“You can’t expect me to just sit back and do nothing, ma’am.” Beth fixed her with that heartbreakingly earnest expression. “You’re true mates. I know he would be good for you, and you’d be good for him, too. I wish I could find a way to make you see him as he really is, rather than the way he tries to appear. If you did, I’m sure you’d like him.”
Paige hesitated. Maybe this was a mistake, but Beth’s loyalty to her family was just as unshakeable as her own. There was only one way to save Conleth from any further attempts to ‘help.’
She leaned in closer to Beth. “Can you keep a secret?”
Beth looked a little puzzled, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Paige hoped she would. If this got back to Archie…
“You don’t have to do anything to make me like him,” she whispered in Beth’s ear. “I already do.”
Beth was not a good actress. When Paige sent her off to find the rest of the pack, the girl was practically skipping an inch above the ground. No one would be able to mistake her smile for anything other than pure joy.
“Well, so much for keeping it a secret,” Paige muttered to herself.
Still, at least Beth might be able to relax and enjoy camp a bit more now. And it wasn’t like Conleth didn’t already know she liked him.
Which just left Archie.
Maybe Conleth’s right, and I should just tell Archie the truth.
She had no idea how to approachthatconversation. Better to start with an easier one.
Hetta was huddled on her bunk, arms around her knees. As Paige entered, the girl lifted her head, revealing a tear-streaked face.
“I’m not sorry,” Hetta said fiercely, followed by a wet, miserable sniff. “Go ahead and send me home. See if I care. I didn’t even want to come to camp in the first place.”
“I know.” Paige sat next to her on the bunk. “And I also know you didn’t put the skunk under my bed. Beth and Estelle confessed everything.”
Hetta sagged like a punctured balloon, defiance leaking out of her. “So that’s what they were doing in the cabin. I had to wait ages for them to leave.”
“I owe you an apology. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me you hadn’t put the skunk under my bed.”
Hetta looked down. “You thought it was me.”
“Well, you were in my room. But I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“No, I mean…” Hetta picked at a loose thread on her blanket. “You thought I was the skunk.”
“Oh.” Paige leaned back on her hands, carefully not looking at the girl. “Yes. I did.”
Hetta’s voice was the barest whisper. “Does everyone know I can shift?”
“No, sweetheart. Rufus suspects, but I’m sure he hasn’t told anyone. Conleth is the only other person who knows. He’s the one who told me. I wouldn’t have had a clue, otherwise.”
Hetta twisted the blanket between her fingers. “Archie figured it out as well. He found my scent-trail heading into the woods. I’ve been sneaking out of the cabin at night, sometimes. It’s too hard to control my animal in the day if I don’t.”
Paige made a mental note to have a stern talk with her brother about blackmail. “I’ll make sure Archie keeps your secret, if that’s what you want. But I think you should tell the other kids.”
“No!” Hetta’s response was as vehement as it was instant. “Nobody else can know. You have to promise not to tell anyone!”
“I won’t. I promise. But this is a big thing for you to hide, Hetta. You haven’t even told your dad you can shift, have you?”
“I can’t.” Hetta sniffed again, tears welling up in her eyes. “He—he’d b-be—so, so…disappointed!”
The final word dissolved into a wail. Hetta burst into racking sobs, burying her face in her knees again.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Paige put her arms around the girl, hugging her tight. “Is your animal not the same as his?”
