Page 12 of Cleo

I started to take off my shoes, observing the transformations around me. They were all becoming wolves. Some bigger than others. Some small. There was one particularly small, and Ithought perhaps they were part fox from their size and amber coloring.

But all wolves for the most part. Wolf, I could do. And anything else would make me stand out in a way I had no interest in.

I purposefully kept my gaze from wandering to Pax, Jude, and Miles, well aware of the swish of their pants as they brought them down their legs, the sound of their zippers, the whoosh of the clothes as they hit the ground. Why did they seem so loud? Had to be my attempt to not focus that made it the only thing I was aware of.

The entire class was undressing, but none of the others mattered. Just the three guys who had been so kind to me. And that was what it had to be, right? Kindness?

Were their eyes on me? Did I want their eyes on my naked form? Nakedness was nothing to shifters, or so I was told. The guards at the compound would often strip and turn to their wolves and run as a small pack. I’d seen them through my bedroom window, and not a single sexual thought ran through my mind.

My core throbbed at the thought of Pax, Jude, and Miles looking at me with interest, but I was also so shy I wanted to hide. Nobody had seen me shift except Angie. I always did it in my room and then went outside already in animal form. I shifted into my wolf quickly and took off at a run.

The moment my paws hit the ground, nothing on earth could’ve stopped me. My other side had been caged for too long. With very little else to do except late at night when I watched the videos, I had run every day back at the compound.

I flashed by trees as the green grass tickled my claws. The sun beat down on my white fur, and I ran until I heard a sharp bark from behind me.

Jude. My immediate reaction to the bark was that it belonged to Jude, as his wolf, of course.

I bore down on my back legs and came to a halt and turned. My upper lip drew upward, snarling at the male. I didn’t know his intentions or why he barked at me.

My other side liked him but was upset that our run was halted.

Another wolf, one with light-red fur approached slowly. His head was down and a small whimper came from him. He didn’t mean me harm.

It is Miles,I told my other half so she wouldn’t bite his head off. She was more than capable.

He walked past me and put his paw near the ground. As he touched a leaf, I saw the flicker of the glimmer I’d noticed earlier.

I whirled, now noticing it all around us, like we were under a dome of the shimmering spell.

I had almost gone beyond the borders and right over the edge of the roof.

Jude, Miles, and even Pax, who stood a way back, had saved me.

Chapter Twelve

We ran back together, the four of us. I forced myself to go slowly because I was hesitant to return to the realities of the academy and student life.

A few more moments was all I needed.

Once we shifted back and dressed, the other students had begun to leave and the teacher sat on a bench writing something down.

“Cleo?” Jude asked. He kept my gaze as he walked closer until he was so close, I could see the thickness of the hairs on his brow. “How are you so fast?”

Miles and Pax came over. I had the feeling they were close because this conversation wasn’t meant for the ears of others, but other students had seen my wolf. They were the only ones asking questions.

“I’ve always been fast,” I answered.

“Your wolf is beautiful, Cleo.” Miles lightly touched my elbow as he spoke the words and even though it was a soft touch, I felt the weight of the connection through my body.

I ducked my head. No one had ever called my other half beautiful. Angie had been the only one to ever call me beautiful but, to my female ego, that didn’t count. “Thank you,” I mumbled.

“You don’t smell like a wolf,” Pax said. His low voice dragged my attention away from my shyness and back to them.

“I stink?” I said, letting a laugh come through. They laughed with me. Laughter was always a good tension breaker.

“Of course not, Cleo. But you don’t smell of wolf only. I’m not getting this right, guys,” Jude said.

“I don’t even understand what I’m about to say. You smell like a shifter and a female for damned sure but not like any otherwolf I’ve encountered, almost like more than one animal. Do you know why that is?” Miles cocked his head. He looked like he was trying to figure things out for himself.

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