When I was breathing normally, she released my arms and stood to leave.
I reached out for her wrist. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to go back there.
She looked at me expectantly.
“Don’t leave,” I said, my voice feeling small, easily lost in the darkness.
Even in the darkness of the room, I could see her hesitation.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she said.
“Please,” I begged.
She looked away from me but nodded.
“You can lie beside me,” I offered when she sat on the edge of the bed.
I saw her jaw tense, and she moved, lying down on her side and facing me.
I lay on my back.
“What were you dreaming about?” she asked.
I didn’t answer immediately, but she didn’t push me. I rolled onto my side facing away from her.
“The last time I shifted,” I answered.
I felt the mattress dip as she moved closer to me.
“What happened?” she asked.
“In my dream, or that night?” I asked in return.
“Both, either,” she answered.
I closed my eyes.
“It was my first shift, and I had gotten the initial moon sickness; we knew it was going to happen. I was a late bloomer, already twenty and still hadn’t shifted. Everyone was excited.” I laughed derisively. If only I had known what to expect.
“Your first shift is a rite of passage for every wolf,” she said encouragingly.
“Not for an omega,” I answered.
She didn’t reply. There was no way to argue against that logic. Packs like Sandstorm didn’t have any omegas for a reason.
“I had gone off on my own to prepare, folded my clothes neatly, had a water bottle and snacks ready for after. I shifted; it wasn’t obvious to me that something was wrong, not until I found my dad with Alpha Julian. They knew instantly. The size of my wolf was too small and wrong. Neither was happy to see me. Alpha Julian snapped at me and chased me off. I thought I had been rejected from the pack. I ran aimlessly until I realised that I wasn’t alone. Until I realised that I was being hunted,” I told her.
“The scars?” she asked, her hand on my thigh separated by the duvet.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“How did you survive?” she asked.
“Ashford.” I laughed. “Who’d have thought it? He claimed me that night. Alpha Julian wasn’t pleased, but a claim is a claim. Dad and Mum left the pack. I guess it was too shameful to have an omega as a daughter. I don’t know where they moved to.”
Cole pulled me against her. Her warmth seeped through the bedding and reached me. When had she wrapped her arm around my waist?
“I was chasing deer,” I said.
