Claire stands on her front lawn looking for me. She is wearing a pink fitted dress with one sleeve and some frills with her freshly curled hair draped over one shoulder. Claire looks simply gorgeous. She races up to me with a smile on her face.‘Oh Boo-boo, I’m so happy to see you,’ she says, giving me a peck on the cheek. I realise I may have been ungrateful towards Claire all this time. She seems to like me a lot, and although she can be pretty overbearing, she has been nothing but supportive and sweet towards me. I can’t help but feel Nina will never forgive me and never want to be my friend again. It’s a hole inside me that will be there forever, but I shouldn’t make others who care about me suffer. Nina has moved on, although I would have preferred her to move on with anyone other than Moss. I can’t help but sense something is off about that guy, but I need to focus on what is in front of me.‘You look lovely, Claire.’She steps back and does a twirl. ‘I’m glad you like it. Let’s

My mother falls to her knees and tries to comfort me. I’m covered in sweat and feel immense pain.‘What is wrong with him, Ryker?’‘I don’t know. Magnus shouldn’t be in pain. I’ve never seen a shift like this before. Something isn’t right. Let’s get Magnus to his room and call the Pack doctor.’Seth, Leon, and my dad carry me to my room.‘He’s got a fever.’ Mum says, touching my forehead.Seth leaves to get the Pack doctor while mum stays by my side, wiping my face with a cold face washer. My whole body is shaking, and I cannot speak.‘Maybe it has something to do with shifting early?’ Dad suggests.‘Maybe.’ Mum frowns.The pack doctor arrives and takes my obs.‘He has a fever, but I’m struggling to see how it has anything to do with shifting. And you mentioned he was in immense pain when he shifted back?’‘Yes, he was screaming in pain, doctor.’ Dad says.‘I see, well, I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ll take some blood samples and see if I can find any

I wake up in the nurse’s office with a throbbing headache and look around the room.Flint is with me.‘What happened?’‘Moss decided dodgeball wasn’t over yet… he ran up behind you and threw the ball at her head with all his strength and knocked you out. He is in the principal’s office.’Nina runs into the nurse station and takes my hand.‘I heard what happened. Moss should not have done that. I’m so sorry. I will talk to Moss and make sure he does nothing stupid again.’‘Nina, it’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologise.’‘He just doesn’t like us being friends again, but he will have to accept it.’Claire runs in takes my hand from Nina’s grip. ‘Boo-boo, are you okay?’‘Yeah, every minute that goes by, the pain subsides.’The nurse walks in, ‘That’s because you have your wolf now. You will heal quickly.’ She smiles. ‘Do you feel okay to return to class?’‘Yes, I think I’ll be fine.’ I say and get up from the bed.‘Thanks for checking on me, Nina. I appreciate it.’ I say, waving.

Pipsqueak waves me over into the back of the office and unlocks the door. We step into the forbidden dark room together. It smells musty, and the many cobwebs show no one has been in here for years.The structure differs from the rest of the library, which has plastered white walls, whereas this room has bluestone walls and old wooden beams across the ceiling. There are old rickety wooden bookshelves filled with old books. Some are leather-bound, and some have steel clasps and jewels on them. We approach the table carved from stone. There are a few small, half-melted candles, with some matches nearby. Pipsqueak lights the three candles. We stand side by side and take in the old medieval room.‘You start with those books, and I’ll start with these.’ I point.‘But I don’t know what I’m looking for.’‘How to break a curse?’‘What are you getting m-me into?’ she squeaks. I sigh and decide that I can trust her, and it’s best to let her in on the secret.‘You can’t tell anyone, okay?’‘O-ok

It’s the night of my wolf ceremony. I’ve spent the day with my parents, greeting all the Alphas who arrived and their families and pack members. It’s been exhausting. I have met hundreds of unmated females who have swooned over me all day. Along with all that, I’ve been worried that I might shift against my will tonight. The pain I went through when I had shifted was unbearable, to the point I thought I would die. It’s not an experience I want to repeat. I know the pack doctor is here just in case but is there anything he can do to help me?More unmated she-wolves arrive and swoon around me. ‘Is it true you shifted early? Is it true your wolf is white? Are your muscles real?’ Another asks, feeling my biceps. I can’t help but notice Nina glaring at me. She looks stunning in her red dress that flows at the bottom. It has a long slit on the right showing off her petite, beautiful legs. Her hair is up high, with a couple of strands dangling down her cheeks.Great, what have I done to upse