Beyond the Curtain

26 | rule 18

RULE 18: DO NOT LIE TO MISS NYMPHADORA OR ANY OF HER HIGHER UPS.

✷  C  H  A  P  T  E  R     T  W  E  N T  Y  -  S  I  X  ✷

By the time we made it back to the den, my stomach tumbled beneath me.

Malakai was relentless as he made me dive in and out of the stream all morning until I eventually caught a fish—a fish the size of a pinky finger. Tearing into the scales of the small aquatic creature, I gagged, swallowing the fish whole. I had never eaten raw meat or fish before, but I had a feeling my time in Yukinawa would be filled with many firsts.

Pleased with the morning's activities, Malakai had sent another howl toward the sky, signaling it was time to head back home. I was relieved, ready to plop my head on my homemade pillow.

However, Rowan had other plans.

As I neared the den, Rowan popped out with a big, wool blanket in hand. An absent-minded smile played on his lips while he nodded to Malakai. Rowan's thick eyebrows bounced up and down in silent communication to Yukinawa's Beta as he passed into the den's entrance. But, again, for the second time today, a part of me felt like I was missing something.

Shaking his head, Rowan stepped in front of me before I could enter the safety of the den. He greeted, "Come, take a walk with me."

I stared at him. Still transformed into my wolf, walking alongside Rowan would be nothing more like an owner walking their pet. I wouldn't be able to communicate—I had learned that earlier in the day—and I didn't want to spend copious amounts of time socializing in this form.

After a couple conscious hours in my fur pelt, I longed to stretch my limbs—fingers, toes, back—which was not possible in my four-legged form. My neck had grown stiff after angling my head toward the stream for so long that I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep my head upright.

Rowan chuckled, his teeth shining through his smile. His head tipped backward as he held out the blanket. "You can shift first."

Redirecting my gaze to the ground, I pressed my paw further into the snowy layers beneath me. Expelling a sigh, I leveraged my sharp teeth to pull the blanket out of Rowan's hold before darting to the safety of some nearby trees. Once out of sight, I leaned my head back and took an anticipated deep breath.

"If you need help, I'm here, Olive," Rowan shouted after me while my body froze in place.

Shifting back into my human form had always been an easier affair than shifting into my wolf; it was like my body was morphing back into its desired state. The thought of being stuck with my four legs for an unforeseeable amount of time made all my muscles tense and my head spin.

No, I wouldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let myself become more wolf than human.

Snapping myself out of it, I dropped the blanket on the ground as I readied myself to transform into my human form. All I had to do was think of being human, and then I would free myself from my fur.

Just as I had closed my eyes and focused my concentration on shifting back, Rowan asked, "Performance issues?"

A snarl escaped my lips, and I channeled my anger into the shift. My bones bent and popped, snapped and crackled, but in the blink of an eye, I shifted back into my human form. Stretching my limps, I sighed in relief and wasted no time wrapping the scratchy blanket around my shoulders. Thankfully, it was long enough to cover my entire body.