I'd always loved the wilderness, but suddenly I didn't feel one with it any longer. I thought I could hear the trees mocking me as their leaves rustled in the breeze. I didn't know where I wanted to go, but I knew where I needed to go. I had to return to Wolford. The Dark Guardians were gathering there, in order to figure out how to protect our—their—kind. Bio-Chrome, a research company, had discovered that we existed and was determined to uncover the secrets of our—their—ability to shift, even if it meant killing us—them.
I gave myself a hard mental kick in the butt. I had to stop thinking such divisive thoughts. It wasn't them—the Shifters— versus me, the non-Shifter. It was us. Sure, something had gone wrong, but that didn't mean it couldn't be fixed. I had to keep my mind open to the possibility that it was some fluke of nature that could be easily corrected. Maybe my birthday was too close to the full moon and I needed another cycle to prepare my body to shift. Maybe the date was wrong on my birth certificate. God, I was really grasping at straws, wanting desperately to find an easy answer.
I knew I couldn't tell anyone that I hadn't yet shifted. I'd waited too long, worked too hard to finally be accepted. I didn't want to face that I might not be a Shifter. There was another reason that I hadn't transformed. Whatever it was, I'd figure it out.
Grabbing my nearby backpack, I headed out. I'd planned to lope toward the compound, embracing my new self, the wind ruffling my fur. Instead, I trudged through the forest, forcing my feet to move along, one in front of the other. An explanation for what hadn't happened had to exist somewhere. I considered discussing my situation with the elders. They were so old that they knew everything. But I didn't want anyone to know the truth about me.
If they did discover the truth, they'd look at me with pity or horror. We existed alongside humans, but none of us wanted to be like them. They were pitiful creatures, Statics, always locked in the same form. They might even cast me out. I couldn't take that risk with danger lurking. I was a Dark Guardian. It was all I'd ever wanted to be.
How was I going to look at myself the first time I gazed in a mirror, the first time I saw what I truly was—or wasn't?
Because I was afraid the elders might send Guardians out to search for me, I took a circuitous route back to Wolford. I needed this time alone to shore up my courage to face everyone and not give anything away. It wouldn't be easy for me. I wasn't someone who believed in sugarcoating things. I was known for being honest and facing the reality of situations. Facing my own reality was going to be a bitch.
Few people had truly embraced me before. If they learned that I couldn't shift, they'd view me as a freak of nature. It was bad enough that I'd received the occasional odd stare because no guy had claimed me as his mate. I didn't want to have to endure the others knowing that I hadn't shifted on time.
It was nearly noon on the second day when I ran across the cold remains of a campfire on the banks of one of the rivers that ran through the national forest. My heart galloped as I knelt and sifted the ash through my fingers. I detected no heat at all, and I hadn't noticed any light in the area when I'd bedded down the night before. It could have been several days since anyone had been here—but it felt more recent. I couldn't explain why I had that sensation.
The fine hairs on my arms prickled as I gazed at the rapidly flowing river. It was possible someone had been rafting and pulled over here to set up camp for the night. Farther down the river was a series of tight curves and turbulent white water. It was great for sports enthusiasts, but they were usually accompanied by a guide who would turn them back before they traveled this far north, this close to Wolford.
It seemed paranoid to have a bad feeling about what I'd discovered, but I couldn't help sensing that something wasn't right. Very slowly and cautiously, I walked around the camp, noting the various boot prints that had been left behind. I could identify four distinct sets. It was also obvious that they'd arrived and left by the river. I discovered a groove in the bank where their rubber raft would have scraped along the ground as they pulled it onto shore.
On the opposite side of the camp, I noticed an area where it looked as though evidence of prints had been brushed away with a leafy branch. The brush marks stopped near dense foliage. Grabbing a large stick, I began poking it around the brush. I heard the snap as I triggered a release mechanism that I'd suspected was hidden in there. The stick was jerked from my hand as the noose closed around it and the rope swung it up in the air, until it dangled high above my head, the branches shuddering with the force of being set loose.
A snare trap. One of the simplest traps to set. Still dangerous. Still capable of killing an animal—but it was also possible the animal would survive being slung around as it was lifted from the ground. Judging by the setup, it had been designed to capture a medium-sized animal. Not a rabbit. Not a bear. But a wolf.
A cold shiver raced down my spine as I backed away. I'd bet my life that I knew who was responsible. It wasn't game hunters, sportsmen, or survivalists.
It was Bio-Chrome. Our enemy. They were stepping up their efforts to capture a Shifter and they were getting closer to discovering Wolford.
I had to get back quickly. I had to warn them. And I hoped I wasn't too late.
I felt a sense of relief when I finally arrived at Wolford to see the main residence still standing. I saw no evidence of violence. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Because I'd originally been two days away from Wolford, and because I'd been dragging my feet in no hurry to get back— until I discovered the trap—it was nearly midnight the next night when I finally reached the wrought iron gate that surrounded the compound. A couple of hundred years ago, most of the Shifters had lived here, hidden away from the rest of the world. But as the world had begun to change with modernization and industrialization, they'd moved out among humans—benefiting from and contributing to achievements. Still this forest remained our true home—the one place where we could be ourselves and celebrate what we were.
I slipped a keycard into the slot and the gate clicked open. It seemed strange to me that we were a combination of the old and modern. We used keycards for access, but we still believed in the ancient ritual of guys declaring their mates. Go figure.
After walking through, I stood there while the gate clanked shut, its sound reverberating through me. I'd always found solace here. No enemy had ever penetrated our walls. Here, tradition was passed down from one generation to the next. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to draw in the calm of my ancestors. But I felt unwelcome, as though I were a stranger or worse, a fake.