Se connecterI spent the rest of the afternoon alone in my room, walking back and forth while making plans.I kept trying to figure out how long I could safely remain in Shadow Crest before I became too involved with these shifters.I also wondered if it was possible to transfer to another city.If I could at least leave Shadow Crest, I might finally have enough space to breathe.That evening during dinner, I brought up the idea.Kael immediately shook his head.“We're not enemies with the other cities,” he explained, “but transferring between cities is a serious matter. You're officially a member of Shadow Crest now. After yesterday's trial, you were added to our records. Your identification and paperwork should arrive within the next few days.”My disappointment must have been obvious because Sierra leaned forward and gently patted my hand.“You're not a prisoner,” she said kindly. “You can absolutely travel outside our city whenever you want, but you need to inform the council about the three W
By the time we returned to the Range Rover, Orion had already gotten dressed.He was wearing a pair of jeans and a fitted white shirt while leaning casually against the side of the Bugatti.The way Kael had reacted earlier when he noticed the car suddenly made complete sense.Of course, the other people in Shadow Crest who loved expensive cars were my scent-matched pack.Who else would have enough money to enjoy a hobby like that?I walked around the Range Rover, shifted back into my human form, and quickly pulled on my shorts and shirt.I ran my fingers over my braids to make sure they had survived the shift.Other than a few loose strands of hair, they were still perfectly in place.There was no avoiding this conversation, so I straightened my back, forced my wolf's feelings deeper inside, and walked toward the Bugatti.Orion hadn't moved.He continued giving me enough space while waiting beside his incredibly expensive supercar.Looking toward the beautiful car, I asked, “Do you ev
When I was completely naked, I closed my eyes and let my beast take control.She burst out effortlessly.These days, shifting hardly hurts anymore because the magic inside my body handled most of the change.Mom's pack had taught me that long ago, before shifters and the first-blooded witches made peace, the witches had cursed shifters by forcing them to share their souls with what they believed was a horrible creature.Instead, that punishment became something beautiful.Humans and beasts formed a perfect partnership.It gave us greater strength, longer lives than humans, packs, bonds, and many incredible abilities.Sometimes the most beautiful flowers really did grow from the worst places.I shook off the last feeling of the shift and stood to my full height.I quickly noticed that I was larger than Cora's wolf.Her thick mahogany-colored fur shined beautifully as she happily bounded toward me, while her blue eyes remained exactly the same.She rubbed her head against my neck, and I
When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised by how rested and peaceful I felt.As I walked downstairs into the living room, I found Cora and Kael arranging a large collection of brand-new clothes for me.Everything was my size.Even better, they were exactly the kind of clothes I would have picked for myself.Even though I had only known them for a short time, one thing had already become obvious.Whenever Pack Ravencrest decided to do something, they did it quickly and did it well.Looking at all the shopping bags, I slowly shook my head.“This is way too much. I won’t be able to pay you back for at least a couple of months, even if I start looking for a job today.”And that was exactly what I planned to do.I had worked almost every single day for the last eight years, so the idea of sitting around doing nothing felt strange and lazy.“You don't have to pay us back,” Cora said firmly, shaking her head.Today she was wearing a flowing teal dress that made her look almost like a
The women spent the evening talking about random gossip including their local group of friends, and they made me promise that I would come to their next book club meeting.I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I had never read a book in my entire life and, for reasons I wasn’t willing to explain, I couldn’t imagine ever reading for fun.Still, it felt nice to be included.After a while, Cora finally brought up my scent match.“Is it true that Ryker Blackthorn claimed you in the council chambers today?”I could tell she had wanted to ask that question for quite some time. Since I also liked having my own questions answered, I nodded.“Yes. And honestly, I don’t know what to think about it. Everyone in that room treated him with a lot of respect, but no one forced me to join his pack.”Sierra immediately sat up in surprise.“Oh my goddess! That would never happen in Shadow Crest. Some of the other cities are less open-minded than ours, but here we don’t allow anyone to force mate bo
By the time Kael opened the front door and walked inside, a woman rushed straight into his arms.Cora.Warmth seemed to surround her as she quietly told him how much she had missed him. Then she noticed me standing awkwardly in the doorway, trying not to look like I was staring at all the love and happiness flowing between them.No one had ever hugged me like that before.Even when my mom was still alive, she had always been cold and harsh, so I had become used to living without physical affection. My skin almost tingled as I watched them, my emotions fighting inside me as I felt both annoyed and jealous.I had never asked to be here, watching people have something I could never have.Before the packs dragged me off the streets, I had been fine with my life.I had been completely fucking fine.This didn't feel fine at all.Cora stepped away from Kael, and the kindness on her face stayed as she turned toward me.I noticed her fair skin and dark hair tied into a high bun that showed off







