Page 179 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

She shook her head and I felt her need to protect them wash over me, dousing my fire with a biting cold that made me grit my teeth.

Her head snapped up at the sound of footsteps approaching and I found Jared rushing over, his amber eyes wide and hair disheveled from a run. He must have sensed it, too.

His face hardened at the sight of us. Of Allie holding tight to a fussing Liam. Of Charity sitting on Hazel’s knee while Piper wordlessly pulled her wild silvery hair back into a braid.

“It’s time, isn’t it?” he asked, his adams apple bobbing in his throat as he ran a shaky hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face.

I nodded.

“They’re too small,” Allie argued. “They should wait.”

Jared’s cheekbones flared and he cleared the space between him and Allie, stooping to drop a kiss to the top of her head and whisper something into her ear that I couldn’t hear.

He squeezed her shoulder, lending her the strength I couldn’t, and within a moment, she released her tight hold on Liam, letting Jared lead him by the hand to Hazel.

I went to Allie, lifting her up from the ground to pull her into my side. “They’ll be okay.”

A choked sob to our left was followed by a hard sniff.

“Viv?” Allie asked, peering around me to see her best friend.

Vivian swiped at the snot beneath her nose and tried to conceal the way her chin wobbled. “They’re just growing up so fast,” she croaked.

Layla wrapped her arms around Viv. “Come here you big cry baby,” she teased, even though her eyes were already welling, too.

I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the burn there and held Allie tighter.

Jared came to stand with us, giving Hazel some space as she talked in hushed tones with our babies. Charity nodded at something she said and Liam shrugged, sending angry stares at his twin sister.

Hazel took them both by the hand and stood. “Now do what Grandma Hazel said.”

“Won’t it hurt?” Charity complained, skipping her r sounds like always.

“I want to keep him in,” Liam said. “He don’t want to come out.”

“He is you, my boy,” Hazel contradicted. “And if you don’t let him out now, he might come out when you really don’t want him to. Or the moon might force him out. He might even hurt Charity. You don’t want that, do you?”

Liam glared at his sister for a moment before his expression softened and his shoulders slumped. “No.”

“Good boy.”

Hazel squeezed Charity’s hand. “It’ll hurt for a minute. But only a minute. I promise.”

She nodded resolutely, her light gray eyes hardening in a way that reminded me so much of Allie it took my breath away. She would be a force to be reckoned with as she got older. I almost felt sorry for my future self.

Hazel let them go and gave them each a little nudge, stepping back. “Remember what I said. Deep breath, and then step back. Don’t fight it.”

Allie latched onto my hand, nearly popping joints with the force of her hold even though Jared was doing his best to soothe her.

Little Charity and Liam looked to their mom for the final word and she gave them a strong nod, forcing an encouraging smile.

They moved apart and I clenched my jaw, seeing the exact moment our Liam let go. His eyes widened as though he wished he could take it back the moment his wolf surged to the surface, but couldn’t.

My stomach turned as he cried out and I had to tighten my grip on Allie to keep her on her feet. Charity’s high pitched keen quickly followed, her dirt-streaked face contorted as her inner wolf took root, breaking free.

I looked away when the first bone snapped, and if it weren’t for the fact that I needed to hold Allie up, I might have fallen myself. But Allie...I watched her watch them. Stoically.

Without blinking.

She would bear witness to their first shift, to their pain, no matter how much it hurt her to do it.

It was over in barely a moment. The first shift for a born wolf was painful, it would be for a while, but it was nothing compared to the agony of the first shift of a changed wolf. The breaking and realigning of fully formed adult bones made the process much worse.

A tear rolled down Allie’s cheek as a little hissing snarl sounded before us. Her frown cracked into a relieved grin and she released her death grip on my hand.

A little ball of silver and black fur barreled into my legs, nearly taking me out, sharp claws scraping over my ankles.

“Shit,” I cursed, staring down at her viscous face. She growled at me, her hackles raised and gray eyes narrowed in challenge.

Her wolf wanted to play.

Liam howled. A tiny little sound that brought a smile to my face.

He padded toward Jared, his coat the exact replica of his sisters.

I shared a look with Allie.

You’d never know they were twins to look at them in their human forms. With Liam’s dark hair and taller frame, and Charity’s white blond mane lighter eyes.

But as wolves…

Charity set her sights on her brother, beginning to chase him in circles around us.

“Come on,” Allie said, her eyes alight with mischief as she shrugged out of my embrace and looked to Jared and the others.

“They need to run.”

She whistled sharply and took off for the trees, shifting mid-stride to lope into the brush, her twin ails bobbing.

Charity yipped, abandoning her efforts to cage in her brother to chase her mom, Liam right behind her.

Layla and Viv shared a look before taking off after them, laughing as they shifted.

Hazel came to stand between Jared and I, patting us both on the arm. “You did good,” she said absently. “They’re strong. Like their fathers.”

Jared scoffed and I shook my head.

“Not like us,” Jared corrected her. “Like their mom.”

She pursed her lips, nodding. She knew he wasn’t wrong.

“Well?” she snapped after a second, rolling her shoulders back. “What are we waiting for? Let’s show those pups how it’s done.”

THE END