The Last Pack

Chapter Sixteen

Celeste

I had woken up groggy and tired, but I had slept well. The last few days had been a whirlwind of activity between all the building, making sure Kayla was on the right track, plus adjusting to my new life, had been easy and hard for me. Learning to shift at the drop of a dime, then back...was not exactly a piece of cake all the time. Accepting the truth of who I was, what I was, was still taking a moment to sink in and feel good. It still felt like I had put someone else's skin on, stealing their body, but still having my own mind and thoughts. My family...my adoptive family...it had been, still was hard to completely understand.

I was on my way out of the room, the one that was now mine, when with a jolt, I came to a dead stop, dropping what I had in my hands. The blanket slipped to the floor, barely making a noise as it landed. Someone else was out there. It wasn't Kayla I was hearing cry out in pain. She wasn't in pain from transforming for the first time. Though far away, that pain, her pain had been real. I had felt it. No, it was someone else, someone much closer that she was. Kayla was almost where she need to be for Damara and Cameron to pick her up, but not yet. They weren't going to leave till tomorrow night...

The door burst open, the weight put behind the force of it, nearly cracking the hinges and wooden frame. I head the wood groan in protest as Camden looked at me, our eyes meeting. He must feel it too. His eyes told me everything. He appeared to be feeling it much stronger though, for he was grasping his arm tight, his nails digging into his skin, blood started welling up. He didn't seem to even notice. I was about to say something when he spoke, his voice full of emotion.

"Did you feel that Celeste?"

I nodded. I still had no words for what I had felt and seen. There was another one of us out there. A good guy as Robin had started saying.

"It's not far. We need to get..."

My words trailed off as I noticed Damara and Cameron. They had silently shown up behind Camden. Camden whirled around and Damara grasped his hands, gently loosening his deep grip on his one arm. In second the blood slowly stopped, his self-inflicted wounds starting to heal almost instantly. It was still a little jarring to see that happen. The idea that we healed faster...was almost a foreign concept.

"She's...she's out there. She's alive, I... She's changing.."

Damara nodded to him, her voice coming out softly, though I could sense a strain in it. I could not feel what she was feeling. Her walls were up, her mind was closed.

"She is Camden. She's also a lot closer. She's not that far. She is close enough for us to go get her. Let's go. Celeste, go get Robin. You two are going to need to get up into the attic and lock up. I'm not risking you two going out yet without us. It's still too soon. Especially since your family is still looking for you in particular Celeste."

I nodded. She had a point. A pang of hurt crossed my mind. It was my own pain. I missed my adoptive family, but in truth, I felt more at home here than I ever had felt there. My soul felt safe and whole. These people, they were my true family. They were like me. My own kind. My adoptive family could and would never understand. They would freak out. They would probably think I had lost my mind. There was also no way I could show them. It was now my secret to keep. A secret I shared with others. I was not the only one at risk if I devolved the truth to anyone who was not like us.

In a flash everyone was moving again. I was on my way to find Robin. He had developed a habit of wandering off into the woods behind the cabin. Exploring it, looking at what it held. Somehow he never got lost and always found his way back. I got hopelessly lost except for when Damara and Cameron took me out into the woods. Camden had yet to join us in the woods though. One night he had let his guard around his mind slip. Catching hold of the opening I had ventured in. I caught a glimpse of why he had not shifted yet. But it closed almost as quickly. He had never said anything, but had glared at me over dinner several nights in a row. Only stopping when Damara had finally looked up from her plate.

"Robin!"

I called out. I didn't want to go farther than needed. Especially with Damara and Cameron, along with Camden leaving. The pain I had felt, it must be someone related to him. It had to be. Otherwise Camden wouldn't have gripped his arm so tight. He was hurting worse. The pain I had felt must be nothing compared to what he must be feeling. Damara had started to teach me about the deep connections we felt. Not only as a pack and to each other, but families within pack had strong bonds. Exceptions, of course, seemed to happen too. Her face had gone dark, brooding, before becoming impassive, nearly blank. She had proceeded to tell me we'd go into more later.

"Robin!"

Panic was setting in. Where was he? He almost always heard us and answered back the first time anyone called his name. A tingle went up my back. I whirled around to face the cabin, nearly crashing into Robin.

"Argh!"

I stumbled backwards, losing my balance I fell. Thankfully the ground behind me was flat, no roots from the dozen of trees around us. Robin merely held out his hand to help pull me up. I shook my head. He had started to become a silent ghost. He was learning the art of silent movement.

"Sorry."

He muttered. Clearly he was deep in thought. His mind wasn't in the present.

"Damara wants us in the attic Robin. All three of the adults are leaving. Something's happening."

He nodded.

"Definitely. There's something in the air. I don't know what, but change is coming. I don't know if it's good or bad, but change is coming."

He looked very solemn. He was only fifteen, yet his mind seemed so much older. The last few days, thing seemed to have sunk in for him. The truth of everything that was going on. Though I sensed from the start, there were facts missing. Information neither of us had.

"Let's go."

I started waking before he could say anymore. The cars out front started, the engines making noise. One after the other, the sound moved farther and farther away.

Robin was right about one thing. Change was coming. Change was going to happen regardless of if anyone wanted it. So much change had already occurred, but there was more coming. For better or for worse, I had no doubt we were going to be apart of it, a very big part.