’t know whether we’ll ever be in a full-on brawl with the royals, but we have to train for that possibility.”
That actually sounded fun. I grinned at him. “When do we start?”
“Tonight, when Javi and his pack come over. We need to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“Javi?” Even the sound of his name filled me with apprehension. The guys who’d attacked me weren’t in his pack anymore, but he’d still been the one to send them after me. He’d also killed Nurse Cleo’s husband—a totally innocent man.
Nico sighed and nodded. “I know. I get it, but we’ve got a bit of a truce going on right now. We need the backup. We’ve got a common enemy.”
