Page 30

A soft tap on the door wrenched Faith from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes and blearily blinked into the bright morning sunshine.

The space next to her was empty.

Tala stuck her head into the bedroom. Her hair was damp and darkened to a rich auburn. Had she taken a shower without Faith waking up, or had she shifted shape and run through the wet grass behind the house? “Good morning.”

Faith rubbed her eyes. “Morning. Come on in.”

Tala entered, closed the door behind her, and studied Faith. “How do you feel?”

Surrounded by cozy covers, in a toasty bed, after sleeping the entire night without waking up once, Faith felt amazingly good, despite the sting in her hand and knees. It wasn’t just a good night’s sleep, though. What made her feel so much lighter was that she had finally told Tala about her mother—and about spying on the Wrasa for her father. She realized it had been weighing on her, making her feel more and more conflicted every day. Now that heavy weight was gone.

“So far, so good,” she said with a small smile. “Ask me again once I’m out of bed.”

“Do you want to come down and join us for breakfast? It’ll be our last meal together as a pack before we and the other out-of-town folks head back. But if you don’t feel up to it, I can bring up a tray for you.”

Faith swallowed. The thought of facing two dozen Syak made her nervous, and the main reason wasn’t that she knew they could turn into wolves with sharp fangs. It was because she was afraid they would judge her for what she had done the night before. “Do they want me to join you?”

Tala huffed. “Mom already has your special tea on the table, and Sutton has been reading the dietary habits chapter of Humans for Dummies to make sure there’s enough food you’ll enjoy.”

“Aww. Okay, I’ll get dressed and be right down.”

Tala’s golden eyes lit up as if she was pleased with that decision. “Take your time. I’ll go back downstairs and make sure no one starts without you.”

When the door clicked shut, Faith peeked over the edge of the bed.

No mouse.

She shoved back the covers and swung her legs out of bed.

Ouch. Her entire body ached as if she had…run for her life, through a pitch-dark forest, and crashed to the ground hard.

She got dressed as quickly as her aching muscles allowed, knowing how hard it was for Wrasa to control themselves around food.

When she headed downstairs, laughter and the scent of bacon and freshly baked bread drifted toward her.

Everyone was sitting at the long table, and Faith felt two dozen gazes on her as she walked toward the only free chair, next to Tala. “Good morning.” She gave a quick wave without making eye contact with anyone.

Tala jumped up and pulled out the chair for her.

Hmmm. She smelled heavenly. Had the mate scent perfume always been this enchanting, or was it something else she was smelling?

Then she froze. Oh shit. The perfume! In her hurry to get downstairs, she had forgotten to put it on!

“Are you okay?” Tala asked, still lingering next to her with her hands on the back of the chair.

“The perfume,” Faith whispered close to Tala’s ear so no one else would hear. “I forgot to apply it!”

Tala frowned. Her nose twitched as if she was inhaling Faith’s scent. “Are you sure? I could swear—”

“Yes! Of course I’m sure.”

“Okay, okay. Just…rub against me.”

“What?”

“Against my neck.”

Ah. Where she had applied perfume to her pulse points. Faith’s face burned as she ducked her head and rubbed her uninjured cheek against the side of Tala’s neck to transfer a bit of perfume to herself.

Tala’s skin against her own was hot and incredibly soft. Mmm. She slid her cheek along it a second, then a third time…only to make sure she’d rubbed enough perfume on herself, of course.

“Humans are strange,” Rey muttered.

Faith’s eyes flew open. When had she closed them?

Tala sent her brother a glare. “You’re just jealous.”

“Oh, please!” Rey wrapped one arm around Mirella and pulled her against him. “Why would I be jealous? I’m about to be married to the hottest woman in the room.”

“Second-hottest, maybe.” Tala’s gaze brushed over Faith, her irises glowing like flames.

Heat pooled low in Faith’s belly. “Um, can you two stop the pissing contest, please? I happen to think Mirella is beautiful.”

Now Tala was the one whose cheeks went red. “I wasn’t implying otherwise. I simply meant that to me—”

Her father barked out a laugh and patted her shoulder. “You’d better not say anything else and sit down, daughter.”

Grumbling, Tala sat.

Faith quickly followed suit.

Everyone’s attention was still on her. Mirella was regarding her through narrowed eyes, as if she couldn’t quite figure out what to make of Faith’s compliment.

Her sister, however, wasn’t looking at Faith. Lasandra was staring at Tala, then down at her still-empty plate. Clearly, that display of affection between Tala and her had been hard for Lasandra to watch.

Beneath everyone’s scrutiny, Faith was very aware of how close she and Tala sat at the packed table. Tala’s thigh pressed against her own, and her heat filtered through Faith’s blouse where their arms brushed.

“All right. Let’s get some breakfast!” Brennan’s announcement wrenched everyone’s attention away from Faith and Tala.

Rey scowled at Tala for a second longer before turning away and grabbing his plate.

This time, Faith knew the correct order and got up when it was her turn to serve herself.

But once she sat back at the table, Jemma nudged a jar toward her. “I got you some strawberry jam. I hear humans love that.”

