“You want to tap it low,” he said.
I nodded, feeling an acute sense of loss when he moved away. I smacked the white ball and watched as it knocked the solid-colored ball into a corner pocket.
“That might be cheating,” Dallas said.
“I’ll buy you a plate of buffalo wings to make up for it,” Rafe said.
“Sounds fair.”
Connor and I won the game fairly easily, which made me think that Dallas didn’t even try. Perhaps he really was using the occasion to just observe us. When we were finished playing, we returned to the booth, where Lucas and Kayla were waiting for us. Introductions were made. As we took our seats in the horseshoe shape, Dallas ended up being hemmed in on both sides.
He didn’t seem to realize the danger he was in, because he glanced around, smiled, and asked, “So are you the werewolves I’ve been hearing about?”
Everyone at our table went eerily still, the way a predator does in the wild right before leaping for its victim. Even my heart felt as though it had stopped.
Dallas released an uncomfortable laugh. “Just kidding. I’ve been hearing these crazy rumors about things that go on in this area. Then tonight, here are all these new faces. Thought maybe you had to hide away during certain phases of the moon or something.”
“We were at a family reunion,” Lucas said with a deadly calm that sent a shiver racing up my spine. I never wanted to be on his bad side. “Where’d you hear these rumors?”
“Around. Here and there. It’s insane, right? I mean the idea that someone could actually shift into another form.” Dallas held out his hands and studied them as though he’d never seen them before. “I mean, how could that even happen? How could a body change so drastically?”
Very slowly he looked around the table as though we had the answer. We did, but we sure weren’t going to share it.
“There are all kinds of crazy stories about things happening in the wilderness,” Brittany explained gently, and I wondered if she liked him. I’d never seen her show that much interest in a guy. How weird it would be to love a Static. Could it even happen?
My thoughts were drifting away from the problem at hand.
Who was this guy, and what did he really want?
“Werewolves, vampires, ghosts,” Brittany continued. “People are always telling scary stories around campfires. But that’s all they are. Stories.”
Dallas laughed again, only this time it was laced with relief. “Yeah, I know that. Should have seen your faces, though. You looked at me like I was serious. It would be cool, though, don’t you think? If the ability to change our shape really existed?”
“I’d want to be a horse,” I said, hoping to take the subject even further away from the truth.
“Horses have to work too hard,” Connor said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “A dog. Sleep all day.”
“A cat,” Brittany said. “Only I’m allergic to them. Would I be allergic to myself?”
Dallas gave a more relaxed laugh. “Okay, I get it already. I shouldn’t listen to campfire tales.” He winked at Brittany. “So how about another game of pool?”
Once he and Brittany were back in the pool room, those of us left at the table looked uncomfortably at each other.
“What was
that
all about?” Kayla finally asked.
Lucas slowly shook his head. “I’m not sure. Rafe, keep an eye on him, especially while he’s with Brittany.”
My gaze jumped over to Rafe so I could judge his reaction. As usual, he didn’t give anything away. Neither did he look at me. He just gave Lucas a nod and slid out of the booth.
“Do you think he’s dangerous?” I asked.
Lucas shook his head. “If he is, we can handle him.”
When we left an hour later, the consensus was that Dallas was just a tourist drawn in by the myths of the forest. We’d seen it before—which was the reason that the people from Bio-Chrome had sneaked by us. We’d thought they were harmless, too.
Rafe was going to keep an eye on Dallas, but the rest of us headed for bed. We were scheduled for an early start the following day.
The next morning we gathered near our cabins to greet our scout group. More than a dozen girls were practically bouncing around with excitement at the thought of camping in the wilderness. Or maybe their enthusiasm was due to the fact that three of their guides were hot—and I wasn’t referring to Kayla, Brittany, and me.
Lucas, Connor, and Daniel were checking each girl’s backpack to make sure it was adjusted comfortably on her shoulders and wasn’t too heavy. We sherpas would be carrying the heavy or cumbersome supplies.
“Daniel is cute,” Kayla said.
He hadn’t gone to school with us, since his family lived near Seattle, but he’d joined the Dark Guardians earlier in the summer, so we already knew him. I hadn’t really paid much attention to him, though. He wore his black hair in a buzzed style, which was unusual. Most of the guys we knew wore their hair longer.
