“Did Atticus give me part of his wolf?”
No. His wolf is my brother.The voice in my head explained he’d been trying to talk to me for years.Your love and need to protect your daughter allowed me to take my fur.
“Phelan, I have a wolf, a wolf, I’m a shifter, Not fake latent and not human but a shifter.”
“The shifter you were always meant to me.” He kissed me and whispered his congratulations.
The door opened. “Explain what happened, please?” Atticus barreled in.
Phelan growled. “Don’t you ever knock?”
“Huh?”
“Forget it. What do you want?” If he was about to tell me his folks were on the way, I’d tell them to take a hike.
“Nothing.” Atticus looked a little embarrassed. “Everyone’s congratulating me.”
Phelan rolled his eyes. “Because you did what, exactly?”
“Shared a space with this guy for nine months and taught him all he knows.” He folded his arms and grinned.
“Get out. I’ll talk to you later, but right now, I’m going to shift with my mate and you’re not invited,littlebrother.”
Atticus’s face fell at the mention of “little.” He was younger than me, and my beast was bigger and better than his.
“There’s no need to be rude, newbie.” He stalked out, leaving the door open.
Jack agreed to stay with Eira, and Phelan took my hand. We bounded down the stairs, me still wearing the bathrobe, and took off for the woods. I recalled the first time I’d seen my mate and Atticus heading for the trees and caught sight of Phelan’s naked butt.
Flinging off my robe, I didn’t waste any time waiting for Phelan to undress.
Okay, I’m not sure how to do this, but can you come out?
This is my first run, and I can’t wait.
My world discombobulated, and I held out my arms so I didn’t overbalance. But everything went topsy-turvy, and I gripped my belly. Except I didn’t have hands or legs, and I was inside my wolf looking out.
Ready to run?
What about Phelan?
He’ll catch up.
My beast… it was still so weird to say that… but my beast took off and dashed into the woods. He breathed in the scents and sounds and admired a robin perched on a branch and a squirrel nibbling on something he was holding. He relished the grass brushing over his legs and the dappled sunlight on the path.
A wolf appeared to our left. Phelan. I’d rarely seen my mate’s beast and had never appreciated his wolf, who looked exactly like the tattoo on his chest. My wolf glanced at him and dipped his head. Did that mean my mate’s beast was higher in the wolf hierarchy? I had so much to learn.
He kept pace with my wolf, allowing my beast to weave, jump, and pound the forest floor half a head in front. And when my wolf reached the stream, he plowed in and splashed. I’d been trying to imagine the world through Eira’s eyes, but now I had a front-row seat to my beast experiencing it for the first time.
Phelan’s wolf brushed against my side, and my wolf nuzzled him. Both in human form and wolf, we were aligned.
Where’s my brother? I’d like to run with him too.
Oh boy. You and I really need to talk.
Phelan
Rawling and I wandered into the dining hall as Mrs. Ardilla stormed in, grumbling about Professor Shaw.
