**************
Chapter 40
~Jade’s POV~
It was my birthmark. Or at least a significant part of it—inked into their skin as if it had always belonged there.
My brain tried to wrap itself around what I was seeing, but it failed.
Instead, my eyes betrayed .
They stepped onto the tiled ground, water gliding down sculpted lines and defined planes, and I forgot how to breathe.
Gods among n. I swallowed when my gaze dropped lower than it should have.
Javelin growled approvingly in my head. "Mine. Ours."
She was enjoying this far too much.
I forced myself to look back up, but that did not help either. The tattoo stretched across each of them in the sa place, dark ink against damp skin. A crescent moon curved around a star. It was not similar to my birthmark. It was identical.
They moved toward the sitting area near the pool as if nothing was unusual, grabbing towels and drying off while I remained rooted to the spot.
I could not tear my eyes away from that symbol. My pulse would not settle, and neither would Javelin. She was restless, alert, almost expectant.
"You’re staring," Xade said lightly, amusent threading through his voice.
Heat rushed to my face, but I did not deny it. Denying it would have been pointless.
Xavier was the first to truly look at . His gaze was calm, assessing, far too perceptive. "If you want to know sothing," he said evenly, "you can ask."
The invitation was simple, but it carried weight. They all took their seats, giving no choice but to join them. I walked over, every step feeling heavier than it should have, and sat across from them. Even seated, my attention drifted back to the ink on their skin.
I nodded slowly. "I do want to ask sothing."
Xander leaned back, arms resting loosely, though there was nothing relaxed about his eyes. Xade watched with a faint smirk, and Xavier waited patiently.
"It’s the mark," I said carefully. "The star inside the crescent moon."
They exchanged a look. It was quick, subtle, but unmistakable. Sothing passed between them that I was not part of.
"What about it?" Xavier asked.
I kept my voice steady. "It’s specific. Symbols like that are not random."
Their gazes sharpened. Xade’s smirk softened into sothing more curious. Xander’s expression remained unreadable.
"Why do you ask?" he enunciated.
Because it is on my skin too. Because my wolf has not stopped reacting since I saw it. Because it feels like fate carved into flesh.
I wanted to say those answers, but I couldn’t. I shook my heads little, smiling softly. "Because I’m curious," I lied instead. "It’s peculiar."
They looked at one another again, and this ti there was no mistaking it. It was not confusion. It was recognition.
Then they smiled but none of them responded to my complint.
There was silence for so seconds, which made uncomfortable and frustrated, mixed with the awareness that had not faded since they stepped out of the water.
Out of nowhere, Xander straightened slightly, his gaze locking onto mine. "Tell ," he said calmly, "how much control do you have over your wolf?"
My breath caught just as I reached for the bottle of water Xade had pushed towards . Javelin stilled.
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"Everything," he replied. He held my gaze, then added, "Because your first lesson for today is shifting. I want to see your wolf."
"We all do. You have to shift," Xavier chid in. Panoc set in. I wanted to escape even, but I knew running would be out of the question.
"I... I have never shifted in front of anyone before," I pointed out, hoping they would take pity and let be.
"Well, there’s always a first ti for everything," Xade noted with a smile. Sadly, it did not change the dread I was feeling.
Xavier shifted closer like he ant to reassure , his fingers lifting slightly from his knee as if he would reach for my hand.
Before he could, Xade’s palm closed gently around my left hand, assuring .
My eyes flickered between them. Xavier paused, then leaned back, giving a small nod I did not fully understand. Xander noticed, though. The faint scrape of his throat cut through the tension.
I swallowed and forced myself to breathe normally. I nodded once at Xade in silent thanks before looking toward Xander.
"I’m not sure," I admitted.
His gaze did not soften. "Do I need to remind you how barbaric it is to do that? If she doesn’t have any deformity, you should let her go free."
The words confused and unsettled at the sa ti. I looked down at our joined hands, suddenly aware of how fast my pulse had beco.