“Yeah, whatever,” Brittany said.
“You know it could be your attitude keeping the guys away,” I pointed out.
“I don’t want a guy who doesn’t
want
me.”
“Maybe he
will
…if you give him a chance,” Kayla said.
“Besides, the elders said you just have to have a guy with you. He doesn’t have to be
the one
,” I told her. “When the right one comes along, you can re-bond with him.”
She gave me an impatient glare. “They don’t
know
it’ll work that way. I’m the first girl who might have to go through it alone. They’re just guessing.”
Well, obviously she wasn’t the first. If we knew a girl could die if she went through her first transformation alone, then somewhere along the way a girl had gone through it alone. But I thought it best not to point out that part. No reason to add to Brittany’s worry.
“Of course they know what’ll happen,” I said, sounding more confident than I actually felt. Brittany might be giving me a hard time about my choices, but when all was said and done, we were friends. I wanted her to survive long past the next full moon. “They have the ancient texts, the books. They’re bound to have used them to find an answer for this dilemma.”
“You think?” she asked, and I heard the hope in her voice.
“Absolutely.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “You’re a Dark Guardian. They value you. They’re not going to guess about something this important.”
She shifted her gaze over to Daniel. He was crouched in front of three young scouts, explaining something to them. He had a broad, warm smile. Brittany sighed. “I guess I could do worse than him.”
“That’s the spirit!” I exclaimed.
Not.
Would I be as difficult to please, as unwilling to settle, if I didn’t already have Connor?
Brittany rolled her eyes. “You don’t know what it’s like. Lately I’ve been worried about….” Her voice trailed off.
“Worried about what?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Before I could convince her to tell me, she walked off into the group of girls and introduced herself to their leaders and chaperones.
I looked over at Kayla. Her face was set in a mask of worry.
“I have to believe she’ll be okay,” I told her.
Kayla gave me a soft smile. “I know. I had only forty-eight hours to prepare for my first full moon…I can’t imagine how nerve-racking it must be for you to have a much longer countdown. But especially for Brittany.”
A month ago I would have told her I couldn’t wait. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
“You said what you felt for Lucas was instantaneous—that you felt a strong bond immediately. Brittany has time to find someone.”
Kayla nodded, but I suspected she didn’t believe what I’d said about Brittany any more than I did. I didn’t know what would be worse: to go through it alone or to go through it with someone who didn’t really want to be there.
I looked back toward our group of girls. Brittany was actually talking to Daniel. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
Lucas gave the order for us to move out. I shifted my backpack and headed forward, bringing up the rear so I could make sure no little scouts got left behind or wandered off.
It seemed so odd not to have Rafe with us. I wondered where he was, what he was doing. I took a final, quick glance around, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I trudged into the forest, surprised by how lonely I felt.
And wishing, with a ferocity that stunned me, that Rafe was with us.
By the time the sun was beginning to set, most of the girls had lost their exuberance. Not that I blamed them. Lucas had pushed us pretty hard.
Because we were supposed to be watching the girls and keeping an eye out for danger, we didn’t pair up into couples until the camp was set up and everyone was seated around the campfire making our evening s’mores.
Kayla and Lucas were sitting close together, talking softly. It was obvious they were trying to behave in front of the young scouts, because they kept their touches brief and even those seemed inadvertent. But even when they weren’t kissing or caressing, there was still an intimacy between them—as though they shared the very deepest aspects of their souls.
Brittany, on the other hand, wasn’t sharing even the outer edge of hers with Daniel. She sat beside him stiffly, concentrating on making her s’mores rather than talking with him. It was apparent that he felt awkward. Seeing them together, I couldn’t imagine that a blind date would be any worse. At that moment I truly appreciated that I’d always had Connor.
Not that we were doing any talking or touching each other—inadvertently or otherwise. But at least we were acting comfortable around each other again.
The girls weren’t talking much either. A couple of them looked as though they were going to drift off to sleep right where they were sitting.
I glanced surreptitiously at Brittany. “I don’t think the elders should get into matchmaking,” I murmured so only Connor could hear me.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” he said, equally quiet. “It’s a disaster.”
I jerked my head around to stare at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Brittany suddenly studying me. I leaned in to Connor as though we were going to get cozy and whispered in his ear, “I don’t think it’s that bad.”
