My legs and arms are reforming. My paws are lengthening back into fingers and I can feel each bone snapping back into place, knuckles forming where there were none before. My wrists crack back into proper human angles. My legs are changing from four to two and my hips have to reshape to support upright walking instead of running on all fours.
The fur retracts and it's just as painful as when it erupted. I can feel it pulling back into my skin like thousands of needles being yanked out all at once.
I hit the ground hard when the shift finally completes, snow shocking cold against my bare skin. For a horrible moment I think I'm completely naked because I can feel cold air everywhere my clothes should be protecting me. But when I can see again, when the shift is finally complete and I'm gasping andshaking on the frozen ground, I realize my clothes are back. The same sleep shorts and jacket I was wearing before, as if they were never gone at all.
That doesn't make any sense. My clothes should have been destroyed by the shift, shredded by the transformation from human to wolf and back. But they're here, intact. I'm too confused and exhausted and terrified to understand why.
The three wolves have shifted back too, and they're all fully clothed as well. Knox in his usual dark shirt and pants, Caspian in what looks like training gear, Nico in Academy casual wear. All of them staring at me like they've seen something impossible.
Caspian recovers first. He moves toward me and I flinch instinctively even though I know he's not going to hurt me, but he's just helping me sit up when I start to tip sideways from exhaustion. His hands steady me when my arms won't support my weight. "Easy. The first shift is always the worst."
I try to speak but my throat doesn't work right yet. It takes me three attempts before I can form words that sound mostly human instead of animal. "My clothes. They're back. How is that possible?"
"Shifter trait," Knox says from somewhere behind me. "Normally it takes wolves years of practice to bond their clothes to their shift. The fact that your body did it on your very first try proves how powerful your Silverpelt blood is."
That still doesn't make complete sense to me but I'm too exhausted to push for a better explanation right now. My whole body feels like I've been hit by a truck and then run over a few more times for good measure. Everything hurts in ways I didn't know were possible.
Nico is still standing several feet away, and I notice he's being careful to keep his distance even though I can feel the broken bond pulling him closer with every second. There's something in his expression that looks almost like guilt mixed with wonder,but I'm too wary of him to trust anything I see on his face right now. He betrayed me once in the worst way possible. Why wouldn't he do it again? Why isn't he running to tell everyone what I am?
"First shift at eighteen," Caspian says quietly, and there's something like awe mixed with concern in his voice. "This could have killed you."
I want to snap at him that I know that, that I read the books, that I don't need him explaining things to me like I'm stupid when he's the one who destroyed my trust. But I'm too exhausted to fight and my throat hurts too much to raise my voice.
"We need to get you back inside," Caspian says, his tone leaving no room for argument. He's still holding onto me, which is the only thing keeping me upright at this point. "Can you walk?"
"I don't know. Maybe." My legs feel like they're made of something that isn't quite solid anymore.
"Try."
He helps me to my feet and my legs immediately threaten to give out. Caspian's arm goes around my waist, supporting most of my weight. I'm too tired and too scared to be embarrassed about needing help from someone who was trying to break me just days ago.
That's when I hear a new voice cutting through the trees, cold and unfamiliar.
"Well. This is interesting."
All three males go rigid instantly. Caspian moves to position himself between me and whoever just spoke, his whole body shifting into a protective stance that speaks of Alpha instincts taking over. Knox and Nico flank us immediately without any apparent communication between them, forming a barrier with their bodies that blocks me from view.
A man steps into the clearing, older than us by several decades, dressed in expensive dark clothing that marks him as Council even before he speaks. His eyes sweep over the scene with practiced assessment, taking in four students who clearly just shifted, the defensive posture of the three males, and me being supported by Caspian because I can barely stand.
"Chase Valemont," he introduces himself with the authority that says he expects us to care. "Council enforcer. I'm here investigating reports of unusual activity at the Academy."
"There's nothing unusual here," Caspian says, and his voice has gone flat and cold like I've never heard from him before. Even when he was cruel to me, there was heat behind it. This is something else entirely, something dangerous. "Just students who shifted during a full moon. We were heading back inside."
"Is that so?" Chase's eyes find me despite Caspian's attempts to block his view completely. His gaze travels over me slowly, assessing, and I see his eyes narrow slightly when he looks at my hair. Can he see something? Did some of the silver from my wolf form bleed through to my human form? I can't tell without a mirror but how he's staring at me makes my skin crawl.
"And who's this?" he asks, taking a step closer to our group.
"No one you need to concern yourself with." Knox steps in front of Caspian, adding another layer of protection between me and Chase. His voice is completely flat, utterly emotionless, but somehow that makes him sound more dangerous than if he'd been openly threatening.
"A student who shifts during a full moon is exactly my concern," Chase says smoothly. He's still trying to see around the wall of males blocking me from his view. "Especially one who seems to have three protectors forming defensive positions. That's unusual pack behavior for Academy students."
My heart starts racing because Nico could tell Chase everything right now. He could mention my silver fur and turnme over to the Council and finally get whatever revenge he's been planning since he betrayed me. I watch him with growing dread, waiting for him to speak and destroy whatever fragile protection these males are offering.
But Nico just crosses his arms and stares at Chase with an expression of complete boredom, like this whole situation is beneath his notice. "We're Pack Dynamics students. We practice protective formations as part of our coursework. Is there a problem with that, Enforcer Valemont?"
The casual lie comes so smoothly I almost believe it myself. Why is he protecting me? What changed between filming my humiliation and now?
"She's under my protection," Caspian says, and his voice has gone even deeper with Alpha authority bleeding through into his human form. I can actually feel something settle in the air when he says it, like pack magic settling into place and making his claim official. "If the Council has questions about any student under my protection, they can schedule a formal inquiry through proper channels. Until then, she's not answering anything without Academy representation present."
