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After that, Sascha gets it in his head to grab some food and go to the exercise grounds. In between vertigo spells, he’s actually quite skilled, and keeping in shape is one way Sascha can exert control over his body. The major problem is that he can neither predict nor prevent the spells, so if one takes him out, he’s fucked. It’s kept him back from many pack runs over the years—something Sascha initially resented, but as of late, has been more relieved by.

The exercise ground is behind the main pack house. Sascha lives there with his immediate family, but the building also includes a huge kitchen, a meeting space, and a den for the cubs to play in.

Sascha swings by the kitchen to grab some of the pre-prepared food. Shifter metabolisms need supplements throughout the day, so outside of regular mealtimes, the cooks throw together sandwiches, salads, and other health-conscious dishes that can be grabbed while on the go. Armed with sustenance, Sascha weaves through the hallways toward the back of the house, taking the narrow corridors built to allow the cooks and cleaners quick passage around the house’s active main halls. He comes to the door leading out of the last corridor, preparing to make a break for it because this is where his father’s greeting office is located.

Guests are brought through a special entrance separating this hall from the domestic part of the house. Right now, Sascha can smell people standing in that hallway, and if he holds his breath to listen very carefully, he can make out the cadence of his father’s voice from inside the office.

Sascha easily identifies their guest: Celeste Fuller, alpha of the Wilderness wolf pack. Celeste and Sascha’s father are on good terms. Both are equally ready to defend the other’s territory, and together, their packs are dominant over Bliss Township and much of its surrounding areas.

In the hall stands three of Celeste’s enforcers—two wolf shifters, and Beryl, a tiger were-felid who’s more often thannot a silent presence at Celeste’s side. Samuel hates having a werecreature on Madison territory, but Celeste has reassured him that Beryl is entirely under her control. Regardless, Sascha’s father has strict rules against pack members—Sascha included—being nearby when any of Celeste’s werecreature pets are around. In fact, the only onesnotaffected by the order are, unsurprisingly, the twins. Another sniff tells Sascha that Jakob is in the office with his dad while Garrett is (ideally) stuck with blue-balls upstairs. That’s not as funny as it was a handful of minutes ago.

Grumpier than usual about being left out, Sascha makes the impulsive decision to do something that’s not necessarily smart, but will work well enough.

Shifter magic is fluid. Changing bodies isn’t so much a transformation as it is a flicker through the aether. An individual’s biped form passes through whorls of pure magic, and they return as their animal, whole and painless.

Unlike most shifters, Sascha has to be careful when interacting with the aether. The spinning sickness keeps him vulnerable to magic’s natural current, leaving him at risk of the same flare-ups that contributed to his mother’s death. Episodes are unpredictable and can range in severity, which means Sascha has to be choosy about when and where he decides to shift.

Right now seems a fine time, since he’s on his way to the exercise grounds anyway, so Sascha eases himself into the aether, communing with the part of him that iscougar. Bringing that self forth.

When Sascha exits the aether, his clothes are in a heap below his paws. His round ears swivel, adjusting to the vibrations of the world around him. In this form, Sascha can eavesdrop on his father’s conversation with greater accuracy.

Celeste’s voice is, as always, loud and brassy. While Samuel tends to be soft-spoken, making it harder to decipherhis speech from a distance, Sascha doesn’t have to strain to hear what Celeste is saying.

“—don’t think he’s a threat. I would have killed him if I did.”

“You shouldn’t have risked it,” Samuel says. “Another alpha in our territory? And a werecreature, at that? Celeste, I’m appalled.”

If Sascha had been in biped form, he’d have rolled his eyes. His dad would never say something as crass as‘pissed as hell,’but if he thinks Celeste cares a single burning blue fuck if someone is appalled by her decisions, he’s got to work on his judgement of character. He should work on that anyway because Sascha doesn’t like Celeste and never has.

Jakob speaks without subtlety. “Where is he? It won’t be hard to take out a lone werecreature. Give us his location.”

“He works on the Dennings Farm, but you won’t lay a hand on him. I have an agreement with Howard Dennings, and interfering with his business won’t do if we want to keep the peace.”

“Since when have you cared about keeping peace, Celeste?” Samuel asks with a sigh. At least he’s realistic aboutthatpart of her personality. “I am familiar with Howard’s agreement with the werecreatures who work on his land, and while I don’t approve, I would hesitate to disrespect him and how he chooses to run his business.”

“I think he’s brilliant,” Celeste says. Sascha can hear the shrug in her voice. “Try as we might, shifters won’t ever be able to stop the werevirus spread. Even if we could convince other shifters to stop reproducing with humans?—”

“That’s a myth,” Jakob protests. “Shifters aren’t responsible for the werevirus.”

Samuel says Jakob’s name quietly, silencing him.

Laughing, Celeste continues, “It’s a valid theory, whether you like it or not. Shifters were not meant to procreate outside our species. The mutation of our genes when introduced tohuman physiology is divine punishment for those of us who lack self-control. The werevirus is an albatross around our neck, and it is our cosmic duty to invert the narrative.”

“I didn’t know you were spiritual,” Samuel says dryly.

Celeste huffs. “The point is, werecreatures are not going away, so why not harness them? The only good werecreature is a controlled one. Howard Dennings has the right idea.”

“And do you have control over this new alpha who now lives on the cusp of our territory?”

There’s a pause before Celeste admits, “He walked away from my offer.”

The silence settles, then stretches so thin, Sascha can feel the tension through the wall.

“So he’snota controlled werecreature,” Jakob says carefully.

“It sounds that way, yes,” agrees Samuel.

“Why aren’t we hunting him down and killing him, then? Fuck what that old farmer has to say about it.”