While I get the sense everyone wants the chance to talk with me, no one presses in too quickly and I’m not overwhelmed. Lillie stays a few steps behind; I wonder if it’s on Jack’s order or if she simply wants to make sure I’m all right.

  They ask a lot of questions, but no one seems upset when my answers aren’t incredibly detailed. I’m still not sure how much information I want to give away to these strangers, even if they are supposed to be my new family. I’ve been in that situation too many times to be confident this stop is permanent.

  A girl who introduces herself as Maggie asks if I have any family who might be worried about me. She gives my hand a squeeze when I tell her no, but she doesn’t press further.

  A tall, pale, strawberry blonde named Fiona and a girl with dark hair and deep brown eyes named Marisol offer to give me a tour of the grounds after I settle in. They tell me they were friends even before they were turned—that Sawyer found them after a bad car crash and saved them.

  “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Marisol says with a shy smile.

  I lose track of time as the conversations shift from being all about me to being about some of the people I’m meeting. A few pack members recount their own stories of being turned or of their first day with the pack. Others tell me how much I’ll love being a wolf, how incredible it will feel the first time I shift and run through the woods.

  I’m chatting with a girl named Dakota—a tall woman with long, sleek black hair and an olive complexion—when Jack calls for everyone’s attention and tells us to go outside. He locks eyes with me, and while he says nothing, I know he wants me to stay put until he reaches me. I wonder if it’s an alpha thing—a few of the wolves I met mentioned how the alphas can give commands that pack members have no choice but to obey.

  By the time Jack and I make it outside, everyone is standing in a large circle on the grassy slope behind the meeting house. Four girls, Lillie included, step into the center of the clearing and the familiar weight of dread sinks in my stomach.

  I look at Jack. “What’s going on?”

  He meets my eye and I shiver even before he speaks. “You have to choose one of them to fight.”

  Chapter Five

  “Choose wisely,” Jack continues. “Be sure whoever you pick is someone you can beat. If you lose, you’ll be cast out—a lone wolf.”

  My jaw drops and I stare at him. Is he serious? I just spent the last hour getting to know these people. I was told they would be my new family. But now if I don’t win a fight, I’ll be kicked out? This is insane. When Lillie explained my choices back in my apartment, she made it seem like just choosing to be here was enough to solidify my spot. Was she keeping this from me on purpose? Even if I go through with this, is this really the kind of life I want to be part of?

  Lillie told me Jack cares for the wolves here. Is this what she meant? I’ve lived with a lot of families since my dad died, and the only one that came close to being this messed up was when I was still with my aunt Erica and her crazy, drunk boyfriend. I left that situation, and part of me wants to leave this one too.

  What if I choose not to fight at all? I imagine the consequence would be the same as losing—I’d be kicked out and have to live as a lone wolf. I’ve felt alone most of my life, but I can’t help fearing what it might mean to be alone as a werewolf. I have no idea what this life will be like. What if I go off on my own and can’t control myself? What if I hurt someone? No, I can’t do that.

  If this is the way the pack is run, I’ll go with it—for now. I can always leave later if I need to.

  I hope.

  I take in a breath and draw my shoulders back before stepping toward the line of girls facing me. I spoke with them all in the meeting house. The one on the left—Maggie, a petite brunette—is clearly submissive. I’m pretty sure I could beat her easily, but I don’t want to. It would feel wrong to fight her. There’s Lillie, but I don’t want to go up against her, either. I like her. She’s been nothing but kind to me.

  That narrows my choice to two. The tall one with wavy blonde hair is Skye. We spoke only briefly, and I don’t know anything about her, but I get the sense she could beat me with one hand tied behind her back. That leaves Mel. Her thick brown hair, which had been loose around her shoulders earlier, is pulled back into a ponytail, accentuating the angles of her face. She reminds me of a girl I knew in foster care who bossed all the smaller kids around. I’d wanted to fight that girl then to make her stop being so mean, but I couldn’t.

