Chapter 12: I Hadn’t Meant to Shift

CORALIE

I’m embarrassed that I lost control like that. I hadn’t meant to shift. I keep my eyes lowered, even though I can feel him trying to make eye contact. “I told you the enchantment is weakening.”

He lets out an exasperated sigh and runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, so you need to make a better enchantment, right?”

A bout of nervous laughter slips past my lips before I can stop it.

“It’s not that simple, alpha. It takes a witch more powerful than me to create an enchantment like this. The only ones who are alive who can do it—well, they work for the council.”

He steps closer to me and places a hand on my shoulder, prickling static energy erupting from his touch.

“What about the witch who made the one that you currently have?”

My breath catches in my throat. My heart clenches at the thought of her.

“My mother enchanted this ring for me. She made it as soon as my beast first emerged. It was her way of preventing the council from discovering what I am. My brother Luca came out with no trace of the lycan abilities. Our parents thought if they made me look like a normal witch, I would be safe. The enchantment suppressed my beast, but not all of my abilities. The council never questioned my unusual strength and speed because it benefited them…until the day it didn’t.”

He squeezes my shoulder.

“How long have you been wearing that?” He gestures to my ring that I have been absentmindedly twisting around my finger.

“Since I was six. It was my mother’s. I wore it around my neck until it fit my finger.” I look up as he runs a hand over his face.

“Your wolf first appeared when you were ~six~?”

I nod, my brow furrowing at his surprised tone. “Yes. She made herself known when I was five, but I shifted for the first time just after my sixth birthday.”

His eyes widen as he stares off into the forest.

“That must be a lycan thing because werewolves don’t begin shifting until after their sixteenth birthday. Do you ever let your wolf run?”

I tilt my head and smirk at him. “Sure, because a giant white beast running through the woods would help to hide my identity ~so~ well. No, I can’t let her free without risking being caught. The incident with the rogues my first day here—that shouldn’t have happened. That was when I realized my control was beginning to slip.”

He shakes his head. “Suppressing your wolf can cause you to lose control. Follow me.”

He grabs my hand and pulls me along behind him. He leads us further into the forest until we reach a small lake. He stops and pulls me in front of him, holding my hand in his. I yank my hand free when he reaches for my ring.

“What are you doing?”

He smiles and holds his hand out to me. “Trust me, please. No one here is going to hurt you.”

I don’t trust people, but my body moves of its own volition. I feel a current between us when I slide my hand into his.

He carefully slides my ring off and places it in my bag before sliding it off my shoulder and setting it on the ground beside a tree. “It’s okay.”

I can feel my beast pushing to the surface. She’s begging to break free.

“Stop fighting her. Just let go. I will be with you the whole time. Just let her go.” His voice is soothing. It feels like his voice calls to my beast. His voice is a siren song that she can’t refuse.

She pushes forward, taking control. This time, I let her. I don’t even have conflict about it. I don’t know the last time I just let her take control. It feels good, even though shifting always hurts.

He stands beside me as my body shifts, breaks, and reshapes, petting my hair and whispering calmly into my ear until my beast has fully emerged.

“You are amazing.” He announces in a heated breath as he takes a step back.

I watch through my beast’s eyes as the alpha strips down and shifts into a large black wolf, nearly as large as my own beast. He smells good.

His wolf steps forward and runs his nose along the neck of my beast before crouching down, his chest low as if preparing to pounce. I watch curiously as his tail wags. Then he bolts past us, into the trees.

My beast immediately gives chase. We leap and dodge through the trees. We run for several miles, and the tension between my beast and the rest of me diminishes with every step.

I have never felt as free as I do at this very moment. It’s a shame I can’t stay here.

He takes a sharp turn and doubles back toward the small lake, finally coming to a stop at the shore. The sun is dropping below the tops of the trees, leaving the sky brightly lit with orange and pink hues.

I hear the sound of bones breaking beside me and turn just in time to catch the alpha’s bare back. His tan skin is stretched over his toned muscles. I turn away, not wanting to risk being caught staring. It’s time to shift.

My beast releases control. I suppose one thing I can be grateful for is that my lycan shifts without destroying my clothes. Once my shift is complete, I am left standing in my black dress, looking out at the shimmering water of the lake in front of me. I feel the warmth and crackling energy spread through me as he takes my hand and slides the ring back on my finger.

“Do you feel any better?”

I pull my arm free and wrap both arms around myself. That run with him was amazing.

“Actually, yes, I do. Is that what it is like for you every time?”

He chuckles as he steps up beside me.

“Not all the time, but most of it. How did it make ~you~ feel?”

I think for a moment before a smile pulls at my lips.

“Free.”

The breeze blows my hair out of my face. Free is the only word that can describe what I feel—and yet, it still isn’t enough. My entire life I’ve had to keep my beast secret. I’ve had to adapt to a world where a hybrid like me isn’t supposed to exist. I buried her so deep that some days I don’t even think about her. Being able to let go and let her run is a new feeling. It’d be easy to get addicted to it.

“You may find your wolf easier to work with if you give her control once in a while. It is not in their nature to be caged and locked away.”

His words make it sound so simple. But people like me are hunted and exterminated. Our existence is considered unholy by most. I know this is why my mother gave me the enchantment ring. She had to protect me. She kept my beast abilities secret.

I release a sigh, forcing my mind to clear as I step into the water.

“What are you doing?”

I turn toward the alpha, continuing further into the lake as I smile at the alpha’s confused expression.

“Going for a swim.” He raises a brow, a small smile causing his lips to curl up.

“In that?” He gestures to my dress.

I shrug. “It’s this or nothing at all.”

His smile grows wide as he runs a hand through his hair. I stop when the water reaches my waist, lowering myself until I am submerged. The feel of the cool water against my heated skin is heavenly.

Something splashes into the water near me. I come to the surface to see if he’s jumped in after me.

The alpha emerges from the water a few feet away from me.

“Damn, jumping into a cold lake has never felt so good.” He chuckles as he runs his hand through his hair, slicking it back away from his face.

His hazel eyes meet mine. For a moment, it feels as if time stands still.