Page 96 of Shifters Awakening

“No, but let’s do it anyway,” I said, tucking my arm into his.

A hush fell over the collected shifters as I made my way down the center aisle. When we reached the bottom, Jasper patted my hand and released my arm.

“Ye got this, lass,” he whispered before stepping away to fill the empty spot beside Olivia in the front row.

“Present your case,” Torbin roared.

My mind blanked as at least forty alpha eyes peered at me, judging me and wondering what special skills I had. A couple thousand bored holes in my back from behind me. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“Ah,” I rasped. “Well.”

A feeling of complete aloneness worked through me, drying my mouth and emptying my brain, but in the farthest corner, Logan was in my head, pushing encouraging thoughts toward me and filling me with his strength. When I glanced over to the side, Jasper threw me an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up.

“Ye got this, lass. Announce yerself,” he whisper-yelled.

“I am the multimorph,” I announced, jumping into the argument with both feet, “and I’m here to bring the clans together against a common enemy. Acheron’s strength is growing, and we must unite in order to bring him to justice.”

“Bold words for someone who’s shifted a handful of times,” a woman with a tight face snapped. “How can we be sure you are who you say you are?”

Another woman’s gaze narrowed as she stared at me. “You’re so old.”

My eyes bulged at the blunt comment.And you’ve been stretched so tightly your skin might break.

“I can shift into more than one form, and I have the talent of healing.”

The first woman shrugged. “I can heal.”

“And I began shifting when I was twelve,” the other woman said, her upper lip curling in disgust.

“Age has nothing to do with my strength,” I said, wondering at what point I should primal energy her ass to death. I had a feeling that would shut most of them up.

Torbin, Marcus, and Logan said nothing, keeping their expressions as stiff as possible. The only relief I had was Logan’s link to me, but his face didn’t expose any of the encouraging things he kept pushing toward me through the bond.

A long silence followed.

“I don’t think it’s her,” one of the attendees yelled from the audience.

The accusation broke the dam, and a hundred voiced joined together in accusing me of being a fake multimorph.

“Can’t be her!”

“She’s a fake!”

“Fine.” I grunted and crouched down, shoving my hands into the dirt beneath me. A gust of wind swirled around me, magical colors danced in the breeze, rufflingmy rainbow hair.

Jasper’s eyebrows slammed into his hairline, and he jumped up from his seat with his hands raised as though he meant to stop me. “Emma, don’t you?—”

My bones crunched, and my body contorted as I changed from my human self into a large bear. More crunching. More contorting. Fox. Raven. Wolf. Cougar. Bear again.

A hush fell over the attendees.

“Believe it!” Olivia yelled. “It’s her.”

A cheer erupted from all the attendees. If I’d ever thought I would be able to hide before, I wouldn’t be able to now. Obscurity would never be mine again.

As I reverted back to my human self, the marked-up trees began to glow around us, turning brighter, directing heat into me. At first, the warmth wasn’t unpleasant, but the temperature grew until it felt as though I was being cooked from the inside out. Every inch of me clenched, and sweat poured from me. My hands closed around large handfuls of dirt.

“I can’t move,” I screamed. “So hot. So hot.”

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