Page 26 of Silas

He shoots up from the chair and before I finish my statement; he transforms before my eyes into a steel gray wolf with black tips along his fur. His piercing blue eyes blink up at me. Those are the eyes I have seen flash behind Silas’s a few times. I know I am standing here with my mouth gaping open again. I think I am broken, this can’t be real, right? He shifts back into this human form.

Taking slow steps backwards. I am really trying to not freak out, but it is one thing to read about this stuff, a whole different thing for it to be happening in front of you.

He holds his hands up in front of him, “Before you fully freak out, I want a chance to explain some things. Yes, it is real. You didn’t imagine it. I shifted into a wolf that you have seen before. Yes, my wolf is the one who was in your backyard the first night. Although, I didn’t know about it until you mentioned it to me. You want to know why you can’t remember anything from last night or how you got here?”

Nodding quickly, I pace back and forth. “You can’t remember anything because after I told you to run, my wolf took over and chased you. Before I could wrestle control back from him, he attacked you and bit you.”

I suck in a breath quickly and feel a full-blown panic attack setting in. My breaths are sawing in and out too rapidly. My temperature is rising and my hands are shaking. Silas comes over to place a calming hand on my shoulder. I jerk out of the direction his hand is heading. I am shaking my hands frantically when he speaks again. “Nova, you are going to have a panic attack. Can I get you to take a deep breath and hold it for 10 seconds before letting it out?”

Nodding my head, I suck in a breath and hold it for 10 seconds before letting it out. “Great, can you do that again? I want you to focus on the ten count when you hold the breath.” I suck in another breath, hold for ten seconds, ensuring I am focusing on the count, then I let the air back out.

“Good girl. I am going to ask you to move to the couch so we can prop your feet up above your heart. Can you do that for me?” I nod my head again and move to the couch. He grabs some throw pillows and places them under my feet. “While you are laying here, let’s do the breathing technique until we feel our heart rate come back down. Is that okay?” Nodding my head, I continue the breathing technique.

A few breaths later, I feel my heart rate come down to a normal rate. I glance to where Silas has been sitting on the coffee table. He has such a concerned look on his face that his worry line is deeply creased in his skin. I almost want to reach up and smooth it out. That is until I remember he said that his wolf not only chased me but then bit me.

Sitting up slowly, I grab the glass of water from Silas. I am not sure when he went to get that, but I am not one to complain. Panic attacks can cause the mouth to dry out because of the rapid breathing. “What do you mean by your wolf bit me and what does that have to do with the memory loss?”

He drops his head, “When Storm, that’s my wolf’s name by the way, bit you he injected you with a venom to turn you into a wolf as well. A side effect of the venom is a coma of sorts to allow the body to transform. The concern is that he knows that only those with wolf lineage can take the venom. A factor I know he is aware of.”

I am numb at this point, I am not sure I am even processing the information. I just sit there staring at him waiting for the rest of the story. “After I could wrestle back control from Storm, I grabbed you, bringing you here.”

Nodding like this makes the most sense, “Where is here exactly?”

“We are at the Pack House. We are still in Jasper, if that is what you are worried about. You know the woods at the end of town?” I nod my head because who doesn’t know of the entire forest of trees at the end of town?

“That is our pack lands and we are in those woods. Our homes and this pack house are far into the trees right between the mountains.”

I keep nodding my head to keep him talking. At this point, I know I am in shock and that I haven’t even begun to process this information. “I brought you here so that Gail could help me with cleaning you up and healing you.”

My eyebrows shoot up, “Wait, Gail knows about this? Is she one too?” He nods his head and points to the glass of water.

“Please drink the water. Yes, Gail is one of us. She is actually our matriarch, a grandmother of sorts, to every pup in the pack, regardless of their relation to her. She is also known for meddling. As I am sure you are aware of now.” I chuckle to myself as I shake my head from side to side.

I heave out a heavy breath, this is really a lot to take in. To find out that not only do wolf shifters exist but that also everyone I have met up to this point is also a wolf. “Is everyone in this town a wolf shifter?”

“Not everyone is a wolf shifter, we have some other shifters here, but we also have just your average human as well. Most of the humans know we are different, but they also know that our wolf pack provides heavily to the community, so most of them don’t ask questions.”

I just keep nodding my head, “So, you are saying other shifters exist too?”

He lets out a hearty chuckle, “Is that too farfetched to believe? Given magic’s role in our existence, why wouldn’t it extend to others too?”

“Okay, fair enough. I guess it isn’t hard to believe. Is there anything else that I should know? Like am I trapped here?”

“You are not trapped here, but I would recommend that you stay here for a little while because you seem to have skipped the fact that you are now one of us. You are a wolf, Nova. I think it would be a good idea for me or Gail to walk you through what that means. It isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy either.”

I stand up abruptly, “Oh no, I didn’t pass by that fact or that you took that choice away from me. I know you say that it is your wolf, but you brought me into this when you pursued me. Now, I am going to go if you don’t mind. I honestly don’t know what to do with this information, but I don’t want to be around you right now.”

I turn to walk out of the room when he gently grabs my arm, “I know you don’t believe me but when you shift the first time and your wolf takes over, you will know we don’t always have control over them. Please hear me when I say this, let one of us teach you so don’t have to worry about harming someone.”

I jerk my arm out of his hold, “I will talk with Gail, but I am serious Silas, I don’t want to see you. Are you going to take me home, or do I need to walk?”

His shoulders drop in defeat, I know I am being a bit of a bitch but this is a lot. I am feeling overwhelmed and honestly not sure how to feel right now. He nods his head solemnly and heads towards the front door. He grabs a thick winter jacket off the hooks by the door and holds it out towards me. “I don’t think you want yours back. This is the one Gail brought over for you.”

Nodding, I grab the jacket from him and put it on. He opens the door and holds it open for me. I step outside into the crisp mountain air to see the world covered in feet of snow. Fuck. There is no way anyone can drive in this, and I was only willing to walk in decent weather. He steps up next to me after shutting the front door, “You can have the room that you were sleeping in. I can always take one of the extra bedrooms. I know it’s not ideal, but unless you plan to dig your way out of here, I don’t see you making it home safely.”

I cut my eyes over to him, “This doesn’t get you off the hook just because I can’t leave. I am still mad at you.”

He smirks at me, “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry that this happened. Before all of this happened, I was trying to figure out a way to tell you about all of this and to bring you to meet the rest of the pack.”

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