Page 27 of Pack Kasen, Part 3 (Caught #3)

KAT

I t takes a long time to work out what I’m seeing.

Third form.

My mind pulls up the shifter class where a room full of pups told me about third form.

Gregor nods at a little girl with bright red pigtails. “Saskia. Why don’t you tell us about the three forms?”

She’s utterly adorable, maybe six or seven. She gets to her feet, stands tall, and, after glancing at me, speaks slowly and clearly. “The three forms are wolf-wolf ? —”

“Human-wolf.” Leo leaps from his seat, snarling as he curls his fingers into claws that he drags through the air like Wolverine.

“Leo, what have I told you about doing that in here?” Gregor asks mildly.

He slumps into his seat. “To save it for after class or playtime. I could take someone's eye out.”

I look down, hiding my smile.

“Saskia?” Gregor prompts.

“The three forms are wolf-wolf, human-wolf—but only alphas and betas can do that—and third form. Only Aren can do wolf-human-wolf.”

Wolf-human-wolf?

I sit up in my seat, curious. “He can?”

She nods, pigtails bobbing. “It’s how he won the Wolf King Trials. It’s a wolf's head, human body, and wolf claws. No one can win a fight against the third form. That’s why the alpha he was fighting ran away and hid under his bed.”

The thing Aren has reduced to a pile of fur, blood, and bone turns my stomach.

If I were human and not a shifter, I would one hundred percent be hiding under my bed to get away from being mauled like that.

Nothing about the feral resembles a human or wolf.

And Aren did it in under twenty seconds. Probably less.

No wonder he’s the Wolf King.

I reach for my human side, swaying as I stand.

I stumble, my hand on the still-healing slice across my belly, a symptom of not giving a fuck about Cristofer hurting me in my rush to save Marisa and Troy.

Someone catches me.

Their furry arms are bloody, and when I lift my gaze, I meet Aren’s wolf head.

His body is mostly human. His hands are claws, longer, sharper-looking than a wolf's, and his snout is bloody.

“So, this is third form?” I ask.

He nods.

I take my time looking him over. “I get why Leo wanted to take you to show and tell. I wouldn’t mind taking you myself.”

Slowly, he shifts back to his fully human self.

It’s fascinating.

His face is pale, and he’s swaying slightly. The transformation clearly exhausts him. Gregor warned me that being superhuman like that comes with a cost, which is why bringing Aren to show and tell wasn’t wise.

An ability like that is about saving lives, not about showing off a wolf's head on a human body to a roomful of curious pups.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, concerned.

He stares at me. “Am I okay?”

“Yeah, you just…”

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asks me, his expression impossible to decipher.

I blink at the suddenness of his question. “Uh, no. Just my belly.” And that’s healing fast.

“Wait there,” he orders me.

I watch him walk over to Troy. While I wasn’t paying attention, Gregor slipped out of the bunkhouse and is kneeling beside Troy, now human again, with a large bag of medical supplies.

Aren sinks into a crouch, his eyes on Troy’s bloody chest. “Is he okay?”

“He will be,” Gregor says, hands busy, focused on treating Troy’s wounds. “Stitches and a whole heap of bed rest await him.”

Troy groans in frustration, and I almost feel sorry for him because none of that sounds fun.

“Thanks,” a female voice calls out.

I turn to find Marisa sitting on the floor as Silas checks her over.

She looks at me and continues, “It was stupid running at a feral like that, but thanks.”

I nod, smiling slightly. “No worries. It was the least I could have done.”

“The least you could have done is nothing,” she says, not smiling. “After I nearly killed you, it’s what I deserved.”

“We’re pack now, right?” I say. “Pack looks out for each other.”

“Thanks. And sorry I tried to kill you. My jealous self could not handle losing Aren, and I was too blind to realize he was never mine to begin with.” She smiles at me as she admits something that had to have hurt, and I think maybe we can be more than pack. Maybe we can be friends.

“Don’t do it again, and I think we’re good.”

For someone damn good at holding a grudge, I’m surprised that I mean it. I didn’t say it just to be polite. I actually meant it.

She returns my smile, then winces, scowling at Silas. “Silas, quit prodding.”

“Come here.” Aren, back from checking on Troy and Wes, who are getting checked over by Finan, pulls me apart from everyone else.

His expression is impenetrable. I’d say he was angry, but he’s neither howling at the sky, growling at me, or punching a tree.

I’ve never seen this look on his face before, and I start to get worried he’s gone beyond furious at me doing something so stupid and is about to explode.

I clear my throat. “You’re not going to punch another tree, are you? I know you said you were trying not to howl all the time, but I don’t want it to come at the expense of killing all the trees on your land.”

“Forever,” he says, framing my face with two large hands.

“I’m going to give you smiles and laughter, hugs, pack runs and BBQs, and as many pups as you want.

I’ll only complain a little when I do something that pisses you off and you throw me in the creek.

Love and happiness forever . That’s what you deserve, and that’s exactly what I intend to give you because you are my world, Kataleya Prairie, and nothing means more to me than you. ”

The backs of my eyelids burn from his fierce words.

He means every single one of them. It’s right there in his gaze.

“But I need you to do something in return,” he says quietly.

“What?”

“For the love of everything, never charge a feral like that again.” He grasps the tops of my arms and shakes me slightly. “My heart can’t take it.”

“Just that?” My smile is watery. “I guess I could do that.”

He draws me into a hug. “And love me half as much as I love you,” he whispers into my ear. “If you can.”

I hug him back. “Idiot Wolf King. I already love you.”

“Will you just hold still for a second?” Silas snaps.

Gregor and a couple of the other enforcers are getting ready to lift Troy and take him into the infirmary. He has several wounds that are going to put him out of commission for a while.

Silas must have been checking out Marisa’s wounds too slowly for her liking because she’s glaring at him. “I told you, I’m fine .”

“You’re still bleeding,” he snarls at her.

Cruz raises his eyebrow.

Silas has always been pretty calm whenever I’ve spoken to him, even when we were in the forest and he confessed to being secretly in love with Marisa. This snarling habit must be new. He’s pissed, or maybe nearly losing her triggered something in him.

Marisa gets to her feet. “Yes, and I will heal. You poking at my?—”

He drops a bandage, grabs her, and kisses her.

My mouth falls open.

Guess he’s tired of waiting for her to notice he has feelings for her and decided to do something about it.

Silas breaks the kiss. “I love you, okay? I have always loved you, and you never see it. Well, now I’m saying it. And you charging into a fight with a feral wasn’t just suicidal, it was stupid. Never do that again.”

“About fucking time,” Wes mutters.

“Did you just tell me what to do?” She whispers, glaring at him.

“Damn right.”

They stare at each other. She grabs him and hauls him in for another kiss.

“I hope they’re not going to be fucking and arguing like Joy and Emilio,” Cruz grumbles. “We won’t have any walls left to patch.”

Everyone laughs.

Everyone except Marisa, who stops kissing Silas long enough to snarl at Cruz, and Silas, who joins her in chewing him out.

“You sure you want to put up with this?” Aren kisses my hair and sighs tiredly. “'Cause I have to say, it gets pretty fucking tiring.”

I slide my arms around his waist and rest my head against his chest. “It’s not that bad.”

And just like that, I feel part of them.

Pack.

Family .