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10
My foot was healed by the time we started for Alec’s camp. I tried to swallow back the excitement bubbling inside me. I’d healed from the injuries sustained before and during the cave, but I’d shifted. Until this moment, I wasn’t sure I’d retained the magic. I didn’t want to allow myself to believe that I could shift on my own, but maybe it was possible.
Sheila, Malcom, and Alec each had a backpack on their backs. Their sleeping bags were rolled and attached to the bottom of the pack. I got the sense they did this often.
“So you three were on patrol?” I asked.
“We had some reports of talismans in the woods,” Sheila said.
“She doesn’t need to know,” Alec said.
“Witches?” I asked.
“Not your business,” Alec said.
“I would rather know what I’m getting into. Besides, who am I going to tell? You made it clear that trying to get through the woods to civilization on my own is a death sentence,” I reminded him.
“Ignore him, he’s just pissed we didn’t find anything,” Sheila said.
“Another wild-goose chase,” Malcom said.
“Is your camp not warded?” I asked.
Malcom laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“She’s from Wolf Creek, you’ll have to excuse her witch-loving ways,” Alec said.
“I never said I hold any love for witches,” I said. “If anything, I’m equally against all magic.”
“Strong words for a shifter who had the protection of the Cedar Coven,” Alec said.
“I don’t know anything about the Cedar Coven but I do know that I have no love for the witch who cursed my family.”
“So you really never shifted before?” Sheila asked.
“Well, even if I could have shifted, that was my first full moon,” I admitted.
Sheila looked at me as if I’d said something crazy. “You’re a late bloomer, then.”
“I just turned nineteen two weeks ago. How is that late?” I asked.
“Wolf Creek’s barrier has a few other restrictions in place,” Alec explained.
“What are you talking about?” I was completely confused.
“Most of us have our first shift around thirteen or so,” Malcom said. “It varies from wolf to wolf, but there’s no set connection to a specific age. We feel the pull and shift on a full moon when our wolf is ready.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“It’s when we start feeling the bond, too, if we’re around our true mate,” Sheila added.
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Tyler’s abuse had started around that age. Prior to that, I wasn’t treated well, but he didn’t go out of his way to torment me. Had he been feeling the bond that whole time?
“What is it?” Sheila asked.
“Nothing,” I lied. “It’s just a lot to learn how much was hidden from me.”