He tucked some strands that had worked their way out of my braid back behind my ear, his knuckles skimming my cheek, his eyes growing warm as though we were talking about personal things. “He’s not even trying. I don’t know. He could at least…talk to her.”
I found it interesting that he thought Daniel was the problem while I thought it was Brittany’s attitude.
“Maybe they just need a little more time to connect.” I really wanted to stay positive regarding her chances of finding a mate.
“Man, I’m so glad I didn’t have to do the whole dating scene.”
I felt an uncomfortable tightening in my chest. “You don’t think that’s the reason we’re together—because we were convenient—do you?”
“No.” Leaning in, he kissed me tenderly.
One of the girls shrieked, then started to sing, “Connor and Lindsey, sitting in a tree…”
Connor and I broke apart so fast that I almost got whiplash.
Several other girls joined in. “K-i-s-s-i-n-g…”
Of course they ended the song wrong—they forgot to mention that after love comes transformation—but I decided not to correct them.
After that, it took their leaders a while to get them settled and into their tents. They decided to sing about Lucas and Kayla, then Brittany and Daniel. I’d never seen Brittany blush so much. I figured she would have run into the woods if she could have done it without looking cowardly.
Kayla was taking the first shift of the night watch, which left Brittany and me alone in our tent. We got ready for bed in silence. When the lights were out, I lay in my sleeping bag staring upward, thinking about Connor and wondering why we didn’t cuddle more, why—far too often—simply talking seemed enough for us. Had we been together for so long that we’d grown immune to each other’s bodies? Was I taking him for granted? Would I feel differently after I shifted?
I was already starting to notice some differences.
“Brit? Does the forest smell…richer to you?” I’d noticed fragrances during the day’s hike in a way I never had before.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I can’t explain it. Everything smells more alive. I know the change will bring on heightened senses—do you think it starts before the change?”
“Yeah, maybe…I mean, now that you mention it, yeah, things smell…bolder.”
She said the words, but I didn’t hear any commitment in them. Quite honestly, I didn’t hear any truth. I rolled over to my side. “What do you think of Daniel? I mean, he seems nice.”
“He’s okay.”
“You could try a little harder, you know.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve never had to
try
. You’ve always had Connor.”
I thought about confessing that she might be right regarding what I had with Connor—and how convenience didn’t necessarily mean we were right for each other. But as long as I didn’t give voice to my doubts, they didn’t seem real.
“I don’t want to talk about Connor and me,” I said, far more sharply than I’d intended.
“I don’t want to talk about Daniel.”
“Good night, then.” I rolled over to my other side. Why was I even attempting to be nice, to help her with the selection of her mate? It wasn’t really my business.
“Lindsey?” she called out hesitantly a few minutes later.
I almost didn’t answer, almost pretended that I’d already fallen asleep. “What?”
“What if…what if I’m not a Shifter?” she said in a small voice.
I bolted upright, too stunned by the concept to respond. Hadn’t Connor wondered the same thing about her?
“What if that’s the reason none of the guys can connect with me?” she continued. “What if there’s something
wrong
with me?”
“Oh, Brittany, that’s…that’s just…” I didn’t know what to say. “Of course you’re a Shifter.”
“I feel like all the guys just look through me. Even Daniel smiles at me the same way that he smiles at the Girl Scouts—like I’m cute, but nothing special. There’s never any fire.”
Fire? Was she referring to the scary thing I felt whenever Rafe was near? For the long term, wasn’t it better to feel comfortable with someone, to feel in sync? Fire could burn you to a cinder. It was just lust, not love—wasn’t it?
But my insecurities weren’t what she needed. She needed reassurance.
“Look, Brittany, I’m sure it has nothing to do with you,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure at all. Even Connor had doubts, but this close to the first full moon after her seventeenth birthday wasn’t the time to reinforce these crazy ideas. “We only have a small pool of guys working as sherpas. It stands to reason that eventually there’s going to be a disconnect. God, your true mate could be…I don’t know. In California, maybe, or Florida. And this year, so few came for the celebration. Any other time, you might have connected with someone there. It sucks, totally. But maybe Daniel could be a surrogate until the real thing comes along.”