Where are you going, Nyx?" Marie croons, moving to stand in front of me. "You can't possibly want to leave so soon! We were just getting started!"
"I've heard high-risk situations can sometimes activate the shifting ability," Peter says, grabbing my arm and wrenching me back to where I was. "Maybe we ought to give Nyx here a little help."
"Get off," I shout, trying to pull free. "Let me go!"
"Make me," Peter replies. "Go ahead, shift. Make me stop. You've got a whole audience watching!"
The adrenaline is coursing through me by now, but even as I grapple with him, struggling for purchase on the crumbling ledge, I can't help but frantically scan myself, searching for any sign of shifting potential. There's nothing. Just soft human flesh and my own flushed shame. Marie watches the struggle with an eyebrow raised, one arm on her hip as we draw closer to the edge, the sheer drop-off looming behind me…
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" barks a new voice.
Peter freezes in his tracks, abruptly letting go of me like I'm poisonous to the touch. I teeter for another moment, and there's a split second when I'm sure I'll go crashing down onto the rocks below. That's when a steadying arm appears out of nowhere, grabbing me by the shoulder and hauling me back onto solid ground. Still disoriented and reeling with fear, I look up to see a silhouette blocking out the sun, and my heart sinks.
"Sebastian," Peter says, taking a step back to flank Marie. The smarmy bravado on his face is gone, replaced by deference and unease. Even the worst of our kind, the self-serving assholes of the pack like him, still pull back when talking to the alpha. "I didn't think you were back from your hunt."
"I am," Sebastian growls. "You thought wrong."
He turns his steely eyes down to me, and there's no mistaking the look of disappointment on his face. "Nyx," he says flatly. "What's going on here?"
I get to my feet, brushing the dirt and dust from my cargo pants as I look from him to the others. Their eyes are burning with disgust as they watch me, and there would be no love lost between us if I ratted them out, but that's not why I stay silent. Sebastian knows as well as anyone that I'm, as Mom would call me, a late-bloomer. I don't have to tell him what a drag I am on our system and our resources, how few skills or specialties I have compared to the others my age in the pack. All I have is sarcasm. It's bad enough for him to have to come to my rescue like this; I'm not about to make it worse by tattling like a four-year-old.
"Nothing, Sebastian," I reply at last, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Peter break into a self-satisfied smirk. "Just a little disagreement."
"We were talking about tomorrow and how I get to wear green and Nyx can't," Marie supplies, putting a hand on her boyfriend's arm when he bristles at the insult.
Sebastian frowns, and I can tell he doesn't buy it. "That didn't look like talking to me," he says, his eyes returning to the others.
I bite my tongue, waiting it out. The worst part about all this is that I know it won't make any difference in the long run, but my pride has been wounded enough today as it is. After what feels like an eternal battle of wills, the alpha finally sighs and rounds on the others. "You know the rules about hazing," he tells them. "If you have a score to settle, you settle it on the battlegrounds."
Marie looks at the ground. "Yes, sir," she says. "Whatever you say," Peter mutters.
"You can cut the attitude, Leonard," Sebastian snaps. "Preying on an innocent who can't fight back goes against the traditions. It's also a shitty thing to do." Giving them both a disgusted look, he gestures back in the direction of town. "Get out of here."
The others glance at one another for a moment before turning and beginning to jog back down the path. As if to rub salt into the wound, they leap into the air as they go, shifting seamlessly from human form to wolf form just as they hit the ground. Werewolves are significantly bigger than regular wolves—not to mention stronger, quicker, and more agile—and never has that been clearer to me than now, as I watch them bound gracefully away along the rocky slopes. What I wouldn't give to be able to experience that grace myself.
Sebastian and I watch them go, and when I turn back to him, I'm overwhelmed with embarrassment. He's every inch the quintessential alpha—tall and muscular, with a head of red hair and a beard to match—but right now, he looks older than his thirty-some years. "You're killing me, Nyx," he says finally.
"I know," I reply, sighing as I brush the dirt off my jeans. "I'm sorry." "Mating Day is tomorrow," Sebastian reminds me, as if I don't know.
"What do you plan to tell the rest of the pack if you can't even defend yourself from a couple of assholes, let alone shift?"
"I'll come up with something, I'm sure." I cross my arms. "Maybe I'll tell them I've just been testing them this whole time, that it's all part of my master plan to weed out the jerks."
"Nyx…" Sebastian says warningly, and I can tell he's not buying my diversion. "You know what I'm asking."
The real question, the important one, is the one that goes unspoken between us. How do you plan to find a mate if you're nothing more than an outcast?
I sigh and shrug my shoulders. "I wish I knew what was wrong with me," I admit. "I've spent months trying to shift, and I'm getting nowhere."
Sebastian pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, Nyx," he says, "I like you. I really do. And whether it seems like it or not, a lot of others around here do, too. But liking you will only go so far, especially in times of war."
My mind immediately goes to the enemy factions, and I stifle a wince, all trace of humor vanishing from my voice. "You mean like now."
Sebastian nods slowly. "I mean like now," he echoes, and lets out a long sigh. "The werebears are gaining ground every day, claiming more and more of our territory. The other packs are scared, and I don't blame them. Now is the time for action, and for that to happen, we need warriors. Our strength has always been in our numbers."
I swallow the lump in my throat and meet his eyes, giving him a nod. "Yes, Sebastian."
"Good." Sebastian turns to leave, beginning his own descent down the rocky path.
"I won't let you down," I call after him, trying to sound more sure than I feel.
Sebastian turns back around at that, and the look in his eyes tells me he doesn't believe it for an insta
nt. "For your sake, Nyx," he replies, "I hope you're right."