Slowly, I rise to my feet and the silver wolf that’s been at my side shifts with me, refusing to move from my left side, its large body so close to mine its fur brushes against my bare legs.
On instinct, I speak to the black wolf. “Are you planning on chewing on that the rest of the day, or are you going to drop it?” I ask, my voice soft, being careful to not spook him. “Because I have so many fucking questions, and I don’t think I’m going to be getting any answers if you don’t let that nasty thing go.”
Another low whine escapes his throat as he watches me. I know he wants to come to me, so I decide to force the issue. I turn my back on him and slowly walk away, hoping he’ll want to come to me more than he wants to protect his kill.
I take deep breaths as I walk toward the edge of the clearing, and the sound of bones snapping behind me causes me to stop and turn around. I’m pretty sure my jaw hits the ground because when I look behind me, all four of the Weylyn siblings are standing butt-ass-naked where the wolves had previously been.
“Oh, fuck!” I gasp, looking at all four of them. I quickly realize I’m staring at their very naked bodies and whirl back around, covering my eyes as I do. “What the hell is happening? How is any of this possible, and why are you naked?”
“Pru,” Remi says, speaking first, “We wanted to tell you sooner, but Addison said we had to wait for her to get back. And we’re naked because our clothes can’t make the change with us.”
“The change?”
“When we shift in or out of our wolf form,” Ryker explains. I hear footsteps coming up behind me, and I don’t have to turn to know that it’s him. I just know.
“Your wolf form? I... Wait, what—what are you saying?” I stammer, at a complete loss for words. “You’re…werewolves?” I choke out while still refusing to look back at them.
“We prefer the term wolf shifters, but yes, basically, we’re werewolves.” A hand grips my shoulder, and the electric current that shoots from it confirms its Ryker. I can’t help but shy away from his touch. It hurts me to do so, but this is all way too much.
“Will you please look at me?”
“How is this possible?” I ask him, and I reluctantly turn around to face him. I keep my eyes on his chest, afraid to look anywhere else. They all seem to be very comfortable in their nude state, but I’m so not okay with it.
“We need to go back home,” he says softly. “We’ll explain everything there.”
“We’re supposed to wait for her aunt,” Ranger reminds him, walking behind Ryker.
“I’m not waiting anymore. She saw us shift, and she just watched me kill another wolf. She’s needs answers now,” Ryker argues, and quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more. There’s no way I’m waiting until tomorrow for Addison to come back to get my answers.
The sound of bones popping and cracking makes us all turn around. The dead wolf that had been lying there had now shifted into a redheaded man. His throat is a bloody mess, and his leg is bent at a strange angle.
“Holy shit,” I breathe.
“Pretty cool, right?” Ransom asks, a stupid grin on his face.
“Dude, shut up!” Remi reaches around Ranger and slaps Ransom on the back of his head.
I look at the ground the whole walk back to the campsite, stumbling once only to have Ryker reach out to steady me, but I pull my arm out of his reach.
I feel horrible I’ve refused his touch twice now, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to be acting right now. So many things have happened in the past hour, and I need some time to come to grips with it.
I sigh in relief when we get back to camp. When I was running, I hadn’t realized how far I had gone, but the walk back was shockingly long. I guess when you’re able to move at superhuman speed, it doesn’t seem far.
“I’m going to run back to give them a heads up,” Ranger tells the group before shifting into a large gray and black wolf.
“Is this my new normal?” I wonder aloud.
“Would that be so bad?” Remi asks, her blue eyes soft as she looks up from digging in a bag for a change of clothes. “We’re still the same people we were before. You just know more about us now.”
A pang of guilt hits me when I think about the secrets I’ve kept from her. None of them as big as I grow a tail and howl at the moon, but still, I could have told her about my dreams or my sleepwalking. Or about the golden glow I see around her brother even now as I watch him change into a pair of athletic shorts.
“It’s a lot to take in Remi,” I finally answer.
“I understand, but just keep an open mind. Everything is going to make sense to you soon.” She reaches over and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m so glad we can finally tell you. You have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret.”
“Trust me, I know how hard it is to keep a secret.” I push my blonde hair off my sweaty forehead, wishing I had a hairband.
“Well, it sounds like we have some secret sharing to do.” She gives my hand one last squeeze before climbing onto one of the four-wheelers