  I hold on to all that bottled-up anger and call it forth as I bring up my hand to point at her. “I choose Mel.”

  Whispers buzz around the circle as Lillie, Maggie, and Skye rejoin the others. I do my best to ignore the sounds as I move into the center of the clearing.

  Mel’s russet eyes lock on me and she strikes a fighting pose, with one forearm in front of her and the other drawn back, prepared to attack. I try to imitate her, but I feel more than a little ridiculous. I took one six-week self-defense class in middle school. My dad insisted I master some basic skills before he’d let me walk by myself to school. I do my best to recall everything I learned, but the focus was obviously on defense, not offense. I’ve never started a fight in my life. I don’t want to make the wrong first move and have this be over before it’s begun.

  The pack is agitated. I do my best to ignore it, but I see motion in my periphery.

  “Make a move!” calls a guy.

  “Do something already!” yells a girl.

  Others join in, but I’m not ready yet. If I make the wrong move, Mel will take me out. I have to wait for the right moment.

  “Come on, Mel! Get this over with!”

  Out the corner of my eye, I notice as Jack nods. In a flash, Mel lunges at me. She’s so fast I don’t have time to react, and she strikes me on the jaw. I stumble backward but manage to stay on my feet. When she rushes at me again, I swing my fist, but only achieve a glancing blow. Mel strikes me in the stomach and I double over. She comes at me, but I manage to move backward before she can land a kick.

  I put a few feet between the two of us. I need the space to give me time to react before she makes her next move. Mel grins, but it’s not a friendly look. She’s enjoying this. I wonder if she likes the idea of me being cast out.

  She comes at me, but I anticipate her moves this time. She’s going for my jaw again, and at the last second, I duck out of the way and grab her wrist. This is one technique I remember from my classes. I twist her hand in a way that makes it impossible for her not to follow my lead. She thrashes, but before she can get away, Jack steps forward and lifts his hands.

  “The fight is over.”

  Mel struggles for a split second longer before going rigid. Once I’m sure she’s not going to come at me again, I release my grip and face Jack.

  A smile spreads across his face as he approaches. He holds a hand out to me and I walk to his side, understanding that’s what he wants me to do. I scan the faces of the other pack members surrounding us and see expressions of surprise mingled with either delight or concern.

  Jack reaches for my hand and laces his fingers with mine. I’m too surprised to react, and he’s talking before I can say anything. “Since I told you about Ava’s transition, I know you have all wondered where her place in the pack will be. Now that question is answered. Although new to our life and our ways, she’s proven her resilience and the ability to think on her feet. By refusing to choose an easy fight, she’s proven her first instinct is to care for those who need it.” He squeezes my fingers and beams at me before continuing. “I’m pleased to present Ava in her role as a dominant wolf. Her heart and skills will strengthen us. She replaces Mel in pack hierarchy as fourth among the females. We thank Mel for her time in that position, and we will respect her in her new rank as she will respect Ava in hers.” He turns to me, smiling. “I’m sorry about the theatrics earlier,” he says, his voice low so only I can hear. “I want you to know you were never at risk of being cast out. But experience has taught me that when a fight like this is presented as optional, most people won’t take part. That leads to days—sometimes weeks or months—of not knowing where a wolf fits into the pack. But now we know where you belong.”

  My mind spins. Fourth among the females? That sounds pretty important. Lillie has mentioned the alphas and betas a couple of times. Does this place in the hierarchy put me fourth in line to become an alpha? How can these people trust me in that position when I’m brand-new here?

  I want to sit down with Jack—with anyone—and have them explain everything to me, but before I can make my request, Jack is inviting everyone to take part in celebrating my arrival.

  The pack disperses in a flurry of activity, leaving me standing in place, unsure of what to do next. Mel is still beside me, and I know I should talk to her about what just happened. I hitch on a smile as I turn to her. “No hard feelings, right?”