"Jade." His tone was firm but not harsh. "It is not up for debate. You can use the changing room inside to take your clothes off and change when you are ready. In fifteen minutes, we will be back. Please, just trust us."
Trust.
The word settled heavily in my chest. Javelin stirred but did not resist, which sohow made it worse.
I exhaled softly and slipped my hand from Xade’s grasp. For a brief mont, his fingers lingered against mine before letting go. I stood, legs steadier than I felt, and followed the direction he indicated.
The door closed behind with a quiet click. My reflection stared back at from the mirror, wide-eyed. I placed a hand over my racing heart.
Fifteen minutes.
I was not sure what frightened more—failing to shift, or succeeding and letting them see her.
"Trust them. You can do it," Javelin encouraged.
"I can do it," I whispered to myself, trying to drown out the fear building in my chest.
I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. The air felt heavier sohow.
Javelin moved beneath my skin, waiting. I had shifted before, but never like this. Never with people waiting on the other side of a door, not knowing they would see everything and their reaction.
I did not want to be called an abomination, but I owed it to my wolf. I let go.
I took off my clothes, one after the other and laid them in a pile on the side. I stared at my reflcecton in my birthday suit, suddenly becoming aware of myself.
"Now or never," Javelin voiced in my head.
I exhaled, and let her take charge. The change began as a heat low in my spine, spreading outward in a slow, consuming burn.
My bones ached first, a deep pressure that forced a gasp from my lungs. My fingers curled involuntarily as my nails lengthened, sharpening into claws.
"It’s happening," I noted inwardly and shut my eyes.
The sensation was not pain exactly, but it was not gentle either. It felt like my body was rembering sothing and reshaping itself to fit it.
My skin prickled, and then I felt it—hair breaking through, spreading rapidly along my arms, my shoulders, down my legs.
My jaw tightened as my teeth shifted, fangs descending with a sharp pressure that made grit through the final wave of transformation.
Before I knew it, I was no longer in my body but my wolf’s and had taken a back seat in my mind.
The room felt too small, too close, as my senses sharpened all at once. I could hear the faint movent of water outside, the rhythm of three separate heartbeats beyond the door.
Then it settled. I opened my eyes.
The mirror reflected a wolf where I had been standing.
Not just any other type of wolf, not black, grey, silver, brown or white but... Blue.
A bright, striking shade that shimred faintly under the light. I stared at my reflection, stunned.
Unlike the night of my first shift this was...
Words couldn’t describe what I saw. Instead, Javelin’s paws moved several steps back instinctively, and my hind leg knocked into sothing behind . A loud crash followed as a vase toppled and shattered against the floor.
"Jade?" Xavier’s voice called instantly from outside the door.
I could not answer. My eyes were focused on Javelin. Why was she blue?
Cold, familiar fear crept into my chest. Javelin felt it imdiately through our link.
"Why?" I asked her silently, panic threading through the bond.
"Why?" she echoed, just as uncertain.
"You saw it before. We... we weren’t blue."
"Weren’t we? We were flickering, Jade."
"I wouldn’t call having two rare wolf colors flickering. You were both red and blue, but now you are..."
"You’re blue."
Javelin lifted her head sharply, and I followed her gaze toward the door. It creaked open slowly. Xade, Xander, and Xavier leaned inside, their expressions mirroring the shock I felt.
For a brief second, silence filled the room. Then Xade’s warm, disarming smile broke first, easing the tightness in my chest.
"Oh my Goddess, she’s..."
"...she’s beautiful," Xavier finished softly.
Xander pushed the door open wider, stepping fully inside. His eyes were filled with sothing that looked very much like awe.
"You are far from being deford, Jade," he acknowledged. "You are... your wolf is magnificent."
A small whine slipped past Javelin’s fangs before I could stop it. Their words wrapped around the fear that had been rising in and slowly pulled it apart.
Instead of shrinking back like when we first saw them poking their heads, Javelin shook her thick blue fur and took a cautious step forward.
"Co here," Xavier beckoned and against my wishes, Javelin caved and walked over to him.
Reviews
All reviews (0)