I looked out at the settlement we were building,
a shadow of worry crossing my mind.
I remembered the winter this year was
especially brutal.
The wolf clan wasn’t as strong as other clans.
Aside from the white wolves, the others were not top–tier fighters.
Worse, the Clearwater Tribe was mostly made
up of the very old and the very young.
But the cold was only the beginning.
After the winter came the spring, and with it,
great war between the tribes.
a
I’d heard rumors about Kiera’s tribe. She was
introducing them to human “wisdom.”
She taught them to cook their food over fire, to
mine crude salt to flavor it, and even to make
tools and wear clothing.
Her three mates doted on her, and since the
cooked food was tastier and the tools were
convenient, they went along with all of it.
They worshipped her as their Divine Maiden. I
knew she was trying to walk the same path I
had in my past life.
A bitter laugh escaped me. The unpurified salt
she was using was full of toxins. Anyone who’s
ever owned a pet knows that too much salt
causes organ failure in animals.
And relying too much on tools would dull their
natural speed and agility.
That’s why I never forced Kael and the others
to eat cooked food with me.
But I had forgotten one crucial detail. I had
considered the nature of every other shifter, but
I had forgotten about my own.
The wolves had a long, intense mating season.
By the time I realized what was happening, it
was too late.
I couldn’t even hold my wolf form anymore. I was forced back into my human shape.
I locked myself in our cave, hearing Kael and
the others calling my name, their voices filled
with concern.
“Elara, are you okay?”
They had realized by now that I was not the
Kiera from their past.
They were finally beginning to open their hearts
to me.
I shut them out, submerging myself in a pool of
icy water.
But I had overestimated my own willpower. The
water soon grew warm from my body heat, but
the feverish heat inside me didn’t fade.
I began to feel delirious, my body burning with
an unbearable heat.
