Page 36 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)

WREN

Angry energy crackled through the air. It swirled and pulsed, making a home in all of us for one reason or another.

But a sense of true dread settled in my bones.

Because even with King’s warning to all supernaturals, there would always be beings willing to team up with Bastian for one reason or another.

None of this would end until Bastian himself was ended.

Clara muttered a series of admirable curses as she turned to the rest of her guards.

“Your phones. Now. And I’ll give you one chance to come clean.

Tell me if you were in on this, and I’ll make your deaths merciful.

If you don’t, and I find out that you were a part of this, I will torture you for months on end before I kill you. ”

A grin spread slowly across Rhys’s face as he turned to Puck. “I like your sister.”

Puck glared at the vampire. “Stay the hell away from her.”

Clara gave him a head-to-toe sweep. “Under different circumstances, I might dip a toe in that pool. ”

Puck gagged.

She flipped him off, but the amusement slipped from Clara’s face as she turned back to her guards. “Phones. Now.”

All three instantly turned over their devices. Clara collected them and handed them to Locke. “Feel free to search all our belongings, as well. My personal phone is on my nightstand.”

King’s brows rose. “You’d let us search yours, too?”

“You’re my brother’s pack. Your trust is important to me.” Clara cracked her neck. “Now, I really need to spar. Who’s in?”

“Me,” I said quickly. “I need to hit something.”

By the time the body had been cleared from Puck’s room and we’d all made it down to the gym, the sun was rising and sending beautiful pink rays through the forest. I rolled my shoulders, testing the tension that had made its home there. It wasn’t insignificant.

Even though Clara’s phone as well as her guards’ had been free of any communications with Bastian, the weight of the night’s events still felt heavy for all of us. A traitor had found their way onto our territory. Worse, they’d been invited in.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” Kingston said quietly. “You’ve been through more than your fair share lately, and your head may not be in the right place for sparring.”

“King—”

“He has a point,” Rhys cut in.

“Says the man willing to let me get jumped in the name of training,” I spat.

Rhys held up both hands. “Touchy, touchy. I was just thinking this might be good timing for Clara to help you with your shift.”

Clara’s brow furrowed. “What’s going on with your shift?”

“Noth—”

“It’s slow,” Rhys said, cutting me off .

I sent the vampire a look that should’ve had his balls climbing back up into his body. “Remember that knife in the eye from a couple of hours ago?”

Rhys just grinned. “Love your violent streak. Channel that with the shifting business.”

I pulled the knife from my pocket, opened it, and hurled it in Rhys’s direction. It just barely nicked his ear before coming to rest in the far wall.

Rhys clutched the side of his head. “That was uncalled for, Little Vixen.”

“That was exactly called for,” Clara argued. “The shifting process is incredibly personal, and you should never insult a shifter’s relationship with their animal that way.”

Pressure built behind my eyes, and my wolf let out a hum of satisfaction at Clara’s words. She rather liked Puck’s sister.

Clara moved toward me, hooking her arm in mine. “Carry on, the lot of you. Wren and I have some business to attend to.”

“What about me?” Puck asked.

“You, too, Pucker.”

He made a face.

“Don’t pout. It’s not attractive, and Wren is already too good for you,” Clara said, leading me toward the back doors.

Brix choked on a laugh, and Puck turned to him. “You and me, hand-to-hand.”

“That’s not going to end well,” I mumbled.

“It never does. The male ego is a fragile thing.”

A laugh bubbled out of me as I let Clara lead me farther into the trees.

“There’s something many alphas miss,” Clara began.

“Submission is the ultimate power.” She released her hold on me.

“Alphas only hold the cards because you let them. You can revoke it at any time. It is a choice. Always. And your tender, caretaking spirit is something all of us alphas yearn for, even if we don’t admit it. ”

I studied Clara for a long moment. With her blond hair swept back in a ponytail and her face free of makeup, she looked younger. I couldn’t believe that she had so much on her shoulders already. “I know, I think you might hold some of those gifts.”

Clara’s mouth curved. “Caretaking, even now. You don’t want me to feel down about myself.”

My lips twitched. “Maybe so, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Perhaps. But for now, let’s work on harnessing your unique power. Do you feel comfortable shifting in front of me?”

Nerves hit me fast and hard, but I nodded.

“All right. Let me get a look at the process.”

I swallowed and stripped down, leaving my clothes in a pile. Clara’s focus remained on my face, the way most shifters did. We were used to getting naked in front of one another, but that wasn’t an excuse to stare.

I tried to remember how it had felt to be with the guys when they shifted, the peace that had found me there. I called on my wolf, asking her to come, inviting her to find that peace with me again. It was faster than it had been with Rhys but still clunky in places.

As I found myself on four paws, Clara crouched, offering me a hand to sniff. “I want your wolf to trust me, too. It’ll be easier that way.”

I sniffed her hand, picking up undertones in her scent that reminded me of Puck. That had me licking her palm in an offer of friendship. Clara laughed, the sound light. “Good. Now, shift back.”

I did as she asked, finding myself on two feet again. “It’s better than it was, but it’s still awkward.”

Clara nodded. “You’ve protected your wolf for so long. You need to let her protect you, as well.”

I mulled that over. I had. I never fought in wolf form if I could avoid it, and it would hurt if someone doubted my human half that way.

“Trust. Don’t force,” Clara went on. “Don’t push the shift. Just let it come. Allow your wolf to lead. The more you two are one, the stronger all your gifts will be.”

I nodded. This time, I closed my eyes and simply breathed. I listened to the wind in the trees and the sound of my heartbeat. Then, I welcomed my wolf in. I let her decide when the shift should happen.

Her answer? Instantaneously.

Faster than I’d ever felt before, the crack of bones shifted me to four paws once again. Clara hooted with joy and jumped in the air.

“Was I right, or was I right?” Rhys called through the trees.

“Stop creeping on Wren when she’s shifting,” Brix snarled.

Kingston let out a low growl. “Why hasn’t someone killed him yet?”

One corner of Clara’s mouth tugged up. “I think Wren could give that a stab in her wolfy form.”

My wolf pounced. All in good fun, of course.