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What?
My voice rang through our heads as a gasp.

I definitely don’t want to end up on your bad side. You’re a fucking beast.
Bentley cackled.
Wow.

Travis won’t know what hit him when it comes to you.
Bryce shook his shaggy wolf head.
If we keep practicing with you, you’ll be unstoppable.
Un-
freakin
-stoppable
.

Let’s go again then.
I said.

You’re on.
Bryce taunted.

Wait
. Bentley said calmly.
Let’s try it with two attackers this time.

I’m not sure I like those odds.
My voice quaked.

I think Bryce and I need to be more worried than you.
Bentley said and the two wolves began to circle me. I whined and pawed the ground.
No wolf liked to be caged in.

Calm yourself,
Sophie;
let your instincts take over. Look for weak points.

Bryce’s cockiness would definitely be a weak point for him but Bentley? The guy was built like a truck. As they circled me I watched for any muscle ticks, anything that would give me leverage. Bentley’s back legs tensed and I knew he was getting ready to spring. As soon as his back paws lifted from the ground I slid to my belly, not a wolf’s first instinct, and bit into his foot. His blood rushed into my mouth, hot and fast, leaving behind the taste of rust. Oh,
yuck.

Bentley was a seasoned fighter so a blow to his foot wasn’t going to take him down completely.
So
I bit into his
hamstring, which
left him incapable of walking.

Bryce looked at me in shock.

How did you move so fast, Sophie? You were a freaking blur!

Are you going to fight me or not?
I asked
. I was beginning to enjoy this
now that I was the one winning.

Ugh… Is that a trick question? I mean you’re not going to kill me are you?

Bryce.
I whined.

Alright
, alright.
He leaped towards me. I jumped to the side and before he could turn I had jumped on his back.

You’re dead
. I chimed.

Bentley lay off to the side while his leg healed. Panting he said,
You
’re a natural. It’s the craziest thing ever
, you move like a ninja
. Bryce and I
know
what we’re doing and you make us look like fucking amateurs.
Caeden!
He called.
Get your ass back here!

Caeden’s laughter filled our heads.
Oh, she whooped you tw
o. That was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Wow, Soph, my little she-wolf. I didn’t know you had it in you.

Hey!
I exclaimed offended.

Sorry,
he said,
I just expected
you
to get hurt after the way Chris tore you apart in your human form.

I have this insane urge to bite you right now
, I grinned menacingly.

He laughed.
I still think you should continue to practice in both forms. After all, practice makes perfect, right?

At least I know now that I’m not completely defenseless.

I’m so proud of you
, he nuzzled my neck.
You amaze me more and more every day. Come on,
he said,
it’s starting to get dark. Bryce you better
find
Logan and start your patrol.

Oh joy,
Bryce said sarcastically before taking off.

I’m sorry I hurt you
, I told Bentley.

His chuckle filled my head.
How about from now on we don’t take bites out of each other? Deal?

Deal.

He struggled to his feet and started to limp away.
You were amazing, Sophie.
Bentley said as he disappeared.

Thanks.
It felt amazing to be complimented on fighting skills from Bentley.

Caeden continued nuzzling me and breathing in my scent. His thoughts projected to me by accident.
Cookies, cookies
cookies
.
Cakes, cakes, cakes.
Icing, icing, icing.
Hmmm.
Buttercream
icing.

Are you done sniffing me?
I chuckled.

I’ll never be tired of your delicious scent.
He said but pulled away. His tongue lolled out of his mouth.
Can you smell our clothes?

I lifted my nose in the air and inhaled. The flood of scents was enough to give me a headache. As soon as I located the scent of cookies and pine in the distance I took of
f
running. If anyone asked me my favorite thing about being a shifter I would say the speed.

I reached our clothes and
shifted
forms. I had worried that I’d have a difficult time changing from human to wolf and back again but it was as easy as breathing.
As soon as I pictured myself in the other form, my body would vibrate, shimmer, and then I would become whatever form I wanted.

I pulled my clothes on and was just finishing buttoning my shorts when Caeden’s shaggy gray wolf appeared.

“Gosh, you’re so slow,” I joked.

He barked a laugh before nudging my leg with his wet nose. “Ew, Caeden! You got wolf snot all over my leg!” I left him behind the bush as I stared at the wet mess on my leg. His barking laughter quickly turned to human laughter.

“Wolf snot?” he grinned.

“Yes, and it’s all over my leg. It’s gross,” I complained. “Just because we can change into wolves doesn’t mean we need to act like them all the time.”

“You’r
e so cute when you’re mad,” he zipped
his jeans.

“Caeden!” I stomped my foot and clenched my fists. My nails dig into the skin.

“You are,” he shrugged as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“I guess we’ll be old and gray and you’ll still be telling me I’m
cute
when I’m mad?”

“Most definitely,” he said and came out from behind the bush. He wrapped his arm around my waist. He pressed his lips to mine and I pushed at his chest. He chuckled into my mouth and only kissed me deeper. My fists soon stopped beating his chest and instead grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. Pulling away and breathing heavy he said, “And that’s how I plan to end all our spats.”

“It certainly works,” I breathed. “What were we arguing about again?”

He threw his head back and laughed. Taking my hand he led me through the woods. “Nothing important.” We strode a few more feet before he
said,
“Ready to put your stuff in my room? I promise to give you a whole
drawer.”

His grin was contagious and I foun
d myself smiling back. “My bag is
still in your car.”

“Well, let’s get it,” he smiled. “It would be a shame for you to cart all that home.”

“Most definitely,” I played along.

His Jeep was parked outside of the garage. He unlocked it and
it
chirped happily. I opened the door and grabbed my bag.

Caeden took my hands and pressed his face against my hair. “I love you,” he said, just outside the door.

I stopped and looked up into his cerulean eyes. “I love you too, more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone.”

He grinned and opened the door. We were about halfway up the twisted staircase when his mom saw us.

“Is Sophie staying the night?” she asked, noticing my bag. She stood at the bottom of the stairs with some papers in her hand.

Caeden blushed and stammered. Composing himself he said, “Sophie’s going to leave some of her things here and I’m going to keep some things at her house.”

“Oh,” Amy nodded and her eyes glittered, “I see.” She smiled and presumably went back to her office.

“That was awkward,” I said.

“I think it was worse for me than you,” he rubbed his face.

I laughed. “I think you may be right. Your face is the reddest I’ve ever seen it.” At my words it got even redder. I giggled.

“Stop laughing at me,” he pushed open the door to his bedroom.

The warm blue gray color instantly calmed me. I sat down on his bed and placed my bag beside me. I fingered the soft quilt that was varying shades of blue and gray.

Caeden proceeded to open the various drawers of his dresser. “This one should work,” he muttered to himself as he dumped the contents
of the top drawer,
out on the floor. Once the drawer was empty he turned to me, “All yours.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Thanks but you didn’
t need to make such a huge mess,” I nodded to the basketball shorts and socks littering the white shag carpet.

He sighed and looked at the mess on the floor with his hands on his hips. “Oh well,” he said. He grabbed a few articles of clothing and started towards his bathroom. “I’m going to shower. Make yourself at home.”

I nodded and proceeded to unzip my bag. A strong scent of wood
and stain
wafted from his dresser and nearly overwhelmed me. Not everything was a perk of being a shifter.