  Mel’s lips twitch like she’s trying to smile but can’t quite manage it. “No hard feelings,” she repeats. “This is the way things are done in the pack.”

  I release a breath. She seems to be taking this well, and I’m grateful for that. “I’m glad to know we’re okay.”

  She nods. “Oh yeah, we’re okay.” But her face tightens and it’s obvious she’s doing her best to maintain composure. “In the next few days, you’ll be learning a lot about what it means to be a wolf. But I want to tell you something right now.” She takes a step closer to me and drops her voice so low it’s hard for me to hear over the bustle around us. “Your first shift will be on the full moon. And after that, you’d better watch your back, because I’m going to challenge you to a real fight and reclaim my position in the pack.”

  Before I can respond, Mel spins and takes off at a run toward the woods. As she goes, her body contorts and she shifts from human to wolf.

  I sigh heavily. Great. I’ve only been a werewolf for a few hours and I’ve already made an enemy.

  Chapter Six

  If anyone notices Mel’s absence during the party that follows, no one draws attention to it.

  Jack and a few other pack members head purposefully into the woods a few minutes after she disappears and I figure they’ve gone to console her, so I’m surprised when they return carrying handfuls of twigs and armloads of fallen branches as thick as my forearm. At about the same time, others begin lifting the picnic tables that dot the hill behind the meeting house and move them to the flat expanse on the other side of the road.

  I stand awkwardly off to the side, not sure exactly what I should be doing. Part of me wants to help lift tables, but no one is struggling. Given the speed and ease with which people move along with them, I get the feeling if it weren’t for their awkward size, two people wouldn’t be needed for the relocation process.

  Maggie steps beside me, quietly watching as the last of the tables cross the road. “Thanks for not choosing me to fight.”

  I offer a small smile. “It didn’t really seem fair. No offense.”

  “None taken,” she says, her voice soft. “We should head over there. Everyone will want to congratulate you.”

  Without waiting for my reply, she starts down the hill. I follow in her footsteps, even though I’m not sure she’s right. “What happens now?”

  She glances over her shoulder. “A celebration, of course.”

  “Because I’m the new fourth female?” I’m not sure how I feel about being celebrated for upsetting someone else in the pack.

  “No, silly. Because you’re one of us. We don’t get new members often, so when we do, people tend to get a little excited.”

  “Excited” turns out to be an understatement. By the time we make it to the clearing, all the tables are set up in concentric half circles around a large ring of stones the size of my head. Their tasks finished, the pack members swarm me. This isn’t like it was when they introduced themselves not an hour earlier in the meeting house. This time, I’m met with broad smiles and bone-crushing hugs. They keep their congratulations short, but I get the sense that’s only because everyone is waiting for a turn.

  A warm sensation bubbles up inside me and I smile so much my cheeks start to hurt. A few times when I arrived at a new foster home, the parents would make a display of hugging me and welcoming me to the family, but it always felt like a show put on for my benefit. But not this. This feels real.

  Lillie is at the end of the line, and her grin is a match for mine. She holds out her hand and I take it instinctively. “Let’s grab a seat.”

  “For what?” I ask, following as she tugs me toward a table toward the edge of the half circle. As we walk, my eyes drift to the ring of stones. Not everyone congratulated me moments ago. Jack and two other guys are arranging wood into a teepee shape within the stone boundary. A twinge of disappointment courses through me. Shouldn’t the pack alpha have welcomed me the way the others did?

  Lillie points to a spot several yards beyond the wood pile where Fiona and Marisol stoop, lining what look like sticks up on the ground. Further back are four more people—two guys and two girls—kneeling on the ground, but whatever they’re doing seems unrelated to whatever Fiona and Marisol are up to. “It’s time for an excuse for some fun.”

