Chapter 27

Ihad no plan. Just a hope and a promise—a hope that I’d think of something on the fly and a promise to Lia that I wouldn’t let the SSS harm another hair on her head. The combination would have to be enough.

Are we able to shift? I asked my wolf. I wasn’t sure how

much time had passed in wolf body since our last transformation, but I was optimistic that my longer-than- intended nap plus the wolf’s snack might have been enough to recharge the relevant muscles. I guess my wolf was smart to let me rest after all, I decided. Rather than remarking upon my change of heart, the animal obediently relaxed her control over our furry body. And I responded by pushing against the inside of her skin, trying to force my way out.

Slowly, ever so slowly, we lost fur and regained thumbs. The transformation was neither fast nor elegant, and I wound up kneeling on the wet leaves of the forest floor rather than standing on two feet. But it had worked.