Sutton skidded to a stop next to Faith’s chair. “I had my dads pick up some muesli for you.” She placed a small bowl next to Faith’s plate.

“You might want to eat some of these.” Arlyn set down a bowl of blueberries. “They’re full of vitamin C and antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and are essential for the healing process.”

Within a minute, half a dozen additional bowls and plates surrounded Faith. She stared at it all, then leaned over and whispered to Tala, “What does this mean?”

“Mean?” Tala repeated.

“Yeah. Food always means something in Wrasa culture. Like during the twere or when we got, um, engaged.”

A soft smile curved up Tala’s lips. “It means they care.”

Faith’s chest tightened. She dabbed her sleeve against her damp eyes. How could she ever have thought the Wrasa were monsters or that the Petersons had anything to do with her mother’s death? She looked up and let her gaze travel along the table. “Thank you, everyone. This has been, by far, the best twere I’ve ever been to.”

Several pack members beamed at her.

Tala leaned over. Her warm breath washed over Faith’s ear, sending goose bumps down her body. “Um, this has been the first and only twere you’ve ever been to,” she whispered.

Grinning, Faith shrugged and put a handful of blueberries into her muesli. “Two things can be true at the same time,” she said, quoting what her dad always said to Chloe.

~ ~ ~

“Do Syak goodbyes always last this long?” Faith whispered to Arlyn as the entire pack walked her and Tala to their car.

They had said goodbye three separate times already, only for someone to remember something else they wanted to say or another item they wanted to send home with them.

Arlyn laughed. “No—this is the abbreviated version.”

They stopped in front of the passenger-side door, while the rest of the pack followed Tala over to the driver’s side.

Arlyn lightly tapped Faith’s hand. “Don’t forget to have Tala change the dressing once a day or—knowing your penchant for long showers—whenever it gets wet.”

“Long show—? Oh.” Faith flushed. She couldn’t tell her that there would be no adult showers…or that Tala wouldn’t come over to change her bandage every day. Once they returned to DC, they would go back to their separate lives and probably just meet up for an hour or two once a week.

It was strange to realize she would miss Tala—would maybe even miss the entire pack.

She glanced over at Arnold and his mother, who hung back with grim expressions.

Okay, almost the entire pack.

As if sensing her gaze, Tala’s grandmother walked toward her. Several cousins stepped back respectfully to let her pass.

Uh-oh. She was coming over to her, not to Tala! Faith fought the urge to duck behind Arlyn. She was the future natak’s future mate…or at least everyone thought she was. She had a reputation to uphold. So she stood her ground, hoping Tala’s grandmother couldn’t hear how fast her heart was beating.

The elderly woman stopped in front of her and flicked her hand in Arlyn’s direction, clearly dismissing her.

“Uh, I’ll go say goodbye to Tala.” Without waiting for a reply, Arlyn hurried off.

Faith shifted the thermos of tea Jemma had given her for the drive home. “Um, ma’am…” She realized she had never found out the matriarch’s first name.

“It wasn’t right,” Tala’s grandmother said, her voice gruff.

“I’m sorry,” Faith replied, even though she didn’t know what exactly the older woman was referring to.

The matriarch held up a hand. “It wasn’t right when I said ‘so what?’ when Tala told us about your mother. No child deserves to lose a parent, not even a human.”

“Oh. I…uh…” What did she say to that? Her brain was completely blank of words.

“I still don’t like you one bit.” Tala’s grandmother pointed a gnarled finger at her. “Just so we’re clear.”

Faith couldn’t help it—she smiled at her. The elderly woman reminded her of Tala when she’d first met her. “Crystal clear, ma’am.”

“Me neither,” Arnold said from behind his mother. “But—here. Found it in the forest.” He thrust something at her, then took his mother’s elbow and led her back toward the house.

Faith stared after them, then glanced down at the object in her hand. It was her phone.

~ ~ ~

Tala craned her neck, trying to peer around various uncles, aunts, and cousins as they hugged her goodbye so she could keep an eye on Faith.

Or rather on her grandmother, who had gone over to talk to Faith.

As much as she tried, she couldn’t make out what they were saying over the chatter of her other relatives, and it made her nervous. At least Grandma wasn’t shouting at Faith.

Finally, the last cousin had gotten their hug.

But before Tala could hurry around the car to check on Faith, Rey and Mirella walked over.

Tala hadn’t been sure her brother would say goodbye. Maybe she had hoped he wouldn’t because then she wouldn’t have to say what she was about to say—in front of the entire pack. “Rey, Mirella.” She nodded at them. “It was a great twere. I’m sorry two HASS goons interrupted it because of us.”

Rey waved his hand. “It’s okay. Faith already apologized, and thankfully, Dad and I managed to lead the pack to safety. That’s all that counts.”

It took all of Tala’s considerable self-control to hold back a snort. Of course he would pretend to be the pack’s heroic savior, even though it had been Tala who had lured MacAllister’s people away, allowing the pack to escape. But now wasn’t the time to debate that.

Rey gave her the shortest of hugs, and Mirella followed suit. “Thank you for visiting,” she said.