  Before I can ask what she means, music streams from a speaker someone set up and Fiona and Marisol stand straight, each holding what looks like a short black baseball bat in front of her. A split second later, the ends of their sticks blaze to light, spitting sparks onto the surrounding grass. Marisol nods almost imperceptibly and the two begin spinning the flaming sticks in perfect unison. I watch in awe as the fiery tips trace circles in the air.

  Whoops rise up from those seated around me. When the girls throw the blazing batons high into the air and spin before catching them and twirling them again, shouts and whistles sound.

  I’m too stunned to make any noise. My stomach tightens with anticipation and dread each time they toss the flaming rods. When they each kick up a second baton, and then a third, I hold my breath, hoping they don’t miss as they juggle them through the air.

  When their routine ends, I suck in a breath for the first time in what feels like minutes. When I bring my hands together to clap, I find the skin is clammy with sweat.

  “That was amazing,” I say to no one in particular.

  “They’ve been waiting for a reason to do that routine for about a year now,” says Maggie. She must have slid onto the bench across from me during the show, because I don’t remember her arrival.

  “Wow.” I’m not sure what else to say. My eyes slide toward the teepee of sticks and are rewarded with a glimpse of Jack. He crouches beside it, his gaze fixed on something in front of him.

  Lillie grabs my knee and squeezes it. “I think they’re almost ready.”

  A glance at her reveals she’s staring in the same direction as Jack. The four people who knelt on the ground before Fiona and Marisol’s routine are standing about ten yards away from the edge of the woods. The air is tense with anticipation, but I can’t figure out why.

  A long, shrill moan cuts through the air, followed by a loud pop, and an explosion of color erupts over the clearing.

  Fireworks.

  A lump forms in my throat as more explosions sound. Green, purple, blue, gold. Glittering starbursts fill the sky, dazzling me with their beauty.

  They’re doing this to celebrate me.

  I do my best to swallow, but it’s difficult. I try to tell myself not to get too worked up. After all, it’s my first day here. It’s possible they set off displays like this regularly. But something in the back of my mind fights back. Even if that were true, it wouldn’t negate the fact that right now, they’re for me.

  The show goes on for a long time, and I lose myself in it. I don’t remember the last time I saw a show like this. Usually the only fireworks I see are the ones from a quarter mile away—and even then, I only glimpse the ones that peek over the trees.

  When the finale hits its crescendo, I find myself on my feet, cheering and clapping with those around me. And when the last bits of color flutter toward the ground, a bubble blooms in my chest—one so large I’m not sure my body can contain it.

  I belong here.

  No sooner do I take my seat again than new color blazes into view. The bonfire, long since built and dormant, flames to life, towering over Jack who stands beside it, smiling in the content way of a little boy at a job well done. When he turns away, part of me hopes to catch his eye, but he spins to the meeting house and strides toward it without a glance in my direction.

  “So, what’d you think?” asks a voice from behind me.

  I turn to see the pack’s alpha female and beta male, Skye and Sawyer, taking seats on the bench beside Maggie.

  “It was amazing,” I say. The words aren’t enough to convey all I feel, but they’re all I can come up with. “Is there more?”

  Skye smiles indulgently. “There might be. If we get enough drinks in Sawyer, he might do some karaoke.”

  Sawyer snorts. “That happened one time a decade ago. Let it go.”

  “Ooh,” says Lillie, banging on the table. “You’d make a fantastic Elsa.”

  Lillie and Skye go back and forth for a few minutes, naming other songs they’d love to see Sawyer perform. Maggie only manages to get one suggestion in, but even then she blushes and gives him an apologetic smile.

  Then the conversation turns to business. Sawyer and Skye begin asking Lillie what I know so far about being a werewolf. They share a look and shake their heads before launching into what sounds like a lecture. There’s so much information I feel like I should be taking notes. Skye says after I shift for the first time at the full moon, I’ll be able to shift at will. She looks me dead in the eye when she tells me it will hurt, but she promises it will get better the more I do it, and I believe her. Sawyer is the one who drops the bomb about my increased lifespan.

 

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