Visiting. Tala bit her lip at the reminder that she was just a temporary guest, not a part of the pack—much less its future leader—in Mirella’s eyes.

As soon as they walked away, she turned to check on Faith, who was now talking to Arnold.

Lasandra came over. She followed Tala’s gaze across the roof of the car and studied Faith for a moment. “You’re different with her,” she said quietly.

Tala had no idea what to say to that. She turned away from Faith to give Lasandra her full attention. She deserved that much. “Sorry we didn’t get to talk this weekend.”

“Why?” Lasandra asked with a bit of a challenge in her voice that had never been there when they’d been younger. “Was there something you wanted to say?”

“Yes. Not this weekend. There’s something I should have said years ago. I should have talked to you and explained that I wasn’t ready for a lifelong commitment. That I wasn’t sure about…” Tala gestured back and forth between them. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Lasandra blinked. “You really have changed. The Tala I knew never apologized or showed any weakness.”

Tala knew it was true. She’d been too busy trying to out-wolf her brother. “Yeah, well…” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I guess I had some growing up to do, and I could only do it on my own. Away from the pack.”

“And now that you did, will you be back?”

Tala hesitated. She had enjoyed parts of this weekend immensely. The house and the forest felt like home, and the pack was her family. She had expected to cement her role as their future natak during the visit, and amazingly, she had—with Faith’s help. But was leading the pack really what she wanted?

She had always thought so, yet now she was no longer sure. If she didn’t, what else was there for her to do with her life?

“Of course,” she finally said, aware that Lasandra was waiting for a reply. “I’ll see you at the next family celebration.”

It hadn’t been what Lasandra had been asking, and they both knew it, but her ex smiled and let it slide.

“I expect it’ll be your twere,” Lasandra said. “Yours and Faith’s.”

She was wrong about that, of course, but… Tala searched her eyes. “Would you be okay with that?”

“I was prepared to hate her.” Lasandra looked over at Faith, so Tala allowed herself to do the same.

Thankfully, her grandmother and Arnold had walked away. Now Faith was standing alone, staring at an object in her hand.

“But the way she stood up to the entire pack yesterday and how she told you off earlier, in front of everyone…” Lasandra shook her head. “I never could have done that. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s the better mate for you.”

Tala tried to swallow down the lump in her throat, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge.

“So yes,” Lasandra said. “I’ll be at your twere. After all, we’re family now.”

A sound that was half cough, half laugh wrenched from Tala’s chest. “Yes, I guess we are.” She pulled Lasandra into a short hug. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

Lasandra nodded. “You too.” She squeezed Tala’s shoulders, then let go, turned, and walked away.

Tala’s parents watched her go before coming over.

“I never understood why the two of you broke up,” her father said. Before either Tala or her mother could say anything, he held up his hands and added, “But clearly, it worked out for the best.” He pointed at Faith. “Next time you two come home, bring her pup. We want to meet her.”

“H-her pup?” Great. Now she was in trouble. She couldn’t very well tell her parents Faith didn’t want her daughter to ever meet a Wrasa. The thought sent a stab through her chest.

“Yes, of course! Did you think we wouldn’t accept her? Oh Tala!” Her mother wrapped both hands around Tala’s upper arm and lightly shook her. “I want you to know we’ll consider her our grandchild, and, of course, the same is true for any child you two might have together.”

Tala nearly choked on her own spit. “Uh…thanks, Mom.” She hugged them both, aware of how lucky she was to have them. Quickly, she unlocked the car and jumped in, eager to leave before someone else walked up to her for another emotionally taxing talk.

“Call me as soon as you and Faith have decided on a date for your twere,” her mother said before Tala could close the door between them.

Tala pretended not to have heard as she slammed the driver’s side door shut and sank back against the seat.

Faith got in on the passenger side and closed her door much more quietly than Tala had. “You okay? I saw you talk to your brother…and to Lasandra. It looked pretty intense.”

“It was. But not necessarily in a bad way—at least when it comes to Lasandra.” Tala hadn’t fully processed either conversation yet, nor had she processed the entire weekend.

What a whirlwind of a twere! Nothing seemed to be the same as it had been when they had left DC.

Their fake relationship had matured into something else—a true alliance with a new shared goal instead of each of them pursuing their individual interests.

Her gaze flicked over to Faith, who looked just as overwhelmed. Tala barely stopped herself from reaching over and taking her hand. They had already convinced the pack they were a happy couple, so one last PDA wasn’t necessary. “Ready to head back?”

“Ready,” Faith said, yet she sounded anything but.

Tala could empathize. Even though she had been reluctant to attend the twere, especially with Faith in tow, she now found herself strangely unsettled at the prospect of leaving Silver Falls. She had no idea how things would be once they were back in DC. Would this feeling of being a team continue to exist, or would it all unravel as soon as Faith was back under her father’s influence?

Her chest tightened at the thought.

Despite her concern, she couldn’t help feeling that this weekend was the beginning of something bigger—something she didn’t yet understand.

Sighing, Tala started the engine and navigated the SUV along the circular driveway, then watched the pack become smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

END BOOK ONE

Tala and Faith’s story continues in Shifting Nature , the next novel in the shape-shifter series.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~